Protecting Renters from Eviction and Fees Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7402 To provide a temporary moratorium on eviction filings, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 29, 2020 Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. WATERS, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HASTINGS, and Mr. MFUME) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To provide a temporary moratorium on eviction filings, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Renters 4 from Eviction and Fees Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7402.IH H7402 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7402 IH SEC. 2. EVICTION MORATORIUM. 1 The CARES Act is amended by striking section 4024 2 (15 U.S.C. 9058; Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 492) 3 and inserting the following new section: 4 ‘‘SEC. 4024. TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTION FIL- 5 INGS. 6 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress 7 finds that— 8 ‘‘(1) according to the 2018 American Commu- 9 nity Survey, 36 percent of households in the United 10 States—more than 43 million households—are rent- 11 ers; 12 ‘‘(2) in 2019 alone, renters in the United States 13 paid $512 billion in rent; 14 ‘‘(3) according to the Joint Center for Housing 15 Studies of Harvard University, 20.8 million renters 16 in the United States spent more than 30 percent of 17 their incomes on housing in 2018 and 10.9 million 18 renters spent more than 50 percent of their incomes 19 on housing in the same year; 20 ‘‘(4) according to data from the Department of 21 Labor, more than 40 million people have filed for 22 unemployment since the COVID-19 pandemic began; 23 ‘‘(5) the impacts of the spread of COVID-19, 24 which is now considered a global pandemic, are ex- 25 pected to negatively impact the incomes of poten- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7402.IH H7402 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7402 IH tially millions of renter households, making it dif- 1 ficult for them to pay their rent on time; and 2 ‘‘(6) evictions in the current environment would 3 increase homelessness and housing instability, which 4 would be counterproductive towards the public 5 health goals of keeping individuals in their homes to 6 the greatest extent possible. 7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 8 following definitions shall apply: 9 ‘‘(1) COVERED DWELLING.—The term ‘covered 10 dwelling’ means a dwelling that is occupied by a ten- 11 ant— 12 ‘‘(A) pursuant to a residential lease; or 13 ‘‘(B) without a lease or with a lease ter- 14 minable at will under State law. 15 ‘‘(2) DWELLING.—The term ‘dwelling’’ has the 16 meaning given such term in section 802 of the Fair 17 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) and includes houses 18 and dwellings described in section 803(b) of such 19 Act (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)). 20 ‘‘(c) MORATORIUM.—During the 1-year period begin- 21 ning on March 27, 2020, the lessor of a covered dwelling 22 may not— 23 ‘‘(1) make, or cause to be made, any filing with 24 the court of jurisdiction to initiate a legal action to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7402.IH H7402 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7402 IH recover possession of the covered dwelling from the 1 tenant for nonpayment of rent or other fees or 2 charges, or for reasons motivated wholly or in part 3 by the nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges 4 by the tenant; or 5 ‘‘(2) charge fees, penalties, or other charges to 6 the tenant related to such nonpayment of rent. 7 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO VACATE AFTER MORATORIUM EXPI- 8 RATION DATE.—After the expiration of the period de- 9 scribed in subsection (c), the lessor of a covered dwelling 10 may not require the tenant to vacate the covered dwelling 11 by reason of nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges 12 before the expiration of the 30-day period that begins 13 upon the provision by the lessor to the tenant, after the 14 expiration of the period described in subsection (c), of a 15 notice to vacate the covered dwelling.’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7402.IH H7402 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS