Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7301 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 30, 2020 Received AN ACT To prevent evictions, foreclosures, and unsafe housing condi- tions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 7301 RDS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 3 2020’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—PROTECTING RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS FROM EVICTIONS AND FORECLOSURES Sec. 101. Emergency rental assistance. Sec. 102. Homeowner Assistance Fund. Sec. 103. Protecting renters and homeowners from evictions and foreclosures. Sec. 104. Liquidity for mortgage servicers and residential rental property own- ers. Sec. 105. Rural rental assistance. Sec. 106. Funding for public housing and tenant-based rental assistance. Sec. 107. Supplemental funding for supportive housing for the elderly, sup- portive housing for persons with disabilities, supportive housing for persons with AIDS, and project-based section 8 rental as- sistance. Sec. 108. Fair Housing. Sec. 109. Funding for housing counseling services. TITLE II—PROTECTING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS Sec. 201. Homeless assistance funding. Sec. 202. Emergency rental assistance voucher program. TITLE I—PROTECTING RENTERS 7 AND HOMEOWNERS FROM 8 EVICTIONS AND FORE- 9 CLOSURES 10 SEC. 101. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Housing 13 and Urban Development (referred to in this section as the 14 ‘‘Secretary’’) $100,000,000,000 for an additional amount 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 7301 RDS for grants under the Emergency Solutions Grants pro- 1 gram under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento 2 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to 3 remain available until expended (subject to subsections (d) 4 and (n) of this section), to be used for providing short- 5 or medium-term assistance with rent and rent-related 6 costs (including tenant-paid utility costs, utility- and rent- 7 arrears, fees charged for those arrears, and security and 8 utility deposits) in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5) 9 of section 415(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11374(a)) and 10 this section. 11 (b) DEFINITION OF AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.— 12 Notwithstanding section 401(1) of the McKinney-Vento 13 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360(1)), for pur- 14 poses of assistance made available with amounts made 15 available pursuant to subsection (a), the term ‘‘at risk of 16 homelessness’’ means, with respect to an individual or 17 family, that the individual or family— 18 (1) has an income below 80 percent of the me- 19 dian income for the area as determined by the Sec- 20 retary; and 21 (2) has an inability to attain or maintain hous- 22 ing stability or has insufficient resources to pay for 23 rent or utilities due to financial hardships. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 7301 RDS (c) INCOME TARGETING AND CALCULATION.—For 1 purposes of assistance made available with amounts made 2 available pursuant to subsection (a)— 3 (1) each recipient of such amounts shall use— 4 (A) not less than 40 percent of the 5 amounts received only for providing assistance 6 for individuals or families experiencing home- 7 lessness, or for persons or families at risk of 8 homelessness who have incomes not exceeding 9 30 percent of the median income for the area 10 as determined by the Secretary; 11 (B) not less than 70 percent of the 12 amounts received only for providing assistance 13 for individuals or families experiencing home- 14 lessness, or for persons or families at risk of 15 homelessness who have incomes not exceeding 16 50 percent of the median income for the area 17 as determined by the Secretary; and 18 (C) the remainder of the amounts received 19 only for providing assistance to individuals or 20 families experiencing homelessness, or for per- 21 sons or families at risk of homelessness who 22 have incomes not exceeding 80 percent of the 23 median income for the area as determined by 24 the Secretary, but such recipient may establish 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 7301 RDS a higher percentage limit for purposes of sub- 1 section (b)(1), which shall not in any case ex- 2 ceed 120 percent of the area median income, if 3 the recipient states that it will serve such popu- 4 lation in its plan; and 5 (2) in determining the income of a household 6 for homelessness prevention assistance— 7 (A) the calculation of income performed at 8 the time of application for such assistance, in- 9 cluding arrearages, shall consider only income 10 that the household is currently receiving at such 11 time and any income recently terminated shall 12 not be included; 13 (B) any calculation of income performed 14 with respect to households receiving ongoing as- 15 sistance (such as medium-term rental assist- 16 ance) 3 months after initial receipt of assist- 17 ance shall consider only the income that the 18 household is receiving at the time of such re- 19 view; and 20 (C) the calculation of income performed 21 with respect to households receiving assistance 22 for arrearages shall consider only the income 23 that the household was receiving at the time 24 such arrearages were incurred. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 7301 RDS (d) 3-YEAR AVAILABILITY.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each recipient of amounts 2 made available pursuant to subsection (a) shall— 3 (A) expend not less than 60 percent of 4 such grant amounts within 2 years of the date 5 that such funds became available to the recipi- 6 ent for obligation; and 7 (B) expend 100 percent of such grant 8 amounts within 3 years of such date. 9 (2) REALLOCATION AFTER 2 YEARS.—The Sec- 10 retary may recapture any amounts not expended in 11 compliance with paragraph (1)(A) and reallocate 12 such amounts to recipients in compliance with the 13 formula referred to in subsection (h)(1)(A). 14 (e) RENT RESTRICTIONS.— 15 (1) INAPPLICABILITY.—Section 576.106(d) of 16 title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, shall not 17 apply with respect to homelessness prevention assist- 18 ance made available with amounts made available 19 under subsection (a). 20 (2) AMOUNT OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—In pro- 21 viding homelessness prevention assistance with 22 amounts made available under subsection (a), the 23 maximum amount of rental assistance that may be 24 provided shall be the greater of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 7301 RDS (A) 120 percent of the higher of— 1 (i) the Fair Market Rent established 2 by the Secretary for the metropolitan area 3 or county; or 4 (ii) the applicable Small Area Fair 5 Market Rent established by the Secretary; 6 or 7 (B) such higher amount as the Secretary 8 shall determine is needed to cover market rents 9 in the area. 10 (f) SUBLEASES.—A recipient shall not be prohibited 11 from providing assistance authorized under subsection (a) 12 with respect to subleases that are valid under State law. 13 (g) HOUSING RELOCATION OR STABILIZATION AC- 14 TIVITIES.—A recipient of amounts made available pursu- 15 ant to subsection (a) may expend up to 25 percent of its 16 allocation for activities under section 415(a)(5) of the 17 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 18 11374(a)(5)), except that notwithstanding such section, 19 activities authorized under this subsection may be pro- 20 vided only for individuals or families who have incomes 21 not exceeding 50 percent of the area median income and 22 meet the criteria in subsection (b)(2) of this section or 23 section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 24 Act (42 U.S.C. 11302). This subsection shall not apply 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 7301 RDS to rent-related costs that are specifically authorized under 1 subsection (a) of this section. 2 (h) ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In allocating amounts made 4 available pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary 5 shall— 6 (A)(i) for any purpose authorized in this 7 section— 8 (I) allocate 2 percent of such amount 9 for Indian tribes and tribally designated 10 housing entities (as such terms are defined 11 in section 4 of the Native American Hous- 12 ing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 13 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) under the for- 14 mula established pursuant to section 302 15 of such Act (25 U.S.C. 4152), except that 16 0.3 percent of the amount allocated under 17 this clause shall be allocated for the De- 18 partment of Hawaiian Home Lands; and 19 (II) allocate 0.3 percent of such 20 amount for the Virgin Islands, Guam, 21 American Samoa, and the Northern Mar- 22 iana Islands; 23 (ii) not later than 30 days after the date 24 of enactment of this Act, obligate and disburse 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 HR 7301 RDS the amounts allocated pursuant to clause (i) in 1 accordance with such allocations and provide 2 such recipient with any necessary guidance for 3 use of the funds; and 4 (B)(i) not later than 7 days after the date 5 of enactment of this Act and after setting aside 6 amounts under subparagraph (A), allocate 50 7 percent of any such remaining amounts under 8 the formula specified in subsections (a), (b), 9 and (e) of section 414 of the McKinney-Vento 10 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11373) 11 for, and notify, each State, metropolitan city, 12 and urban county that is to receive a direct 13 grant of such amounts; and 14 (ii) not later than 30 days after the date 15 of enactment of this Act, obligate and disburse 16 the amounts allocated pursuant to clause (i) in 17 accordance with such allocations and provide 18 such recipient with any necessary guidance for 19 use of the funds; and 20 (C)(i) not later than 45 days after the date 21 of enactment of this Act, allocate any remaining 22 amounts for eligible recipients according to a 23 formula to be developed by the Secretary that 24 takes into consideration the formula referred to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 HR 7301 RDS in subparagraph (A) and the need for emer- 1 gency rental assistance under this section, in- 2 cluding the severe housing cost burden among 3 extremely low- and very low-income renters and 4 disruptions in housing and economic conditions, 5 including unemployment; and 6 (ii) not later than 30 days after the date 7 of the allocation of such amounts pursuant to 8 clause (i), obligate and disburse such amounts 9 in accordance with such allocations. 10 (2) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub- 12 section (a) of section 414 of the McKinney- 13 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 14 11373(a)) and section 576.202(a) of title 24, 15 Code of Federal Regulations, a State recipient 16 of an allocation under this section may elect to 17 use up to 100 percent of its allocation to carry 18 out activities eligible under this section directly. 19 (B) REQUIREMENT.—Any State recipient 20 making an election described in subparagraph 21 (A) shall serve households throughout the entire 22 State, including households in rural commu- 23 nities and small towns. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 HR 7301 RDS (3) ELECTION NOT TO ADMINISTER.—If a re- 1 cipient other than a State elects not to receive funds 2 under this section, such funds shall be allocated to 3 the State recipient in which the recipient is located. 4 (4) PARTNERSHIPS, SUBGRANTS, AND CON- 5 TRACTS.—A recipient of a grant under this section 6 may distribute funds through partnerships, sub- 7 grants, or contracts with an entity, such as a public 8 housing agency (as such term is defined in section 9 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 10 U.S.C. 1437a(b))), that is capable of carrying activi- 11 ties under this section. 12 (5) REVISION TO RULE.—The Secretary shall 13 revise section 576.3 of tile 24, Code of Federal Reg- 14 ulations, to change the set aside for allocation to the 15 territories to exactly 0.3 percent. 16 (i) INAPPLICABILITY OF MATCHING REQUIRE- 17 MENT.—Subsection (a) of section 416 of the McKinney- 18 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11375(a)) 19 shall not apply to any amounts made available pursuant 20 to subsection (a) of this section. 21 (j) REIMBURSEMENT OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 22 Amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) may 23 be used by a recipient to reimburse expenditures incurred 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7301.RDS H7301 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 HR 7301 RDS for eligible activities under this section after March 27, 1 2020. 2 (k) PROHIBITION ON PREREQUISITES.—None of the 3 funds made available pursuant to this section may be used 4 to require any individual receiving assistance under the 5 program under this section to receive treatment or per- 6 form any other prerequisite activities as a condition for 7 receiving shelter, housing, or other services. 8 (l) WAIVERS AND ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.— 10 (A) AUTHORITY.—In administering the 11 amounts made available pursuant to subsection 12 (a), the Secretary may waive, or specify alter- 13 native requirements for, any provision of any 14 statute or regulation that the Secretary admin- 15 isters in connection with the obligation by the 16 Se [Text truncated for display. 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