We Need Eviction Data Now Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7743 To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national evictions database, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2020 Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. OMAR, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. EVANS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. COOPER, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. LEE of Cali- fornia, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Ms. SPANBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Serv- ices A BILL To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national evictions database, 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 ‘‘We Need Eviction 4 Data Now Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7743 IH (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION.—The term 1 ‘‘administrative eviction’’ means a ruling in favor of 2 the landlord in an administrative forum within a 3 public housing agency, such as grievance procedures, 4 to recover possession of residential property from a 5 tenant, including a tenant residing in a public hous- 6 ing dwelling unit or receiving tenant-based assist- 7 ance or project-based assistance under section 8 of 8 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 9 1437f). 10 (2) COURT-ORDERED EVICTION.—The term 11 ‘‘court-ordered eviction’’ means a court ruling in 12 favor of the landlord in a legal action to recover pos- 13 session of residential property from a tenant, includ- 14 ing a tenant residing in a public housing dwelling 15 unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or project- 16 based assistance under section 8 of the United 17 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 18 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 19 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 20 velopment. 21 (4) EXECUTED EVICTION.—The term ‘‘executed 22 eviction’’ means a court order carried out by a sher- 23 iff’s office or other law enforcement agency that re- 24 sulted in the landlord recovering possession of resi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7743 IH dential property from a tenant, including a tenant 1 residing in a public housing dwelling unit or receiv- 2 ing tenant-based assistance or project-based assist- 3 ance under section 8 of the United States Housing 4 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 5 (5) ILLEGAL EVICTION.—The term ‘‘illegal evic- 6 tion’’ means self-help measures taken outside of the 7 legal process for eviction to recover possession of 8 residential property from a tenant, including a ten- 9 ant residing in a public housing dwelling unit or re- 10 ceiving tenant-based assistance or project-based as- 11 sistance under section 8 of the United States Hous- 12 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), such as— 13 (A) willfully interrupting or permitting the 14 interruption of essential items of services re- 15 quired by the rental agreement; 16 (B) blocking or attempting to block the 17 entry of a tenant upon the premises; 18 (C) changing the locks or removing the 19 front door of the premises; 20 (D) removing the belongings of a tenant; 21 and 22 (E) any other action defined as a self-help 23 eviction under State landlord-tenant law. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7743 IH (6) LOCAL ORDINANCE IMPACTING EVICTION.— 1 The term ‘‘local ordinance impacting eviction’’ 2 means a local ordinance that is designed to address 3 the number of emergency services calls resulting 4 from assault, sexual harassment, stalking, disorderly 5 conduct, or another type of behavior, situation, or 6 condition that results in the need for emergency 7 services, that results in loss of housing or limit the 8 housing opportunities for victims of crime, including 9 victims of domestic violence, or individuals with dis- 10 abilities who may require emergency services, abne- 11 gating local landlord-tenant law by— 12 (A) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 13 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 14 a certain number of calls for emergency serv- 15 ices; 16 (B) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 17 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 18 an arrest even though the arrest has not re- 19 sulted in the conviction of that tenant or resi- 20 dent; or 21 (C) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 22 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 23 criminal activity occurring at or near the place 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7743 IH of residence of the tenant or resident for which 1 that tenant or resident has not been convicted. 2 (7) PUBLIC HOUSING; PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN- 3 CY.—The terms ‘‘public housing’’ and ‘‘public hous- 4 ing agency’’ have the meanings given those terms in 5 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 6 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 7 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DATABASE OF EVICTIONS. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.—Not later than 11 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 12 retary shall establish and maintain a database that— 13 (1) is accessible to the Office of Policy Develop- 14 ment and Research and the Office of Fair Housing 15 and Equal Opportunity of the Department and other 16 employees of the Department as determined nec- 17 essary by the Secretary; 18 (2) includes the data described in subsection (b) 19 with respect to court-ordered evictions, administra- 20 tive evictions, and illegal evictions in the United 21 States; and 22 (3) ensures appropriate security to prevent im- 23 proper disclosure of that data. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7743 IH (b) CONTENTS.—The database established under 1 subsection (a) shall contain the following data: 2 (1) DATA ON EACH COURT-ORDERED OR AD- 3 MINISTRATIVE EVICTION.—With respect to each 4 court-ordered or administrative eviction case filed on 5 or after the date on which the database is estab- 6 lished: 7 (A) Information on the tenant who is the 8 defendant, including— 9 (i) the name of the tenant; 10 (ii) the address of the residential 11 property and the type of housing; 12 (iii) the number of household mem- 13 bers residing in the property, including the 14 number of children; and 15 (iv) whether the tenant is a recipient 16 of tenant-based or project-based assistance 17 under section 8 of the United States Hous- 18 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 19 (B) Information on the landlord who filed 20 the court-ordered or administrative eviction 21 case, including— 22 (i) the name of the landlord; 23 (ii) the name of the attorney or legally 24 permitted representative of the landlord, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7743 IH an indication that the landlord was self- 1 represented; 2 (iii) any amount that the landlord al- 3 leges that the tenant owes, including any 4 penalties and attorney’s fees; and 5 (iv) any costs incurred by the landlord 6 for engaging in the eviction process, in- 7 cluding— 8 (I) court costs, such as filing 9 fees; 10 (II) the cost of legal representa- 11 tion; and 12 (III) the cost to set out a tenant. 13 (C) Procedural data on the court-ordered 14 or administrative eviction case, including— 15 (i) the date, if applicable, on which 16 the tenant was served with a notice to quit; 17 (ii) the date of the initial court filing 18 by the landlord; 19 (iii) the reason why the landlord filed 20 for eviction, such as nonpayment or breach 21 of lease; 22 (iv) whether the eviction was as a re- 23 sult of the enforcement of a local ordinance 24 impacting eviction; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7743 IH (v) the final outcome of the court-or- 1 dered or administrative eviction case, in- 2 cluding— 3 (I) the disposition of the case, in- 4 cluding whether the initial hearing re- 5 sulted in a default judgment, dis- 6 missal, consent agreement, settlement, 7 or trial; 8 (II) the date of final disposition; 9 (III) any amount owed to the 10 landlord or tenant, if any, and over 11 what time period; 12 (IV) whether a judgment was 13 made in favor of the tenant for code 14 violations or warranty of habitability 15 claims; 16 (V) the overall outcome of the 17 case, including whether the tenant 18 paid any amounts to the landlord and 19 whether the tenant stayed in the 20 housing or was evicted from the hous- 21 ing; and 22 (VI) whether the tenant had legal 23 representation and the nature of that 24 representation, including a lawyer, a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7743 IH law student participating in a clinic, 1 or another non-lawyer trained to rep- 2 resent clients in landlord-tenant court, 3 or whether the tenant was a lawyer 4 representing himself or herself; 5 (vi) the total court fees incurred by 6 the tenant, separated into categories of 7 fees; 8 (vii) the total court fees incurred by 9 the landlord; 10 (viii) whether the landlord had ap- 11 peared in landlord-tenant court for a 12 court-ordered or administrative eviction 13 matter involving the landlord in the 6- 14 month, 1-year, or 2-year period preceding 15 the court-ordered or administrative eviction 16 case; and 17 (ix) whether the tenant had appeared 18 in landlord-tenant court for a court-or- 19 dered or administrative eviction matter in- 20 volving the landlord in the 6-month, 1- 21 year, or 2-year period preceding the court- 22 ordered or administrative eviction case. 23 (2) AGGREGATE DATA ON COURT-ORDERED OR 24 ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION CASES.—Aggregate data 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7743 IH on court-ordered or administrative eviction cases 1 filed on or after the date on which the database is 2 established, including— 3 (A) the total number of cases filed, includ- 4 ing a breakdown by— 5 (i) the number of cases filed for non- 6 payment, other breach of lease, both non- 7 payment and breach of lease, and any 8 other reason; 9 (ii) the number of cases filed because 10 of the enforcement of a local ordinance im- 11 pacting eviction; and 12 (iii) the outcome of the dispositive 13 hearing, including default judgment, dis- 14 missal, a consent agreement, a trial, and a 15 settlement with or without mediation; 16 (B) the number of tenants and landlords 17 who showed up for the dispositive hearing of a 18 court-ordered or an administrative eviction case, 19 and how many were represented by counsel; 20 (C) the average duration of a court-or- 21 dered or an administrative eviction case, includ- 22 ing the average time from filing to first hear- 23 ing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7743 IH (D) the average amount allegedly owed by 1 a tenant, per landlord; 2 (E) the average months of rent allegedly 3 owed by a tenant; 4 (F) the average amount paid by a tenant 5 to resolve the case and stay in the housing; 6 (G) the number of court-ordered or admin- 7 istrative eviction cases resulting in a judgment 8 in favor of the tenant due to code violations or 9 warranty of habitability claims; 10 (H) the number and percentage of court- 11 ordered or administrative eviction cases broken 12 down by age bracket; 13 (I) the number and percentage of court-or- 14 dered or administrative eviction cases with a 15 tenant or household with children; 16 (J) the number of tenants evicted from 17 public housing, broken down by each public 18 housing agency; 19 (K) the number of tenants evicted from 20 dwelling units who were receiving tenant-based 21 assistance or project-based assistance under 22 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 23 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7743 IH (L) the number of court-ordered or admin- 1 istrative eviction or cases where late fees were 2 collected from tenants by landlords, and the av- 3 erage amount of late fees in those cases. 4 (3) DATA ON EXECUTED EVICTIONS.—Local 5 law enforcement or any other official who executes 6 an eviction shall report to the adjudicating court or 7 administrative forum sufficient data on each exe- 8 cuted eviction, such that the court may determine 9 which court-ordered or administrative evictions re- 10 sulted in a law enforcement officer or other local of- 11 ficial removing the tenant. 12 (4) DATA ON TENANT STATUS FOLLOWING A 13 COURT-ORDERED OR ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION.— 14 Each court or administrative forum responsible for 15 adjudicating evictions should contact landlords to de- 16 termine whether tenants who were the subject of a 17 court-ordered or administrative eviction were re- 18 moved or remained in the property 90 days after the 19 court-ordered or administrative eviction. 20 (5) DATA ON EACH ILLEGAL EVICTION.—With 21 respect to each illegal eviction occurring on or after 22 the date on which the database is established, as re- 23 ported by local governments and nonprofit organiza- 24 tions receiving grants under section 6: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7743.IH H7743 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7743 IH (A) The data described in paragraph 1 (1)(A). 2 (B) Information on the landlord, includ- 3 ing— 4 (i) the name of the landlord; and 5 (ii) any amount that the landlord al- 6 leges that the tenant owes, including any 7 penalties. 8 (C) The reason the tenant was evicted. 9 (D) If the tena [Text truncated for display. 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