HELP Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7847 To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-related records in consumer reports, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 29, 2020 Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-related records in consumer reports, 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 ‘‘Housing Emergencies 4 Lifeline Program Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘HELP Act of 5 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 7 The Congress finds that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7847 IH (1) housing is fundamentally an issue of eco- 1 nomic and racial justice and a critical determinant 2 of health; 3 (2) the 2008 financial crisis was a Great De- 4 pression-level event for Black Americans, wiping out 5 decades of gains in Black homeownership, which has 6 now fallen to its lowest rate since the passage of the 7 Fair Housing Act in 1968; 8 (3) Black borrowers were 76 percent more like- 9 ly to have lost their home to foreclosure than White 10 borrowers during the foreclosure crisis; 11 (4) Black and Hispanic households continue to 12 be about twice as likely as White households to rent 13 their homes; 14 (5) in 2016, 58 percent of Black household 15 heads and 54 percent of Hispanic household heads 16 were renting their homes, compared with 28 percent 17 of White household heads; 18 (6) while cost burdens affect households of all 19 races and ethnicities, Black and Brown renters are 20 much more likely to be burdened, with 55 percent of 21 Black renters considered to be rent burdened com- 22 pared to only 43 percent of White renters; 23 (7) Black households account for 12 percent of 24 all households in the United States, but 19 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7847 IH of all renters and 26 of all renter households with 1 extremely low incomes; 2 (8) prior to the coronavirus pandemic, it was 3 estimated that around 3.7 million evictions are filed 4 every year, a rate of about 7 every minute; 5 (9) across the United States, one in 20 renters 6 faces an eviction every year, but for Black renters, 7 the number is one in 11; 8 (10) every day families are displaced by the 9 eviction crisis, a reality that is only further exacer- 10 bated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that falls dis- 11 proportionately on Black renters, and particularly 12 Black women renters; 13 (11) the Department of Housing and Urban 14 Development does not require the reporting or col- 15 lection of eviction data, including among households 16 in federally assisted housing, and should be required 17 to do so; 18 (12) the American Civil Liberties Union’s anal- 19 ysis of Eviction Lab data found that, on average, 20 ‘‘Black renters had evictions filed against them at 21 nearly twice the rate of White renters’’ and that 22 Black women specifically were filed against for evic- 23 tion at ‘‘double the rate of White renters or higher 24 in 17 of 36 [S]tates’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7847 IH (13) right to counsel is a matter of racial jus- 1 tice, equity, and ensuring equal protection under the 2 law; 3 (14) nationally, it is estimated that more than 4 90 percent of landlords are represented in housing 5 court proceedings, compared to less than 10 percent 6 of tenants in such proceedings; 7 (15) a Massachusetts study found that tenants 8 provided full representation were twice as likely to 9 remain in their homes, saved 4 times as much rent, 10 and paid $0 to their landlord as compared to those 11 receiving limited or no legal assistance; and 12 (16) a California study of the Shriver Civil 13 Counsel Program found that 91 percent of Shriver 14 cases ended with the eviction record sealed, 81 per- 15 cent with the eviction not reported to a credit agen- 16 cy, and 71 percent with a neutral reference provided 17 by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved nearly 18 $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while pay- 19 ing holdover damages or attorney’s fees only half as 20 often, and 71 percent of represented clients that had 21 been required to move had obtained a new rental 22 unit, compared to 43 percent of unrepresented ten- 23 ants. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7847 IH SEC. 3. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION. 1 (a) REPORTS BY HOUSING PROVIDERS.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 3 and Urban Development shall require each State 4 and local entity that receives covered housing assist- 5 ance to submit to the Secretary annual reports 6 under this section regarding evictions from assisted 7 dwelling units of the covered housing occurring dur- 8 ing the preceding year. 9 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted pursu- 10 ant to subsection (a) shall include— 11 (A) for each household subject to an evic- 12 tion proceeding during the year which the re- 13 port covers— 14 (i) the reason or reasons that the evic- 15 tion proceeding was undertaken and, in the 16 case of any eviction proceeding undertaken 17 in whole or in part based on an arrearage 18 in rent owed, the amount of such arrear- 19 age and the amount of the tenant’s re- 20 quired contribution toward rent; 21 (ii) the date on which the household 22 was ordered to be evicted; 23 (iii) the address of the dwelling unit 24 from which the household was evicted; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7847 IH (iv) whether the household was rep- 1 resented by legal counsel in any eviction 2 proceeding, if such information is available; 3 (v) the number of days the household 4 was given to vacate the dwelling unit, if 5 such information is available; and 6 (vi) whether a writ of execution was 7 issued in regards to the eviction; and 8 (B) for each individual in any household 9 subject to an eviction proceeding during the 10 year which the report covers— 11 (i) the name of the individual; 12 (ii) the annual income of the indi- 13 vidual in the fiscal year prior to the year 14 during which the individual was evicted, if 15 available; 16 (iii) the disability status of the indi- 17 vidual evicted, if available; 18 (iv) any available demographic infor- 19 mation about the individual including race, 20 ethnicity, age, and gender; 21 (v) any foster care history for the in- 22 dividual, if available; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7847 IH (vi) any serious physical health prob- 1 lems or serious mental illness of the indi- 2 vidual, if such information is available; 3 (vii) any history of prior homelessness 4 of the individual, if such information is 5 available; and 6 (viii) whether the individual has a 7 criminal record, if such information is 8 available. 9 (3) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of 10 Housing and Urban Development shall develop re- 11 quirements for States and local entities that receive 12 covered housing assistance that— 13 (A) provide that the provision of the infor- 14 mation being collected under this subsection 15 shall be voluntary on the part of any individual 16 or household who is or was a tenant in an as- 17 sisted dwelling unit of covered housing; 18 (B) provide limitations on how long the in- 19 formation described in paragraph (2) shall be 20 retained; 21 (C) establish data privacy and security re- 22 quirements for the information described in 23 paragraph (2) that include appropriate meas- 24 ures to ensure that the privacy of the individ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7847 IH uals and households is protected and that the 1 information, including any personally identifi- 2 able information, is collected and used only for 3 the purpose of submitting reports under para- 4 graph (1); and 5 (D) confidentiality protections for data col- 6 lected about any individuals who are survivors 7 of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or 8 stalking. 9 (b) DATABASE.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 11 a database for collecting and maintaining informa- 12 tion submitted in reports pursuant to subsection (a). 13 (2) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary 14 shall establish appropriate measures regarding infor- 15 mation in the database to ensure that the privacy of 16 the individuals and households is protected and that 17 any personally identifiable information is not dis- 18 closed. 19 (3) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent possible, 20 such database shall be disaggregated by race, gen- 21 der, income, and disability. 22 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION RELATED LEGAL AID. 23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 24 retary $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7847 IH available until expended, for assistance under the Emer- 1 gency Solutions Grants program under subtitle B of title 2 IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 3 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for— 4 (1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject 5 to or at risk of eviction with regard to any eviction- 6 related legal proceeding; and 7 (2) costs of any court fees associated with an 8 eviction-related legal proceeding for a tenant (ex- 9 cluding any attorneys fees for the attorney of the 10 landlord of the tenant). 11 SEC. 5. CONSUMER REPORTS. 12 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 13 seq.) is amended— 14 (1) by inserting after section 605B the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘SEC. 605C. ADVERSE INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUS- 17 ING COURT RECORDS. 18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 19 may only furnish a consumer report containing an adverse 20 item of information relating to a landlord tenant action 21 if— 22 ‘‘(1) the landlord in the action prevailed in a 23 final judgment; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7847 IH ‘‘(2) the tenant in such action was not a minor 1 on the date that such court claim was filed. 2 ‘‘(b) 1 YEAR LIMITATION.—A consumer reporting 3 agency shall remove from a consumer report any adverse 4 item of information relating to a landlord tenant action 5 not later than one year after the date of such landlord 6 tenant action.’’; and 7 (2) in the table of contents, by inserting after 8 the item relating to section 605B the following new 9 item: 10 ‘‘605C. Adverse information relating to housing court records.’’. SEC. 6. EVICTION INFORMATION. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, not later 12 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 13 issue rules that require each owner of a covered federally 14 assisted rental dwelling unit to ensure that each tenant 15 of such dwelling unit owned by such owner receives infor- 16 mation not less than once each year about— 17 (1) the rights and responsibilities of such owner 18 with regard to eviction; and 19 (2) local organizations and resources that can 20 provide assistance in eviction-related matters. 21 (b) HOTLINE.—The Secretary shall, not later than 22 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, estab- 23 lish a hotline to provide assistance with regard to eviction- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7847 IH related matters to tenants of covered federally assisted 1 rental dwelling units. 2 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 3 (a) For purposes of this Act: 4 (1) ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘assistance’’ 5 means any grant, loan, subsidy, contract, cooperative 6 agreement, or other form of financial assistance, but 7 such term does not include the insurance or guar- 8 antee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or mort- 9 gages. 10 (2) COVERED FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL 11 DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘covered federally as- 12 sisted rental dwelling unit’’ means a residential 13 dwelling unit that is made available for rental and 14 for which assistance is provided, or that is part of 15 a housing project for which assistance is provided, 16 under any program administered by the Secretary of 17 Housing and Urban Development, including— 18 (A) the public housing program under the 19 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 20 1437 et seq.); 21 (B) the program for rental assistance 22 under section 8 of the United States Housing 23 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Aug 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7847.IH H7847 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7847 IH (C) the HOME Investment Partnerships 1 program under title II of the Cranston-Gon- 2 zalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 3 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); 4 (D) title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home- 5 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.); 6 (E) the Housing Trust Fund program 7 under section 1338 of the Housing and Com- 8 munity Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 9 4568); 10 (F) the program for supportive housing for 11 the elderly under section 202 of the Housing 12 Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 13 (G) the program for supportive housing for 14 persons with disabilities under section 811 of 15 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 16 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 17 (H) the AIDS Housing Opportunities pro- 18 gram under subtitle D of title VIII of the Cran- 19 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act 20 (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.); 21 (I) the program for Native American hous- 22 ing under the Native American Housing Assist- 23 ance and Self-Determ [Text truncated for display. 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