HELP Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4399 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 3, 2020 Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 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. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4399 IS (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 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) 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 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4399 IS of all renters and 26 of all renter households with 1 extremely low incomes; 2 (8) prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, it was 3 estimated that around 3,700,000 evictions are filed 4 every year, a rate of about 7 every minute; 5 (9) across the United States, 1 in 20 renters 6 faces an eviction every year, but for Black renters, 7 the number is 1 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 11 disproportionately on Black renters, in particular 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 ‘‘[B]lack renters had evictions filed against them at 21 nearly twice the rate of [W]hite renters’’ and that 22 Black women specifically were filed against for evic- 23 tion at ‘‘double the rate of [W]hite renters or higher 24 in 17 of 36 [S]tates’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4399 IS (13) right to counsel is a matter of racial jus- 1 tice, equity, and ensuring equal protection under the 2 law; 3 (14) in the United States, it is estimated that 4 more than 90 percent of landlords are represented in 5 housing court proceedings, compared to less than 10 6 percent of tenants in those proceedings; 7 (15) a Massachusetts study found that tenants 8 who were provided full representation were twice as 9 likely to remain in their homes, saved 4 times as 10 much rent, and paid $0 to their landlord as com- 11 pared to those receiving limited or no legal assist- 12 ance; and 13 (16) a California study of the Shriver Civil 14 Counsel Program found that 91 percent of Shriver 15 cases ended with the eviction record sealed, 81 per- 16 cent with the eviction not reported to a credit agen- 17 cy, and 71 percent with a neutral reference provided 18 by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved nearly 19 $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while pay- 20 ing holdover damages or attorney’s fees only half as 21 often, and 71 percent of represented clients that had 22 been required to move had obtained a new rental 23 unit, compared to 43 percent of unrepresented ten- 24 ants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4399 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘assistance’’— 3 (A) means any grant, loan, subsidy, con- 4 tract, cooperative agreement, or other form of 5 financial assistance; and 6 (B) does not include the insurance or guar- 7 antee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or 8 mortgages. 9 (2) COVERED FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL 10 DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘covered federally as- 11 sisted rental dwelling unit’’ means a residential 12 dwelling unit that is made available for rental and 13 for which assistance is provided, or that is part of 14 a housing project for which assistance is provided, 15 under any program administered by the Secretary of 16 Housing and Urban Development, including— 17 (A) the public housing program under the 18 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 19 1437 et seq.); 20 (B) the programs for tenant- and project- 21 based rental assistance under section 8 of the 22 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 23 1437f); 24 (C) the HOME Investment Partnerships 25 program under subtitle A of title II of the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4399 IS Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Hous- 1 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.); 2 (D) the programs for homeless assistance 3 under title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 4 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.); 5 (E) the program for supportive housing for 6 the elderly under section 202 of the Housing 7 Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 8 (F) the program for supportive housing for 9 persons with disabilities under section 811 of 10 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 11 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 12 (G) the program for housing opportunities 13 for persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title 14 VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford- 15 able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.); 16 (H) the Housing Trust Fund program 17 under section 1338 of the Housing and Com- 18 munity Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 19 4568); 20 (I) the program for Native American hous- 21 ing under the Native American Housing Assist- 22 ance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 23 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4399 IS (J) the program for housing assistance for 1 Native Hawaiians under title VIII of the Native 2 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter- 3 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.). 4 (3) COVERED HOUSING.—The term ‘‘covered 5 housing’’ means a dwelling unit assisted with 6 amounts made available, or a loan or mortgage 7 made, insured, or guaranteed, under— 8 (A) any of the programs described in sub- 9 paragraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2); 10 or 11 (B) the community development block 12 grant program under title I of the Housing and 13 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 14 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 15 (4) COVERED HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The term 16 ‘‘covered housing assistance’’ means assistance pro- 17 vided under any program described in paragraph 18 (3). 19 (5) LEGAL COUNSEL.—The term ‘‘legal coun- 20 sel’’ means full representation by an attorney 21 throughout proceedings in issue. 22 (6) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means any 23 private person or entity, including a cooperative, an 24 agency of the Federal Government, or a public hous- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4399 IS ing agency, having the legal right to lease or sub- 1 lease dwelling units. 2 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 4 SEC. 4. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION. 5 (a) REPORTS BY HOUSING PROVIDERS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 7 each State and local entity that receives covered 8 housing assistance to submit to the Secretary annual 9 reports under this section regarding evictions from 10 assisted dwelling units of the covered housing occur- 11 ring during the preceding year. 12 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 13 paragraph (1) shall include— 14 (A) for each household subject to an evic- 15 tion proceeding during the year covered by the 16 report— 17 (i) the reason or reasons that the evic- 18 tion proceeding was undertaken and, in the 19 case of any eviction proceeding undertaken 20 in whole or in part based on an arrearage 21 in rent owed, the amount of the arrearage 22 and the amount of the required contribu- 23 tion of the tenant toward rent; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4399 IS (ii) the date on which the household 1 was ordered to be evicted; 2 (iii) the address of the dwelling unit 3 from which the household was evicted; 4 (iv) whether the household was rep- 5 resented by legal counsel in any eviction 6 proceeding, if that information is available; 7 (v) the number of days the household 8 was given to vacate the dwelling unit, if 9 that information is available; and 10 (vi) whether a writ of execution was 11 issued in regards to the eviction; and 12 (B) for each individual in any household 13 subject to an eviction proceeding during the 14 year covered by the report— 15 (i) the name of the individual; 16 (ii) the annual income of the indi- 17 vidual in the fiscal year prior to the year 18 during which the individual was evicted, if 19 that information is available; 20 (iii) the disability status of the indi- 21 vidual evicted; 22 (iv) any available demographic infor- 23 mation about the individual, including 24 race, ethnicity, age, and gender; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4399 IS (v) any foster care history for the in- 1 dividual; 2 (vi) any serious physical health prob- 3 lems or serious mental illness of the indi- 4 vidual, if that information is available; 5 (vii) any history of prior homelessness 6 of the individual, if that information is 7 available; and 8 (viii) whether the individual has a 9 criminal record, if that information is 10 available. 11 (3) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 12 shall develop requirements for States and local enti- 13 ties that receive covered housing assistance that— 14 (A) provide that the provision of the infor- 15 mation being collected under this subsection 16 shall be voluntary on the part of any individual 17 or household who is or was a tenant in an as- 18 sisted dwelling unit of covered housing; 19 (B) provide limitations on how long the in- 20 formation described in paragraph (2) shall be 21 retained; 22 (C) establish data privacy and security re- 23 quirements for the information described in 24 paragraph (2) that include appropriate meas- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4399 IS ures to ensure that the privacy of the individ- 1 uals and households is protected and that the 2 information, including any personally identifi- 3 able information, is collected and used only for 4 the purpose of submitting reports under para- 5 graph (1); and 6 (D) provide confidentiality protections for 7 data collected about any individuals who are 8 survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual 9 assault, or stalking. 10 (b) DATABASE.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 12 a database for collecting and maintaining informa- 13 tion contained in reports submitted under subsection 14 (a). 15 (2) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary 16 shall establish appropriate measures regarding infor- 17 mation in the database established under paragraph 18 (1) to ensure that the privacy of the individuals and 19 households is protected and that any personally 20 identifiable information is not disclosed. 21 (3) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent possible, 22 the database established under paragraph (1) shall 23 be disaggregated by race, gender, income, and dis- 24 ability. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4399 IS SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION-RELATED LEGAL AID. 1 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 2 retary $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain 3 available until expended, for assistance under the Emer- 4 gency Solutions Grants program under subtitle B of title 5 IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 6 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for— 7 (1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject 8 to or at risk of eviction with regard to any eviction- 9 related legal proceeding; and 10 (2) costs of any court fees associated with an 11 eviction-related legal proceeding for a tenant, exclud- 12 ing any attorney’s fees for the attorney of the land- 13 lord of the tenant. 14 SEC. 6. CONSUMER REPORTS. 15 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et 16 seq.) is amended— 17 (1) by inserting after section 605B (15 U.S.C. 18 1681c–2) the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 605C. ADVERSE INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUS- 20 ING COURT RECORDS. 21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 22 may only furnish a consumer report containing an adverse 23 item of information relating to a landlord-tenant action 24 if— 25 VerDa [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]