DEPOSIT Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1814 To authorize security deposit and moving costs assistance for low-income households, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 6, 2023 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. PADILLA) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To authorize security deposit and moving costs assistance for low-income households, 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 ‘‘Delivering Essential 4 Protection, Opportunity, and Security for Tenants Act’’ 5 or the‘‘DEPOSIT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1814.IS S1814 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1814 IS SEC. 2. RENTAL SECURITY DEPOSIT AND MOVING COST AS- 1 SISTANCE FOR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER 2 HOLDERS. 3 Section 8(q) of the United States Housing Act of 4 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) is amended by adding at the 5 end the following: 6 ‘‘(6) SUPPLEMENTS FOR SECURITY DEPOSIT 7 AND MOVING COST ASSISTANCE.— 8 ‘‘(A) SECURITY DEPOSITS.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 10 shall, to the extent amounts are provided 11 in advance in appropriations Acts for as- 12 sistance under this subparagraph, provide 13 supplemental fees under this subsection to 14 public housing agencies for the costs of 15 providing, on behalf of families assisted 16 under subsection (o), assistance to cover 17 the costs of a reasonable security deposit 18 for the assisted dwelling unit of the family. 19 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—Each public 20 housing agency that receives supplemental 21 fees under clause (i)— 22 ‘‘(I) shall require the owner of a 23 dwelling unit for which security de- 24 posit assistance is provided under that 25 clause to return any unused amounts 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1814.IS S1814 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1814 IS of security deposit assistance upon the 1 termination of the family’s tenancy; 2 and 3 ‘‘(II) may make such returned 4 amounts available only for assistance 5 under this subparagraph. 6 ‘‘(B) MOVING COSTS.—The Secretary may 7 provide supplemental fees under this subsection 8 to public housing agencies for the costs of pro- 9 viding, on behalf of families assisted under sub- 10 section (o), assistance to cover the reasonable 11 costs of moving into a new assisted dwelling 12 unit. 13 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- 14 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 15 to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary 16 for assistance under subparagraphs (A) and 17 (B).’’. 18 SEC. 3. RENTAL SECURITY DEPOSIT ASSISTANCE UNDER 19 HOME PROGRAM. 20 (a) ELIGIBLE USE.—Section 212(a) of the Cranston- 21 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 22 12742(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the 23 following new paragraph: 24 ‘‘(4) SECURITY DEPOSIT ASSISTANCE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1814.IS S1814 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1814 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A participating juris- 1 diction may use funds provided under this sub- 2 title to provide loans or grants to very low- and 3 low-income families for security deposits for 4 rental of dwelling units, regardless of whether 5 the family is provided tenant-based rental as- 6 sistance pursuant to paragraph (3). 7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Each participating 8 jurisdiction that provides loans or grants under 9 subparagraph (A)— 10 ‘‘(i) shall require the owner of the 11 dwelling unit for which security deposit as- 12 sistance is provided under that subpara- 13 graph to return any unused amounts of se- 14 curity deposit assistance upon the termi- 15 nation of the family’s tenancy; and 16 ‘‘(ii) may use such returned amounts 17 only for assistance under this paragraph.’’. 18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 19 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Housing 20 and Urban Development such sums as may be necessary 21 for assistance under subtitle A of title II of the Cranston- 22 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 23 12741 et seq.), to be made available only for providing 24 security deposit assistance under paragraph (4) of section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1814.IS S1814 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1814 IS 212(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12742(a)) (as added by 1 the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section). 2 SEC. 4. STUDY ON ALTERNATIVES TO SECURITY DEPOSITS. 3 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 4 Development shall conduct a study to identify and ana- 5 lyze— 6 (1) alternatives to rental housing security de- 7 posits, including products that require a tenant of a 8 dwelling unit to pay a monthly insurance premium 9 to cover costs of repairing damage to the dwelling 10 unit; and 11 (2) the impact that the alternatives described in 12 paragraph (1) have on the rental housing market 13 and tenants, including how the alternatives affect 14 tenants based on tenant race, income, age, sex, dis- 15 ability, and other demographic characteristics. 16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and 18 Urban Development shall submit to Congress a report set- 19 ting forth the findings and conclusions of the study con- 20 ducted under subsection (a). 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1814.IS S1814 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS