[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5038 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5038
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 27, 2023
Ms. Pressley (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, and Ms. Bush) 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program
Act of 2023'' or the ``HELP Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) housing is fundamentally an issue of economic and
racial justice and a critical determinant of health;
(2) the 2008 financial crisis was a Great Depression-level
event for Black Americans, wiping out decades of gains in Black
homeownership, which has now fallen to its lowest rate since
the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968;
(3) Black borrowers were 76 percent more likely to have
lost their home to foreclosure than White borrowers during the
foreclosure crisis;
(4) Black and Hispanic households continue to be about
twice as likely as White households to rent their homes;
(5) in 2016, 58 percent of Black household heads and 54
percent of Hispanic household heads were renting their homes,
compared with 28 percent of White household heads;
(6) while cost burdens affect households of all races and
ethnicities, Black and Brown renters are much more likely to be
burdened, with 55 percent of Black renters considered to be
rent burdened compared to only 43 percent of White renters;
(7) Black households account for 12 percent of all
households in the United States, but 19 percent of all renters
and 26 of all renter households with extremely low incomes;
(8) prior to the coronavirus pandemic, it was estimated
that around 3.7 million evictions are filed every year, a rate
of about 7 every minute;
(9) across the United States, one in 20 renters faces an
eviction every year, but for Black renters, the number is one
in 11;
(10) the Department of Housing and Urban Development does
not require the reporting or collection of eviction data,
including among households in federally assisted housing, and
should be required to do so;
(11) the American Civil Liberties Union's analysis of
Eviction Lab data found that, on average, ``Black renters had
evictions filed against them at nearly twice the rate of White
renters'' and that Black women specifically were filed against
for eviction at ``double the rate of White renters or higher in
17 of 36 [S]tates'';
(12) right to counsel is a matter of racial justice,
equity, and ensuring equal protection under the law;
(13) nationally, it is estimated that more than 81 percent
of landlords are represented in housing court proceedings,
compared to less than 3 percent of tenants in such proceedings;
(14) a Massachusetts COVID-19 legal help project found that
when providing full legal representation to low-income tenants,
90 percent of cases closed resulted in positive outcomes, with
70 percent of tenants remaining in their homes and 20 percent
of tenants having more time to find a place to live; and
(15) a California study of the Shriver Civil Counsel
Program found that 91 percent of Shriver cases ended with the
eviction record sealed, 81 percent with the eviction not
reported to a credit agency, and 71 percent with a neutral
reference provided by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved
nearly $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while paying
holdover damages or attorney's fees only half as often, and 71
percent of represented clients that had been required to move
had obtained a new rental unit, compared to 43 percent of
unrepresented tenants.
SEC. 3. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION.
(a) Reports by Housing Providers.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall require each State and local entity that
receives covered housing assistance to submit to the Secretary
annual reports under this section regarding evictions from
assisted dwelling units of the covered housing occurring during
the preceding year.
(2) Contents.--Each report submitted pursuant to subsection
(a) shall include--
(A) for each household subject to an eviction
proceeding during the year which the report covers--
(i) the reason or reasons that the eviction
proceeding was undertaken and, in the case of
any eviction proceeding undertaken in whole or
in part based on an arrearage in rent owed, the
amount of such arrearage and the amount of the
tenant's required contribution toward rent;
(ii) the date on which the household was
ordered to be evicted;
(iii) the address of the dwelling unit from
which the household was evicted;
(iv) whether the household was represented
by legal counsel in any eviction proceeding, if
such information is available;
(v) the number of days the household was
given to vacate the dwelling unit, if such
information is available; and
(vi) whether a writ of execution was issued
in regards to the eviction; and
(B) for each individual in any household subject to
an eviction proceeding during the year which the report
covers--
(i) the name of the individual;
(ii) the annual income of the individual in
the fiscal year prior to the year during which
the individual was evicted, if available;
(iii) the disability status of the
individual evicted, if available;
(iv) any available demographic information
about the individual including race, ethnicity,
age, and gender;
(v) any foster care history for the
individual, if available;
(vi) any serious physical health problems
or serious mental illness of the individual, if
such information is available;
(vii) any history of prior homelessness of
the individual, if such information is
available; and
(viii) whether the individual has a
criminal record, if such information is
available.
(3) Data requirements.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall develop requirements for States and local
entities that receive covered housing assistance that--
(A) provide that the provision of the information
being collected under this subsection shall be
voluntary on the part of any individual or household
who is or was a tenant in an assisted dwelling unit of
covered housing;
(B) provide limitations on how long the information
described in paragraph (2) shall be retained;
(C) establish data privacy and security
requirements for the information described in paragraph
(2) that include appropriate measures to ensure that
the privacy of the individuals and households is
protected and that the information, including any
personally identifiable information, is collected and
used only for the purpose of submitting reports under
paragraph (1); and
(D) confidentiality protections for data collected
about any individuals who are survivors of intimate
partner violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(b) Database.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a database
for collecting and maintaining information submitted in reports
pursuant to subsection (a).
(2) Disaggregation.--To the extent possible, such database
shall be disaggregated by the smallest census tract, block
group, or block possible for the data set, and by income, race,
gender, disability, and all other protected classes under the
Fair Housing Act.
(3) Privacy protections.--The Secretary shall establish
appropriate measures regarding information in the database to
ensure that, subject to paragraph (4), the privacy of the
individuals and households is protected and that any personally
identifiable information is not disclosed.
(4) Research.--The Secretary may make full and unredacted
information available to academic institutions for the purpose
of researching causes and solutions to evictions and adherence
to civil rights protections.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION RELATED LEGAL AID.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until
expended, for assistance under the Emergency Solutions Grants program
under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for--
(1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject to or at
risk of eviction with regard to any eviction-related legal
proceeding; and
(2) costs of any court fees associated with an eviction-
related legal proceeding for a tenant (excluding any attorneys
fees for the attorney of the landlord of the tenant).
SEC. 5. CONSUMER REPORTS.
(a) In General.--Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) An eviction, or any information related to an
eviction or a proceeding seeking eviction, of a consumer from a
rental dwelling.
``(10) Any adverse item of information related to rent or
utility arrears.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to any consumer report (as defined in section 603 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)) issued on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. EVICTION INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, issue rules that require each
owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit to ensure
that each tenant of such dwelling unit owned by such owner receives
information, in writing--
(1) not less than once each year regarding--
(A) the rights and responsibilities of such owner
with regard to eviction; and
(B) local organizations and resources that can
provide assistance in eviction-related matters; and
(2) upon provision of any notice of eviction, stating the
reason or reasons for the eviction.
(b) Hotline.--The Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, establish a hotline to provide
assistance with regard to eviction-related matters to tenants of
covered federally assisted rental dwelling units.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
(a) For purposes of this Act:
(1) Assistance.--The term ``assistance'' means any grant,
loan, subsidy, contract, cooperative agreement, or other form
of financial assistance, but such term does not include the
insurance or guarantee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or
mortgages.
(2) Covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit.--The
term ``covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means
a residential dwelling unit that--
(A) is made available for rental; and
(B)(i) for which assistance is provided, or that is
part of a housing project for which assistance is
provided, under any program administered by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, including--
(I) the public housing program under the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437 et seq.);
(II) the program for rental assistance
under section 8 of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
(III) the HOME Investment Partnerships
program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
12721 et seq.);
(IV) title IV of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et
seq.);
(V) the Housing Trust Fund program under
section 1338 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568);
(VI) the program for supportive housing for
the elderly under section 202 of the Housing
Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
(VII) the program for supportive housing
for persons with disabilities under section 811
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013);
(VIII) the AIDS Housing Opportunities
program under subtitle D of title VIII of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.);
(IX) the program for Native American
housing under the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996
(25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and
(X) the program for housing assistance for
Native Hawaiians under title VIII of the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-
Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221 et
seq.); or
(ii) is a property, or is on or in a property, that
has a federally backed mortgage loan or federally
backed multifamily mortgage loan, as such terms are
defined in section 4024(a) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C.
9058(a)).
(3) Covered housing.--The term ``covered housing'' means a
dwelling unit assisted with amounts made available, or a loan
or mortgage made, insured, or guaranteed, under any of the
following programs:
(A) The programs for tenant- and project-based
rental assistance under section 8 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
(B) The program for public housing under the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).
(C) The program for supportive housing for the
elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959
(12 U.S.C. 1701q).
(D) The program for supportive housing for persons
with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
8013).
(E) The community development block grant program
under title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
(F) The HOME Investment Partnerships program under
titles I and II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704 et seq.).
(G) The program for housing opportunities for
persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 12901 et seq.).
(H) The programs for homeless assistance under
title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.).
(4) Covered housing assistance.--The term ``covered housing
assistance'' means assistance under any program specified in
paragraph (3).
(5) Legal counsel.--The term ``legal counsel'' means full
representation by an attorney throughout proceedings in issue.
(6) Owner.--For the purposes of this Act, the term
``owner'' means any private person or entity, including a
cooperative, an agency of the Federal Government, or a public
housing agency, having the legal right to lease or sublease
dwelling units.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development.
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