I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8117 

To assist applicants for community development block grant recovery assistance not having traditionally accepted forms of documentation of ownership of property to prove such ownership, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2024 

Mrs. FLETCHER (for herself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. CLEAVER) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To assist applicants for community development block grant 

recovery assistance not having traditionally accepted 

forms of documentation of ownership of property to 

prove such ownership, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Heirs Empowerment 

5 and Inheritance Rights Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘HEIR Act 

6 of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY AND CDBG-MITIGATION 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) DOCUMENTATION OF PROPERTY OWNERSHIP.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 

5 and Urban Development shall amend the regulations 

6 at part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, 

7 to ensure that in providing assistance for the Com8 munity Development Block Grant program for Dis9 aster Recovery (CDBG–DR) and the Community 

10 Development Block Grant program for Mitigation 

11 (CDBG–MIT), in connection with a Presidentially 

12 declared disaster, in a case in which a homeowner is 

13 required to demonstrate ownership of a property 

14 heir property owners and any other owners not hav15 ing traditionally accepted forms of documentation of 

16 ownership of property are provided resources and 

17 options for proving ownership for purposes of receiv18 ing assistance under such Disaster Recovery and 

19 Mitigation programs. 

20 (2) ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION.—Accept21 able documentation for purposes paragraph (1) shall 

22 include— 

23 (A) a signed affidavit of ownership form 

24 developed pursuant to subsection (b); or 

25 (B) letters from local public or private 

26 schools, Federal or State benefit providers, and 


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1 social service organizations, including commu2 nity assistance programs and nonprofit organi3 zations. 

4 (3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub5 section, the term ‘‘heir property’’ means residential 

6 property for which title passed by operation of law 

7 through intestacy and is held by two or more heirs 

8 as tenants in common. 

9 (b) AFFIDAVIT OF OWNERSHIP.— 

10 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND USE.—The Secretary 

11 of Housing and Urban Development shall amend the 

12 regulations at part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations, to provide for the use of a standardized 

14 affidavit of ownership form, to be developed by the 

15 Secretary, by grantees of the Community Develop16 ment Block Grant program for Disaster Recovery 

17 (CDBG–DR) and the Community Development 

18 Block Grant program for Mitigation (CDBG–MIT,) 

19 in coordination with appropriate authorities of the 

20 applicable jurisdiction. Each grantee shall ensure 

21 that, at the time of application for housing repair 

22 and reconstruction assistance or mitigation assist23 ance under such programs— 


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1 (A) each applicant is informed of the exist2 ence of the affidavit of ownership and provided 

3 a copy at the time of application; and 

4 (B) copies of the form in English, Spanish, 

5 and any other locally predominant languages of 

6 the Presidentially-declared disaster area are ac7 cessible to the applicant. 

8 (2) PROHIBITION.—A grantee may not require 

9 that the signed affidavit of ownership form of an ap10 plicant be notarized. 

11 (c) EXEMPTION.—An affidavit of ownership form 

12 shall be exempt from any public comment periods or publi13 cation notices under part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations. 

Æ 


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