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. 

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 ‘‘Housing Emergencies 

5 Lifeline Program Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘HELP Act of 

6 2020’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) housing is fundamentally an issue of eco2 nomic and racial justice and a critical determinant 

3 of health; 

4 (2) the 2008 financial crisis was a Great De5 pression-level event for Black Americans, wiping out 

6 decades of gains in Black homeownership, which has 

7 now fallen to its lowest rate since the passage of the 

8 Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) in 1968; 

9 (3) Black borrowers were 76 percent more like10 ly to have lost their home to foreclosure than White 

11 borrowers during the foreclosure crisis; 

12 (4) Black and Hispanic households continue to 

13 be about twice as likely as White households to rent 

14 their homes; 

15 (5) in 2016, 58 percent of Black household 

16 heads and 54 percent of Hispanic household heads 

17 were renting their homes, compared with 28 percent 

18 of White household heads; 

19 (6) while cost burdens affect households of all 

20 races and ethnicities, Black and Brown renters are 

21 much more likely to be burdened, with 55 percent of 

22 Black renters considered to be rent burdened com23 pared to only 43 percent of White renters; 

24 (7) Black households account for 12 percent of 

25 all households in the United States, but 19 percent 


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1 of all renters and 26 of all renter households with 

2 extremely low incomes; 

3 (8) prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, it was 

4 estimated that around 3,700,000 evictions are filed 

5 every year, a rate of about 7 every minute; 

6 (9) across the United States, 1 in 20 renters 

7 faces an eviction every year, but for Black renters, 

8 the number is 1 in 11; 

9 (10) every day families are displaced by the 

10 eviction crisis, a reality that is only further exacer11 bated by the COVID–19 pandemic and that falls 

12 disproportionately on Black renters, in particular 

13 Black women renters; 

14 (11) the Department of Housing and Urban 

15 Development does not require the reporting or col16 lection of eviction data, including among households 

17 in federally assisted housing, and should be required 

18 to do so; 

19 (12) the American Civil Liberties Union’s anal20 ysis of Eviction Lab data found that, on average, 

21 ‘‘[B]lack renters had evictions filed against them at 

22 nearly twice the rate of [W]hite renters’’ and that 

23 Black women specifically were filed against for evic24 tion at ‘‘double the rate of [W]hite renters or higher 

25 in 17 of 36 [S]tates’’; 


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1 (13) right to counsel is a matter of racial jus2 tice, equity, and ensuring equal protection under the 

3 law; 

4 (14) in the United States, it is estimated that 

5 more than 90 percent of landlords are represented in 

6 housing court proceedings, compared to less than 10 

7 percent of tenants in those proceedings; 

8 (15) a Massachusetts study found that tenants 

9 who were provided full representation were twice as 

10 likely to remain in their homes, saved 4 times as 

11 much rent, and paid $0 to their landlord as com12 pared to those receiving limited or no legal assist13 ance; and 

14 (16) a California study of the Shriver Civil 

15 Counsel Program found that 91 percent of Shriver 

16 cases ended with the eviction record sealed, 81 per17 cent with the eviction not reported to a credit agen18 cy, and 71 percent with a neutral reference provided 

19 by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved nearly 

20 $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while pay21 ing holdover damages or attorney’s fees only half as 

22 often, and 71 percent of represented clients that had 

23 been required to move had obtained a new rental 

24 unit, compared to 43 percent of unrepresented ten25 ants. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘assistance’’— 

4 (A) means any grant, loan, subsidy, con5 tract, cooperative agreement, or other form of 

6 financial assistance; and 

7 (B) does not include the insurance or guar8 antee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or 

9 mortgages. 

10 (2) COVERED FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL

11 DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘covered federally as12 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 programs for tenant- and project22 based rental assistance under section 8 of the 

23 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

24 1437f); 

25 (C) the HOME Investment Partnerships 

26 program under subtitle A of title II of the 


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1 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Hous2 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.); 

3 (D) the programs for homeless assistance 

4 under title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

5 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.); 

6 (E) the program for supportive housing for 

7 the elderly under section 202 of the Housing 

8 Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 

9 (F) the program for supportive housing for 

10 persons with disabilities under section 811 of 

11 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

12 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 

13 (G) the program for housing opportunities 

14 for persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title 

15 VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford16 able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.); 

17 (H) the Housing Trust Fund program 

18 under section 1338 of the Housing and Com19 munity Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 

20 4568); 

21 (I) the program for Native American hous22 ing under the Native American Housing Assist23 ance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 

24 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and 


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1 (J) the program for housing assistance for 

2 Native Hawaiians under title VIII of the Native 

3 American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter4 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.). 

5 (3) COVERED HOUSING.—The term ‘‘covered 

6 housing’’ means a dwelling unit assisted with 

7 amounts made available, or a loan or mortgage 

8 made, insured, or guaranteed, under— 

9 (A) any of the programs described in sub10 paragraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (2); 

11 or 

12 (B) the community development block 

13 grant program under title I of the Housing and 

14 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

15 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

16 (4) COVERED HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The term 

17 ‘‘covered housing assistance’’ means assistance pro18 vided under any program described in paragraph 

19 (3). 

20 (5) LEGAL COUNSEL.—The term ‘‘legal coun21 sel’’ means full representation by an attorney 

22 throughout proceedings in issue. 

23 (6) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means any 

24 private person or entity, including a cooperative, an 

25 agency of the Federal Government, or a public housVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4399.IS S4399

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1 ing agency, having the legal right to lease or sub2 lease dwelling units. 

3 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

5 SEC. 4. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION. 

6 (a) REPORTS BY HOUSING PROVIDERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

8 each State and local entity that receives covered 

9 housing assistance to submit to the Secretary annual 

10 reports under this section regarding evictions from 

11 assisted dwelling units of the covered housing occur12 ring during the preceding year. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

14 paragraph (1) shall include— 

15 (A) for each household subject to an evic16 tion proceeding during the year covered by the 

17 report— 

18 (i) the reason or reasons that the evic19 tion proceeding was undertaken and, in the 

20 case of any eviction proceeding undertaken 

21 in whole or in part based on an arrearage 

22 in rent owed, the amount of the arrearage 

23 and the amount of the required contribu24 tion of the tenant toward rent; 


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1 (ii) the date on which the household 

2 was ordered to be evicted; 

3 (iii) the address of the dwelling unit 

4 from which the household was evicted; 

5 (iv) whether the household was rep6 resented by legal counsel in any eviction 

7 proceeding, if that information is available; 

8 (v) the number of days the household 

9 was given to vacate the dwelling unit, if 

10 that information is available; and 

11 (vi) whether a writ of execution was 

12 issued in regards to the eviction; and 

13 (B) for each individual in any household 

14 subject to an eviction proceeding during the 

15 year covered by the report— 

16 (i) the name of the individual; 

17 (ii) the annual income of the indi18 vidual in the fiscal year prior to the year 

19 during which the individual was evicted, if 

20 that information is available; 

21 (iii) the disability status of the indi22 vidual evicted; 

23 (iv) any available demographic infor24 mation about the individual, including 

25 race, ethnicity, age, and gender; 


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1 (v) any foster care history for the in2 dividual; 

3 (vi) any serious physical health prob4 lems or serious mental illness of the indi5 vidual, if that information is available; 

6 (vii) any history of prior homelessness 

7 of the individual, if that information is 

8 available; and 

9 (viii) whether the individual has a 

10 criminal record, if that information is 

11 available. 

12 (3) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

13 shall develop requirements for States and local enti14 ties that receive covered housing assistance that— 

15 (A) provide that the provision of the infor16 mation being collected under this subsection 

17 shall be voluntary on the part of any individual 

18 or household who is or was a tenant in an as19 sisted dwelling unit of covered housing; 

20 (B) provide limitations on how long the in21 formation described in paragraph (2) shall be 

22 retained; 

23 (C) establish data privacy and security re24 quirements for the information described in 

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1 ures to ensure that the privacy of the individ2 uals and households is protected and that the 

3 information, including any personally identifi4 able information, is collected and used only for 

5 the purpose of submitting reports under para6 graph (1); and 

7 (D) provide confidentiality protections for 

8 data collected about any individuals who are 

9 survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual 

10 assault, or stalking. 

11 (b) DATABASE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

13 a database for collecting and maintaining informa14 tion contained in reports submitted under subsection 

15 (a). 

16 (2) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary 

17 shall establish appropriate measures regarding infor18 mation in the database established under paragraph 

19 (1) to ensure that the privacy of the individuals and 

20 households is protected and that any personally 

21 identifiable information is not disclosed. 

22 (3) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent possible, 

23 the database established under paragraph (1) shall 

24 be disaggregated by race, gender, income, and dis25 ability. 


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1 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION-RELATED LEGAL AID. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain 

4 available until expended, for assistance under the Emer5 gency Solutions Grants program under subtitle B of title 

6 IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for— 

8 (1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject 

9 to or at risk of eviction with regard to any eviction10 related legal proceeding; and 

11 (2) costs of any court fees associated with an 

12 eviction-related legal proceeding for a tenant, exclud13 ing any attorney’s fees for the attorney of the land14 lord of the tenant. 

15 SEC. 6. CONSUMER REPORTS. 

16 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et 

17 seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) by inserting after section 605B (15 U.S.C. 

19 1681c–2) the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 605C. ADVERSE INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUS21 ING COURT RECORDS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 

23 may only furnish a consumer report containing an adverse 

24 item of information relating to a landlord-tenant action 

25 if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the landlord in the action prevailed in a 

2 final judgment; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the tenant in that action was not a minor 

4 on the date that the court claim was filed. 

5 ‘‘(b) 1-YEAR LIMITATION.—A consumer reporting 

6 agency shall remove from a consumer report any adverse 

7 item of information relating to a landlord-tenant action 

8 not later than 1 year after the date of the landlord-tenant 

9 action.’’; and 

10 (2) in the table of contents, by inserting after 

11 the item relating to section 605B the following: 

‘‘605C. Adverse information relating to housing court records.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. EVICTION INFORMATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

15 regulations that require each owner of a covered federally 

16 assisted rental dwelling unit to ensure that each tenant 

17 of the dwelling unit owned by the owner receives informa18 tion not less than once each year about— 

19 (1) the rights and responsibilities of the owner 

20 with regard to eviction; and 

21 (2) local organizations and resources that can 

22 provide assistance in eviction-related matters. 

23 (b) HOTLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

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1 lated matters to tenants of covered federally assisted rent2 al dwelling units. 

Æ 


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