```

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7402 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7402

 To provide a temporary moratorium on eviction filings, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2020

    Mr. Garcia of Illinois (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. 
Pressley, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Haaland, Ms. Tlaib, 
 Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Norton, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Serrano, 
 Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Espaillat, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Waters, Mr. McNerney, Ms. 
 Judy Chu of California, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Carson of 
Indiana, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, 
  Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Hastings, and Mr. Mfume) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
    addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To provide a temporary moratorium on eviction filings, 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 ``Protecting Renters from Eviction and 
Fees Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. EVICTION MORATORIUM.

    The CARES Act is amended by striking section 4024 (15 U.S.C. 9058; 
Public Law 116-136; 134 Stat. 492) and inserting the following new 
section:

``SEC. 4024. TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTION FILINGS.

    ``(a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) according to the 2018 American Community Survey, 36 
        percent of households in the United States--more than 43 
        million households--are renters;
            ``(2) in 2019 alone, renters in the United States paid $512 
        billion in rent;
            ``(3) according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of 
        Harvard University, 20.8 million renters in the United States 
        spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing in 2018 
        and 10.9 million renters spent more than 50 percent of their 
        incomes on housing in the same year;
            ``(4) according to data from the Department of Labor, more 
        than 40 million people have filed for unemployment since the 
        COVID-19 pandemic began;
            ``(5) the impacts of the spread of COVID-19, which is now 
        considered a global pandemic, are expected to negatively impact 
        the incomes of potentially millions of renter households, 
        making it difficult for them to pay their rent on time; and
            ``(6) evictions in the current environment would increase 
        homelessness and housing instability, which would be 
        counterproductive towards the public health goals of keeping 
        individuals in their homes to the greatest extent possible.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            ``(1) Covered dwelling.--The term `covered dwelling' means 
        a dwelling that is occupied by a tenant--
                    ``(A) pursuant to a residential lease; or
                    ``(B) without a lease or with a lease terminable at 
                will under State law.
            ``(2) Dwelling.--The term `dwelling'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
        3602) and includes houses and dwellings described in section 
        803(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)).
    ``(c) Moratorium.--During the 1-year period beginning on March 27, 
2020, the lessor of a covered dwelling may not--
            ``(1) make, or cause to be made, any filing with the court 
        of jurisdiction to initiate a legal action to recover 
        possession of the covered dwelling from the tenant for 
        nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges, or for reasons 
        motivated wholly or in part by the nonpayment of rent or other 
        fees or charges by the tenant; or
            ``(2) charge fees, penalties, or other charges to the 
        tenant related to such nonpayment of rent.
    ``(d) Notice To Vacate After Moratorium Expiration Date.--After the 
expiration of the period described in subsection (c), the lessor of a 
covered dwelling may not require the tenant to vacate the covered 
dwelling by reason of nonpayment of rent or other fees or charges 
before the expiration of the 30-day period that begins upon the 
provision by the lessor to the tenant, after the expiration of the 
period described in subsection (c), of a notice to vacate the covered 
dwelling.''.
                                 <all>
```