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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7743 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7743

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
         a national evictions database, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2020

  Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Norton, Ms. Haaland, Ms. 
Omar, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. San Nicolas, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Garcia 
 of Texas, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Evans, Ms. 
    Jackson Lee, Mr. Cooper, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. 
 Bonamici, Mr. Cardenas, and Ms. Spanberger) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
         a national evictions database, 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 ``We Need Eviction Data Now Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrative eviction.--The term ``administrative 
        eviction'' means a ruling in favor of the landlord in an 
        administrative forum within a public housing agency, such as 
        grievance procedures, to recover possession of residential 
        property from a tenant, including a tenant residing in a public 
        housing dwelling unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or 
        project-based assistance under section 8 of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
            (2) Court-ordered eviction.--The term ``court-ordered 
        eviction'' means a court ruling in favor of the landlord in a 
        legal action to recover possession of residential property from 
        a tenant, including a tenant residing in a public housing 
        dwelling unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or project-
        based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
            (3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (4) Executed eviction.--The term ``executed eviction'' 
        means a court order carried out by a sheriff's office or other 
        law enforcement agency that resulted in the landlord recovering 
        possession of residential property from a tenant, including a 
        tenant residing in a public housing dwelling unit or receiving 
        tenant-based assistance or project-based assistance under 
        section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
        1437f).
            (5) Illegal eviction.--The term ``illegal eviction'' means 
        self-help measures taken outside of the legal process for 
        eviction to recover possession of residential property from a 
        tenant, including a tenant residing in a public housing 
        dwelling unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or project-
        based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), such as--
                    (A) willfully interrupting or permitting the 
                interruption of essential items of services required by 
                the rental agreement;
                    (B) blocking or attempting to block the entry of a 
                tenant upon the premises;
                    (C) changing the locks or removing the front door 
                of the premises;
                    (D) removing the belongings of a tenant; and
                    (E) any other action defined as a self-help 
                eviction under State landlord-tenant law.
            (6) Local ordinance impacting eviction.--The term ``local 
        ordinance impacting eviction'' means a local ordinance that is 
        designed to address the number of emergency services calls 
        resulting from assault, sexual harassment, stalking, disorderly 
        conduct, or another type of behavior, situation, or condition 
        that results in the need for emergency services, that results 
        in loss of housing or limit the housing opportunities for 
        victims of crime, including victims of domestic violence, or 
        individuals with disabilities who may require emergency 
        services, abnegating local landlord-tenant law by--
                    (A) requiring, encouraging, or permitting the 
                eviction of a tenant or resident because of a certain 
                number of calls for emergency services;
                    (B) requiring, encouraging, or permitting the 
                eviction of a tenant or resident because of an arrest 
                even though the arrest has not resulted in the 
                conviction of that tenant or resident; or
                    (C) requiring, encouraging, or permitting the 
                eviction of a tenant or resident because of criminal 
                activity occurring at or near the place of residence of 
                the tenant or resident for which that tenant or 
                resident has not been convicted.
            (7) Public housing; public housing agency.--The terms 
        ``public housing'' and ``public housing agency'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 3(b) of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL DATABASE OF EVICTIONS.

    (a) Establishment of Database.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and 
maintain a database that--
            (1) is accessible to the Office of Policy Development and 
        Research and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity 
        of the Department and other employees of the Department as 
        determined necessary by the Secretary;
            (2) includes the data described in subsection (b) with 
        respect to court-ordered evictions, administrative evictions, 
        and illegal evictions in the United States; and
            (3) ensures appropriate security to prevent improper 
        disclosure of that data.
    (b) Contents.--The database established under subsection (a) shall 
contain the following data:
            (1) Data on each court-ordered or administrative 
        eviction.--With respect to each court-ordered or administrative 
        eviction case filed on or after the date on which the database 
        is established:
                    (A) Information on the tenant who is the defendant, 
                including--
                            (i) the name of the tenant;
                            (ii) the address of the residential 
                        property and the type of housing;
                            (iii) the number of household members 
                        residing in the property, including the number 
                        of children; and
                            (iv) whether the tenant is a recipient of 
                        tenant-based or project-based assistance under 
                        section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 
                        1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
                    (B) Information on the landlord who filed the 
                court-ordered or administrative eviction case, 
                including--
                            (i) the name of the landlord;
                            (ii) the name of the attorney or legally 
                        permitted representative of the landlord, or an 
                        indication that the landlord was self-
                        represented;
                            (iii) any amount that the landlord alleges 
                        that the tenant owes, including any penalties 
                        and attorney's fees; and
                            (iv) any costs incurred by the landlord for 
                        engaging in the eviction process, including--
                                    (I) court costs, such as filing 
                                fees;
                                    (II) the cost of legal 
                                representation; and
                                    (III) the cost to set out a tenant.
                    (C) Procedural data on the court-ordered or 
                administrative eviction case, including--
                            (i) the date, if applicable, on which the 
                        tenant was served with a notice to quit;
                            (ii) the date of the initial court filing 
                        by the landlord;
                            (iii) the reason why the landlord filed for 
                        eviction, such as nonpayment or breach of 
                        lease;
                            (iv) whether the eviction was as a result 
                        of the enforcement of a local ordinance 
                        impacting eviction;
                            (v) the final outcome of the court-ordered 
                        or administrative eviction case, including--
                                    (I) the disposition of the case, 
                                including whether the initial hearing 
                                resulted in a default judgment, 
                                dismissal, consent agreement, 
                                settlement, or trial;
                                    (II) the date of final disposition;
                                    (III) any amount owed to the 
                                landlord or tenant, if any, and over 
                                what time period;
                                    (IV) whether a judgment was made in 
                                favor of the tenant for code violations 
                                or warranty of habitability claims;
                                    (V) the overall outcome of the 
                                case, including whether the tenant paid 
                                any amounts to the landlord and whether 
                                the tenant stayed in the housing or was 
                                evicted from the housing; and
                                    (VI) whether the tenant had legal 
                                representation and the nature of that 
                                representation, including a lawyer, a 
                                law student participating in a clinic, 
                                or another non-lawyer trained to 
                                represent clients in landlord-tenant 
                                court, or whether the tenant was a 
                                lawyer representing himself or herself;
                            (vi) the total court fees incurred by the 
                        tenant, separated into categories of fees;
                            (vii) the total court fees incurred by the 
                        landlord;
                            (viii) whether the landlord had appeared in 
                        landlord-tenant court for a court-ordered or 
                        administrative eviction matter involving the 
                        landlord in the 6-month, 1-year, or 2-year 
                        period preceding the court-ordered or 
                        administrative eviction case; and
                            (ix) whether the tenant had appeared in 
                        landlord-tenant court for a court-ordered or 
                        administrative eviction matter involving the 
                        landlord in the 6-month, 1-year, or 2-year 
                        period preceding the court-ordered or 
                        administrative eviction case.
            (2) Aggregate data on court-ordered or administrative 
        eviction cases.--Aggregate data on court-ordered or 
        administrative eviction cases filed on or after the date on 
        which the database is established, including--
                    (A) the total number of cases filed, including a 
                breakdown by--
                            (i) the number of cases filed for 
                        nonpayment, other breach of lease, both 
                        nonpayment and breach of lease, and any other 
                        reason;
                            (ii) the number of cases filed because of 
                        the enforcement of a local ordinance impacting 
                        eviction; and
                            (iii) the outcome of the dispositive 
                        hearing, including default judgment, dismissal, 
                        a consent agreement, a trial, and a settlement 
                        with or without mediation;
                    (B) the number of tenants and landlords who showed 
                up for the dispositive hearing of a court-ordered or an 
                administrative eviction case, and how many were 
                represented by counsel;
                    (C) the average duration of a court-ordered or an 
                administrative eviction case, including the average 
                time from filing to first hearing;
                    (D) the average amount allegedly owed by a tenant, 
                per landlord;
                    (E) the average months of rent allegedly owed by a 
                tenant;
                    (F) the average amount paid by a tenant to resolve 
                the case and stay in the housing;
                    (G) the number of court-ordered or administrative 
                eviction cases resulting in a judgment in favor of the 
                tenant due to code violations or warranty of 
                habitability claims;
                    (H) the number and percentage of court-ordered or 
                administrative eviction cases broken down by age 
                bracket;
                    (I) the number and percentage of court-ordered or 
                administrative eviction cases with a tenant or 
                household with children;
                    (J) the number of tenants evicted from public 
                housing, broken down by each public housing agency;
                    (K) the number of tenants evicted from dwelling 
                units who were receiving tenant-based assistance or 
                project-based assistance under section 8 of the United 
                States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); and
                    (L) the number of court-ordered or administrative 
                eviction or cases where late fees were collected from 
                tenants by landlords, and the average amount of late 
                fees in those cases.
            (3) Data on executed evictions.--Local law enforcement or 
        any other official who executes an eviction shall report to the 
        adjudicating court or administrative forum sufficient data on 
        each executed eviction, such that the court may determine which 
        court-ordered or administrative evictions resulted in a law 
        enforcement officer or other local official removing the 
        tenant.
            (4) Data on tenant status following a court-ordered or 
        administrative eviction.--Each court or administrative forum 
        responsible for adjudicating evictions should contact landlords 
        to determine whether tenants who were the subject of a court-
        ordered or administrative eviction were removed or remained in 
        the property 90 days after the court-ordered or administrative 
        eviction.
            (5) Data on each illegal eviction.--With respect to each 
        illegal eviction occurring on or after the date on which the 
        database is established, as reported by local governments and 
        nonprofit organizations receiving grants under section 6:
                    (A) The data described in paragraph (1)(A).
                    (B) Information on the landlord, including--
                            (i) the name of the landlord; and
                            (ii) any amount that the landlord alleges 
                        that the tenant owes, including any penalties.
                    (C) The reason the tenant was evicted.
                    (D) If the tenant was evicted for nonpayment, the 
                amount owed.
                    (E) If the tenant was evicted for nonpayment, the 
                total number of months owed.
                    (F) Whether the tenant was evicted because of the 
                enforcement of a local ordinance impacting eviction.
            (6) Aggregate data on illegal evictions.--Aggregate data on 
        illegal eviction cases occurring on or after the date on which 
        the database is established, as reported by local governments 
        and nonprofit organizations receiving grants under section 6, 
        including--
                    (A) the average amount owed by a tenant, per 
                landlord;
                    (B) the average months of rent owed by a tenant;
                    (C) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases broken down by age bracket;
                    (D) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases with a tenant or household with children;
                    (E) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases broken down by race and ethnicity;
                    (F) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases broken down by gender;
                    (G) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases broken down by disability status; and
                    (H) the number and percentage of illegal eviction 
                cases based on the enforcement of a local ordinance 
                impacting eviction.
    (c) Submission of Data.--
            (1) Submission by courts.--Not later than March 1 of each 
        year, the Attorney General of each State shall submit to the 
        Secretary data on court-ordered eviction cases that occurred in 
        that State during the preceding calendar year for inclusion in 
        the database established under this section.
            (2) Submission to secretary.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General of the State 
                shall--
                            (i) ensure the accuracy and consistency of 
                        the data submitted under paragraph (1); and
                            (ii) upon receipt of the data, aggregate 
                        the data and report the individual and 
                        aggregate data to the Secretary in a timely 
                        manner.
                    (B) Submission by courts.--If the Attorney general 
                of the State fails to submit the data described in 
                paragraph (1) to the Secretary in a timely manner under 
                subparagraph (A), the clerk of each State or local 
                court that handles landlord-tenant cases may submit the 
                data directly to the Secretary.
    (d) Guidelines.--The Secretary shall promulgate rules and establish 
guidelines for the submission of data under subsection (c) and 
publication of data in the database established under this section, 
which shall include--
            (1) a technological solution that provides a single point 
        of entry for data submissions to reduce the burden on clerks of 
        the courts;
            (2) in consultation with local governments and judges, 
        appropriate safeguards for protecting the privacy of personally 
        identifiable information of vulnerable populations, which shall 
        incorporate confidentiality measures to ensure that any 
        personally identifiable information regarding a tenant who is a 
        victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
        or stalking is not disclosed during the process of data 
        submission and publication;
            (3) standards for--
                    (A) external researchers to be granted permission 
                to access data in the database, including both 
                aggregate data and, if necessary for the conduct of 
                their research, personally identifiable information, 
                with appropriate safeguards to ensure identities are 
                protected in any publicly released analysis;
                    (B) the establishment of a research data center to 
                support analysis of that data; and
                    (C) using generally accepted statistical principles 
                to validate the data, in consultation with outside 
                participants;
            (4) methods for collecting data required under subsection 
        (b) that are not currently collected;
            (5) establishing definitions for terms related to the 
        eviction process based on how they are legally defined by 
        courts of jurisdiction handling eviction cases; and
            (6) standards for local officials to identify and designate 
        social services agencies that may access the database to 
        provide targeted social services to those tenants.
    (e) Annual Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall 
make publicly available a report on the contents of the database 
established under this section.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this section.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM TO COLLECT DATA ON ILLEGAL EVICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to local 
governments and nonprofit organizations to set up programs to collect 
data from landlords on illegal evictions in the United States.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary for each of 
fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to provide grants under this section.

SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory 
committee to be known as the Committee on Eviction Research (in this 
section referred to as the ``Committee'') to advise the Secretary on 
matters relating to--
            (1) the creation, operation, maintenance, methodology, and 
        privacy matters of the statistical efforts relating to the 
        database established under section 5;
            (2) developing a research agenda to determine the causes 
        and consequences of evictions; and
            (3) illuminating policies or practices that reduce the 
        number of evictions or mitigate the consequences of evictions.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall be composed of 14 
        members who shall be appointed by the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the chair and ranking member of the Committee 
        on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
        chair and ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services 
        of the House of Representatives, of whom--
                    (A) 2 members shall be employees of the Department 
                with expertise in housing data and an interest in 
                issues relating to evictions and housing instability;
                    (B) 2 members shall be representatives of 
                landlords;
                    (C) 5 members shall be from the academic or 
                research community;
                    (D) 3 members shall be from civil society, of whom 
                not less than 2 shall be from entities that advocate 
                for civil rights related to housing or eviction; and
                    (E) 2 members shall be from private industry, civil 
                society, or the academic community with backgrounds in 
                data science and privacy.
            (2) Chair.--The Secretary shall appoint a chair of the 
        Committee from among the members of the Committee.
            (3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--
                    (A) In general.--A member of the Committee shall be 
                appointed for a period of 2 years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Committee; and
                            (ii) shall be filled in the same manner as 
                        the original appointment.
    (c) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet--
            (1) in person not less frequently than twice each year; and
            (2) via teleconference not less frequently than once every 
        2 months.
    (d) Powers.--In carrying out the duties of the Committee, the 
Committee may--
            (1) hold such hearings, sit, and act at such times and 
        places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 
        Committee determines to be appropriate;
            (2) issue reports, guidelines, and memoranda;
            (3) hold or host conferences and symposia;
            (4) enter into cooperative agreements with third-party 
        experts to obtain relevant advice or expertise, and oversee 
        staff;
            (5) establish subcommittees; and
            (6) establish rules of procedure.
    (e) Gifts.--The Committee may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or 
donations of services or property.
    (f) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Committee shall be allowed 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 
of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular 
places of business in the performance of service for the Committee.
    (g) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The chair of the Committee may, without 
        regard to the civil service laws (including regulations), 
        appoint and terminate an executive director and such other 
        additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
        Commission to perform its duties, except that the employment of 
        an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
        Commission.
            (2) Compensation.--The chair of the Committee may fix the 
        compensation of the executive director and other personnel 
        without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 
        of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification of 
        positions and General Schedule pay rates, except that the rate 
        of pay for the executive director and other personnel may not 
        exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
        under section 5316 of that title.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
Committee terminates, the Committee shall submit to the Secretary a 
report containing--
            (1) recommendations for statistical efforts relating to the 
        database established under section 5, including how additional 
        data may potentially be collected, consistent with civil rights 
        protections, to understand eviction trends by race, gender, 
        disability status, ethnicity, age, and immigration status; and
            (2) a research agenda to determine the causes and 
        consequences of evictions and to illuminate policies or 
        practices that reduce the number of evictions or mitigate the 
        consequences of evictions, including an assessment of the 
        housing challenges resulting from the prohibition on public 
        housing participation due to the prior eviction of an 
        individual.
    (i) No Additional Funds.--The amounts necessary to carry out this 
section shall be derived from amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
available to the Secretary.
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