Ensuring HOMES Act
Bill: H.R.152 | Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. (D-IL)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Ensuring Homeowner and Occupant Monetary Encouragement and Stability Act or the Ensuring HOMES Act
This bill sets forth additional housing protections during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency period.
Mortgage holders and lenders are prohibited from requiring payment on a mortgage deferred during the COVID-19 emergency period until the later of (1) the last day of the loan term, or (2) the end of the deferral period.
The bill establishes the Tenant Protection Program that provides loans to landlords who waive rent during the COVID-19 emergency period. The bill also provides for forgiveness of these loans if the landlord provides lease extensions and agrees not to evict tenants.
This bill applies retroactively to the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency period and applies to any future declared COVID-19 emergency period.

To require any payments of principal or interest on a residential 
 mortgage loan that are deferred during a COVID-19 emergency period to 
  be due no earlier than the last day of the loan term, 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 ``Ensuring Homeowner and Occupant 
Monetary Encouragement and Stability Act'' or the ``Ensuring HOMES 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF DEFERRED RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE PAYMENTS.

    (a) In General.--With respect to any payments of principal or 
interest on a residential mortgage loan that are deferred during a 
COVID-19 emergency period (whether pursuant to Federal law or 
otherwise), the applicable holder or servicer of such loan may not 
require such payments to be due until the later of--
            (1) the last day of the loan term; or
            (2) the end of the deferral period.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
as prohibiting a borrower from making payments on a loan before the 
date specified under subsection (a).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Residential mortgage loan.--The term ``residential 
        mortgage loan'' means any loan which is secured by residential 
        real property designed principally for the occupancy of 
        families, regardless of the number of families by which the 
        real property is designed to be occupied.
            (2) COVID-19 emergency period.--The term ``COVID-19 
        emergency period'' means the period that--
                    (A) begins upon a date that the President declares 
                an emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et 
                seq.) relating to a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 
                pandemic; and
                    (B) ends upon the date of the termination by the 
                Federal Emergency Management Administration of such 
                emergency declaration.

SEC. 3. TENANT PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a 
program to be known as the Tenant Protection Program, under which the 
Secretary shall make quarterly loans to landlords who waive rent owned 
by tenants during the COVID-19 emergency period, in accordance with 
this section.
    (b) Loan Details.--
            (1) Loan amount.--A loan provided under this section shall 
        be in an amount equal to no more than half of the amount of 
        rent that a landlord anticipates waiving during the applicable 
        quarter.
            (2) Fees; interest.--The Secretary may not charge any fee 
        in connection with a loan made under this section and may not 
        charge interest on any such loan in an amount greater than 4 
        percent.
    (c) Loan Forgiveness.--The Secretary shall forgive any loan made 
under this section to a landlord if--
            (1) the landlord permits each tenant of the landlord to 
        extend any lease until the date that is 60 days after the end 
        of the COVID-19 emergency period, if such lease would have 
        terminated before such date; and
            (2) the landlord enters into an agreement with the 
        Secretary under which the landlord will not evict any tenant 
        until the date that is 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 
        emergency period.
    (d) COVID-19 Emergency Period Defined.--In this section, the term 
``COVID-19 emergency period'' has the meaning given that term under 
section 2.
    (e) 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. RULES OF APPLICATION.

    (a) Application to Existing and New Emergencies.--This Act shall 
apply to a COVID-19 emergency period (as defined under section 2) in 
existence on the date of enactment of this Act or beginning after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Retroactive Effect.--With respect to the COVID-19 emergency 
period in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
provisions of this Act shall apply retroactively to actions taken 
beginning on the first day of such emergency period.
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