Eviction Prevention Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3580 | Sponsor: Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Eviction Prevention Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide grants to state and local governments to make legal counsel available to eligible tenants undergoing eviction proceedings. An eligible tenant is an individual whose income is less than 125% of the federal poverty level.
The bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national database of evictions.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the national status of legal representation of tenants in eviction proceedings, including the effects of access to representation on case outcomes.

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and 
localities to provide the right to counsel in civil actions related to 
                   eviction, 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 ``Eviction Prevention Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR STATES AND UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO 
              PROVIDE ACCESS TO COUNSEL IN CIVIL ACTIONS RELATED TO 
              EVICTION.

    (a) Authorization.--The Attorney General is authorized to make 
grants to States and units of general local government to provide 
eligible individuals access to counsel in civil actions related to 
eviction.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A State or unit of general local government that 
receives a grant under this section shall use such funds to hire 
attorneys in positions that are dedicated solely to providing counsel 
described in subsection (a).
    (c) Application.--A State or unit of general local government 
seeking an application under this section shall submit an application 
to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require, 
including--
            (1) the rate of eviction for that State or unit of general 
        local government;
            (2) during the previous year, the number of individuals 
        subject to eviction in that State or unit of general local 
        government who were not represented by an attorney in eviction 
        proceedings;
            (3) a plan for how the State or unit of general local 
        government will use amounts from a grant under this section to 
        increase access to counsel; and
            (4) the status with respect of the right to counsel in 
        civil actions related to eviction in the State or unit of 
        general local government and, if the State or unit of general 
        local government does not have in effect laws providing a right 
        to counsel, such evidence as the Attorney General may require 
        that is sufficient to demonstrate that substantial progress has 
        been made to enact laws providing such a right.
    (d) Amount of Grant.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, a grant under this section shall be in an amount that 
is not less than $1,000,000, and which amount is determined based on--
            (1) the rate of eviction in the applicant State or unit of 
        general local government, compared to the national average rate 
        of eviction, as determined by the rates of eviction included 
        with each application under subsection (c);
            (2) the plan submitted by the applicant State or unit of 
        general local government in accordance with subsection (c)(3);
            (3) the status of right to counsel in applicant State or 
        unit of general local government; and
            (4) during the previous year, the number of individuals 
        subject to eviction in the applicant State or unit of general 
        local government who were not represented by an attorney in 
        eviction proceedings.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $125,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2022 through 2026.

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 to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

SEC. 4. GAO STUDY.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study 
and submit a report to Congress on evictions in the United States, 
including an analysis of ways in which the legal system fails to 
provide sufficient protections from eviction for tenants, the rate of 
representation of tenants and landlords, the effect of full 
representation on default rates, case outcomes, and eviction dockets as 
compared to cases where the tenant lacks representation or has pro se 
assistance, and the potential cost savings from providing 
representation.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Access to counsel.--The term ``access to counsel'' 
        means full representation by an attorney.
            (2) Eligible individual.--The term ``eligible individual'' 
        means an individual whose income is less than 125 percent of 
        the Federal poverty level.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the States of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and any other 
        territory or possession of the United States.
            (4) Unit of general local government.--The term ``unit of 
        general local government'' means any city, town, township, 
        county, parish, village, or other general purpose political 
        subdivision of a State.
            (5) Rate of eviction.--The term ``rate of eviction'' means 
        the number of judgments of eviction entered in that 
        jurisdiction per capita during the previous fiscal year.
            (6) 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).
            (7) 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).
            (8) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (9) 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).
            (10) 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.
            (11) 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.
            (12) 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)).
            (13) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
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