Title: HOMES Act of 2020
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Helping Owners Maintain Economic Security Act of 2020 or the HOMES Act of 2020
This bill requires servicers of federally-backed mortgage loans to notify borrowers of their eligibility for loan forbearance under existing COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) economic aid programs. Servicers must provide notice not later than 30 days after enactment. Servicers are exempted from providing notice to borrowers who have previously requested forbearance.
Federal housing agencies must make available to servicers model notices no later than 7 days after enactment.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7858 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7858

 To require the provision of notice to homeowners regarding available 
   housing relief to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2020

  Mr. Evans introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs, 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 require the provision of notice to homeowners regarding available 
   housing relief to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ``Helping Owners Maintain Economic 
Security Act of 2020'' or the ``HOMES Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE TO HOMEOWNERS.

    Section 4022 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9056) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting after ``covered 
        period,'' the following: ``which term for purposes of this 
        section shall have the meaning given such term in section 
        623(a)(1)(F)(i) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act,''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Notice to Homeowners of Available Relief.--
            ``(1) Notice requirement.--Subject only to paragraph (3), 
        not later than the expiration of the 30-day period beginning 
        upon the date of the enactment of this subsection, each 
        servicer of a Federally backed mortgage loan shall send, by 
        first class United States mail, written notice to the mortgagor 
        sufficient to inform such mortgagor in plain language of the 
        mortgagor's eligibility to request forbearance under subsection 
        (b).
            ``(2) Content.--The notice established pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall include a statement--
                    ``(A) that section 4022(b) of the CARES Act 
                provides that, during the covered period, a borrower 
                with a Federally backed mortgage loan experiencing a 
                financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the 
                COVID-19 emergency may receive a forbearance on such 
                loan for up to 180 days, regardless of delinquency 
                status, by submitting a request to the loan servicer 
                and affirming that the borrower is experiencing a 
                financial hardship during the COVID-19 emergency, and 
                that such forbearance period shall be extended for an 
                additional 180 days at the request of the borrower;
                    ``(B) explaining that the mortgagor can seek 
                language assistance and general help through a housing 
                counseling agency in the area that is approved by the 
                Department of Housing and Urban Development and 
                providing information on how to find such an approved 
                housing counseling agency;
                    ``(C) that the moratorium under the CARES Act does 
                not terminate the mortgagor's obligation to make 
                payments due under the mortgage;
                    ``(D) that mortgagor will owe any mortgage 
                arrearages that accrue during the moratorium under the 
                CARES Act; and
                    ``(E) that mortgagors are encouraged to contact 
                their mortgage servicer if they are having trouble 
                making payments due under their mortgage.
            ``(3) Exemption.--A servicer shall not be required to send 
        notice pursuant to paragraph (1) to any mortgagor who has 
        previously requested forbearance under subsection (b).''.

SEC. 3. NOTICE TO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING MORTGAGORS.

    Section 4023 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9057) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(f) Notice to Borrower of Available Relief.--
            ``(1) Notice requirement.--Subject only to paragraph (3), 
        not later than the expiration of the 30-day period beginning 
        upon the date of the enactment of this subsection, each 
        servicer of a Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan shall 
        send, by first class United States mail, written notice to the 
        multifamily borrower under such loan sufficient to inform such 
        borrower in plain language of the borrower's eligibility to 
        request forbearance under subsection (b).
            ``(2) Content.--The notice established pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall include a statement--
                    ``(A) explaining that the borrower can seek 
                language assistance and general help through a housing 
                counseling agency in the area that is approved by the 
                Department of Housing and Urban Development and 
                providing information on how to find such an approved 
                housing counseling agency;
                    ``(B) that the forbearance under the CARES Act does 
                not terminate the borrower's obligation to make 
                payments due under the mortgage;
                    ``(C) that borrower will owe any mortgage 
                arrearages that accrue during the forbearance under the 
                CARES Act;
                    ``(D) explaining the renter protections under 
                section subsection (d) of section 4023 of the CARES Act 
                and the prohibitions under subsection (e) of such 
                section; and
                    ``(E) that borrowers are encouraged to contact 
                their mortgage servicer if they are having trouble 
                making payments due under their mortgage.
            ``(3) Exemption.--A servicer shall not be required to send 
        notice pursuant to paragraph (1) to any multifamily borrower 
        who has previously requested forbearance under subsection 
        (b).''.

SEC. 4. MODEL NOTICES.

    (a) Development.--Not later than the expiration of the 7-day period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Federal National Mortgage 
Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, at the 
direction of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, shall 
jointly establish notices that are sufficient to comply with the 
requirements of sections 4022(d) and 4023(f) of the CARES Act, as added 
by the amendments made by sections 2 and 3 of this Act, respectively.
    (b) Availability.--Such agency heads and entities shall take such 
actions as may be necessary--
            (1) to publicize the availability of such notices to 
        servicers of a Federally backed mortgage loans and Federally 
        backed multifamily mortgage loans; and
            (2) to make such notices publicly and widely available for 
        use by servicers of a Federally backed mortgage loans and 
        Federally backed multifamily mortgage loans.
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