Title: Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act of 2020
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act of 2020
This bill imposes limits on foreclosures and evictions in areas affected by a declared disaster or emergency.
A servicer of certain federally backed residential mortgages for a property in such an area may not initiate the foreclosure process or take other foreclosure-related actions relating to that property unless the property is vacant or abandoned.
Similarly, the landlord of a dwelling in such an area may not (1) initiate eviction proceedings against a tenant in that dwelling for nonpayment of rent or fees, (2) charge that tenant a penalty for nonpayment of rent, or (3) otherwise require the tenant to vacate the dwelling.
These restrictions shall be in place until the declared emergency or disaster ends or the unemployment rate for the affected state remains below a certain threshold for two consecutive months, whichever occurs later.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8142 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8142

   To provide for a moratorium on evictions from and foreclosures on 
    residences during a major disaster or emergency, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 1, 2020

   Mrs. Demings (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Norton, Mr. Lawson of 
Florida, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Carson of Indiana, and Mr. Thompson 
 of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Education and Labor, 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 for a moratorium on evictions from and foreclosures on 
    residences during a major disaster or emergency, 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 ``Federal Disaster Housing Stability 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FORECLOSURE MORATORIUM.

    Except with respect to a vacant or abandoned property, in the case 
of any disaster, a servicer of a Federally backed mortgage loan on a 
property located within the disaster area with respect to such disaster 
may not, during the moratorium period with respect to such area, 
initiate any judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process, move for a 
foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or execute a foreclosure-related 
eviction or foreclosure sale.

SEC. 3. EVICTION MORATORIUM.

    (a) Moratorium.--In the case of any disaster, the lessor of a 
covered dwelling that is located within the disaster area with respect 
to such disaster may not, during the moratorium period with respect to 
such area--
            (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
            (2) charge fees, penalties, or other charges to the tenant 
        related to such nonpayment of rent.
    (b) Notice.--In the case of any disaster, the lessor of a covered 
dwelling unit that is located within the disaster area with respect to 
such disaster--
            (1) may not require the tenant to vacate the covered 
        dwelling unit before the date that is 30 days after the date on 
        which the lessor provides the tenant with a notice to vacate; 
        and
            (2) may not issue a notice to vacate under paragraph (1) 
        until after the expiration of the moratorium period with 
        respect to such area.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, 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 
                under State law; and
            (2) Disaster.--The term ``disaster'' means--
                    (A) any national emergency declared by the 
                President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 
                1601 et seq.); or
                    (B) any major disaster or emergency declared by the 
                President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
                and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.).
            (3) Disaster area.--The term ``disaster area'' means, with 
        respect to a disaster, any area that at any time is subject to 
        the declaration of such disaster.
            (4) Dwelling.--The term ``dwelling''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term in section 802 
                of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3602); and
                    (B) includes houses and dwellings described in 
                section 803(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)).
            (5) Federally backed mortgage loan.--The term ``Federally 
        backed mortgage loan'' includes any loan (other than temporary 
        financing such as a construction loan) that--
                    (A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien on 
                residential real property (including individual units 
                of condominiums and cooperatives) designed principally 
                for the occupancy of from 1 to 4 families, including 
                any such secured loan, the proceeds of which are used 
                to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured by the 
                same property; and
                    (B) is made in whole or in part, or insured, 
                guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by 
                any officer or agency of the Federal Government or 
                under or in connection with a housing or urban 
                development program administered by the Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related 
                program administered by any other such officer or 
                agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal 
                Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National 
                Mortgage Association.
            (6) Moratorium period.--The term ``moratorium period'' 
        means, with respect to a disaster area, the period that--
                    (A) begins upon the declaration of the disaster for 
                which such declaration was made; and
                    (B) ends upon the later of--
                            (i) the date on which the effectiveness of 
                        such declaration terminates for such area; or
                            (ii) the date on which a certification 
                        under section 5(b) for the State in which such 
                        area is located is published in the Federal 
                        Register.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF MORATORIUM PERIOD BY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.

    (a) Monitoring.--In the case of a disaster, the Secretary of Labor 
shall continually monitor the unemployment rate for each State in which 
any disaster area with respect to such disaster is located to determine 
the first time after the beginning of the moratorium period with 
respect to any such disaster area that the unemployment rate for the 
State has been less than 8.5 percent for each of 2 consecutive calendar 
months, each such month commencing after the beginning of the 
moratorium period.
    (b) Certification.--In the case of a disaster, the Secretary of 
Labor shall, upon making a determination that the unemployment rate for 
a State, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has been less 
than 8.5 percent for each of 2 consecutive calendar months, each such 
month commencing after the beginning of the moratorium period with 
respect to a disaster area located within such State, immediately cause 
to be published in the Federal Register a certification of such 
unemployment rate for such months for such State for purposes of 
determining the termination of the moratorium period for such disaster 
area.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.

    This Act shall apply with respect to any disaster for which the 
declaration of the disaster is in effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and any disaster for which such declaration is made after 
such date of enactment.
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