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

Summary:
Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program Act of 2020 or the HELP Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a database of information regarding evictions from federally assisted dwellings, limits the inclusion of information relating to landlord-tenant actions in consumer reports, and otherwise provides eviction-related assistance and services.
Specifically, the bill requires states and local entities receiving federal housing assistance to submit to HUD, for inclusion in the database, certain information regarding evictions from assisted dwelling units in the past year. Such information must include, among other things, the reason for eviction and whether the household was represented by legal counsel in the proceedings.
Additionally, consumer reporting agencies may include an adverse item of information relating to a landlord-tenant action in a consumer report only if the landlord prevailed in the action and the tenant was an adult on the date the court claim was filed. Any such information must be removed from a consumer report one year after the date of the action.
Further, the bill authorizes additional Emergency Solutions Grants to provide legal counsel and pay court fees for tenants subject to or at risk of eviction.
Finally, HUD must require owners of federally assisted rental units to annually provide information to each tenant regarding the rights and responsibilities of the owner with respect to eviction and local organizations and resources that can provide assistance in eviction-related matters. HUD must also establish an eviction hotline to provide assistance to tenants of these units.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4399 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4399

To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs 
 for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-
      related records in consumer reports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2020

  Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs 
 for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-
      related records in consumer reports, 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 ``Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program 
Act of 2020'' or the ``HELP Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) housing is fundamentally an issue of economic and 
        racial justice and a critical determinant of health;
            (2) the 2008 financial crisis was a Great Depression-level 
        event for Black Americans, wiping out decades of gains in Black 
        homeownership, which has now fallen to its lowest rate since 
        the passage of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) in 
        1968;
            (3) Black borrowers were 76 percent more likely to have 
        lost their home to foreclosure than White borrowers during the 
        foreclosure crisis;
            (4) Black and Hispanic households continue to be about 
        twice as likely as White households to rent their homes;
            (5) in 2016, 58 percent of Black household heads and 54 
        percent of Hispanic household heads were renting their homes, 
        compared with 28 percent of White household heads;
            (6) while cost burdens affect households of all races and 
        ethnicities, Black and Brown renters are much more likely to be 
        burdened, with 55 percent of Black renters considered to be 
        rent burdened compared to only 43 percent of White renters;
            (7) Black households account for 12 percent of all 
        households in the United States, but 19 percent of all renters 
        and 26 of all renter households with extremely low incomes;
            (8) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that 
        around 3,700,000 evictions are filed every year, a rate of 
        about 7 every minute;
            (9) across the United States, 1 in 20 renters faces an 
        eviction every year, but for Black renters, the number is 1 in 
        11;
            (10) every day families are displaced by the eviction 
        crisis, a reality that is only further exacerbated by the 
        COVID-19 pandemic and that falls disproportionately on Black 
        renters, in particular Black women renters;
            (11) the Department of Housing and Urban Development does 
        not require the reporting or collection of eviction data, 
        including among households in federally assisted housing, and 
        should be required to do so;
            (12) the American Civil Liberties Union's analysis of 
        Eviction Lab data found that, on average, ``[B]lack renters had 
        evictions filed against them at nearly twice the rate of 
        [W]hite renters'' and that Black women specifically were filed 
        against for eviction at ``double the rate of [W]hite renters or 
        higher in 17 of 36 [S]tates'';
            (13) right to counsel is a matter of racial justice, 
        equity, and ensuring equal protection under the law;
            (14) in the United States, it is estimated that more than 
        90 percent of landlords are represented in housing court 
        proceedings, compared to less than 10 percent of tenants in 
        those proceedings;
            (15) a Massachusetts study found that tenants who were 
        provided full representation were twice as likely to remain in 
        their homes, saved 4 times as much rent, and paid $0 to their 
        landlord as compared to those receiving limited or no legal 
        assistance; and
            (16) a California study of the Shriver Civil Counsel 
        Program found that 91 percent of Shriver cases ended with the 
        eviction record sealed, 81 percent with the eviction not 
        reported to a credit agency, and 71 percent with a neutral 
        reference provided by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved 
        nearly $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while paying 
        holdover damages or attorney's fees only half as often, and 71 
        percent of represented clients that had been required to move 
        had obtained a new rental unit, compared to 43 percent of 
        unrepresented tenants.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Assistance.--The term ``assistance''--
                    (A) means any grant, loan, subsidy, contract, 
                cooperative agreement, or other form of financial 
                assistance; and
                    (B) does not include the insurance or guarantee of 
                a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or mortgages.
            (2) Covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit.--The 
        term ``covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means 
        a residential dwelling unit that is made available for rental 
        and for which assistance is provided, or that is part of a 
        housing project for which assistance is provided, under any 
        program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development, including--
                    (A) the public housing program under the United 
                States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
                    (B) the programs for tenant- and project-based 
                rental assistance under section 8 of the United States 
                Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
                    (C) the HOME Investment Partnerships program under 
                subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
                National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et 
                seq.);
                    (D) the programs for homeless assistance under 
                title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.);
                    (E) the program for supportive housing for the 
                elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 
                (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
                    (F) the program for supportive housing for persons 
                with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
                Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
                8013);
                    (G) the program for housing opportunities for 
                persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of the 
                Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 
                U.S.C. 12901 et seq.);
                    (H) the Housing Trust Fund program under section 
                1338 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
                1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568);
                    (I) the program for Native American housing under 
                the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
                Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and
                    (J) the program for housing assistance for Native 
                Hawaiians under title VIII of the Native American 
                Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 
                (25 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.).
            (3) Covered housing.--The term ``covered housing'' means a 
        dwelling unit assisted with amounts made available, or a loan 
        or mortgage made, insured, or guaranteed, under--
                    (A) any of the programs described in subparagraphs 
                (A) through (G) of paragraph (2); or
                    (B) the community development block grant program 
                under title I of the Housing and Community Development 
                Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
            (4) Covered housing assistance.--The term ``covered housing 
        assistance'' means assistance provided under any program 
        described in paragraph (3).
            (5) Legal counsel.--The term ``legal counsel'' means full 
        representation by an attorney throughout proceedings in issue.
            (6) Owner.--The term ``owner'' means any private person or 
        entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the Federal 
        Government, or a public housing agency, having the legal right 
        to lease or sublease dwelling units.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development.

SEC. 4. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION.

    (a) Reports by Housing Providers.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall require each State and 
        local entity that receives covered housing assistance to submit 
        to the Secretary annual reports under this section regarding 
        evictions from assisted dwelling units of the covered housing 
        occurring during the preceding year.
            (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) for each household subject to an eviction 
                proceeding during the year covered by the report--
                            (i) the reason or reasons that the eviction 
                        proceeding was undertaken and, in the case of 
                        any eviction proceeding undertaken in whole or 
                        in part based on an arrearage in rent owed, the 
                        amount of the arrearage and the amount of the 
                        required contribution of the tenant toward 
                        rent;
                            (ii) the date on which the household was 
                        ordered to be evicted;
                            (iii) the address of the dwelling unit from 
                        which the household was evicted;
                            (iv) whether the household was represented 
                        by legal counsel in any eviction proceeding, if 
                        that information is available;
                            (v) the number of days the household was 
                        given to vacate the dwelling unit, if that 
                        information is available; and
                            (vi) whether a writ of execution was issued 
                        in regards to the eviction; and
                    (B) for each individual in any household subject to 
                an eviction proceeding during the year covered by the 
                report--
                            (i) the name of the individual;
                            (ii) the annual income of the individual in 
                        the fiscal year prior to the year during which 
                        the individual was evicted, if that information 
                        is available;
                            (iii) the disability status of the 
                        individual evicted;
                            (iv) any available demographic information 
                        about the individual, including race, 
                        ethnicity, age, and gender;
                            (v) any foster care history for the 
                        individual;
                            (vi) any serious physical health problems 
                        or serious mental illness of the individual, if 
                        that information is available;
                            (vii) any history of prior homelessness of 
                        the individual, if that information is 
                        available; and
                            (viii) whether the individual has a 
                        criminal record, if that information is 
                        available.
            (3) Data requirements.--The Secretary shall develop 
        requirements for States and local entities that receive covered 
        housing assistance that--
                    (A) provide that the provision of the information 
                being collected under this subsection shall be 
                voluntary on the part of any individual or household 
                who is or was a tenant in an assisted dwelling unit of 
                covered housing;
                    (B) provide limitations on how long the information 
                described in paragraph (2) shall be retained;
                    (C) establish data privacy and security 
                requirements for the information described in paragraph 
                (2) that include appropriate measures to ensure that 
                the privacy of the individuals and households is 
                protected and that the information, including any 
                personally identifiable information, is collected and 
                used only for the purpose of submitting reports under 
                paragraph (1); and
                    (D) provide confidentiality protections for data 
                collected about any individuals who are survivors of 
                intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
    (b) Database.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a database 
        for collecting and maintaining information contained in reports 
        submitted under subsection (a).
            (2) Privacy protections.--The Secretary shall establish 
        appropriate measures regarding information in the database 
        established under paragraph (1) to ensure that the privacy of 
        the individuals and households is protected and that any 
        personally identifiable information is not disclosed.
            (3) Disaggregation.--To the extent possible, the database 
        established under paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by race, 
        gender, income, and disability.

SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION-RELATED LEGAL AID.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
$10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until 
expended, for assistance under the Emergency Solutions Grants program 
under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for--
            (1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject to or at 
        risk of eviction with regard to any eviction-related legal 
        proceeding; and
            (2) costs of any court fees associated with an eviction-
        related legal proceeding for a tenant, excluding any attorney's 
        fees for the attorney of the landlord of the tenant.

SEC. 6. CONSUMER REPORTS.

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by inserting after section 605B (15 U.S.C. 1681c-2) the 
        following:

``SEC. 605C. ADVERSE INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUSING COURT RECORDS.

    ``(a) In General.--A consumer reporting agency may only furnish a 
consumer report containing an adverse item of information relating to a 
landlord-tenant action if--
            ``(1) the landlord in the action prevailed in a final 
        judgment; and
            ``(2) the tenant in that action was not a minor on the date 
        that the court claim was filed.
    ``(b) 1-Year Limitation.--A consumer reporting agency shall remove 
from a consumer report any adverse item of information relating to a 
landlord-tenant action not later than 1 year after the date of the 
landlord-tenant action.''; and
            (2) in the table of contents, by inserting after the item 
        relating to section 605B the following:

``605C. Adverse information relating to housing court records.''.

SEC. 7. EVICTION INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations that require each 
owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit to ensure 
that each tenant of the dwelling unit owned by the owner receives 
information not less than once each year about--
            (1) the rights and responsibilities of the owner with 
        regard to eviction; and
            (2) local organizations and resources that can provide 
        assistance in eviction-related matters.
    (b) Hotline.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall establish a hotline to provide assistance 
with regard to eviction-related matters to tenants of covered federally 
assisted rental dwelling units.
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