,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ega  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #bf1      
#bjai,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,smith7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and  
,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide 
the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial     
,protection with the authority to       
regulate land contracts1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,residential ,rent  
to ,own ,protection ,act4  #b4          
,regulation of land contracts  7a7      
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,bureau ,the term ,bureau means the     
,bureau of ,consumer ,financial         
,protection4  7#b7 ,covered contract    
,the term covered contract means a land 
contract1 contract for deed1 agreement  
for deed1 rent to own contract1 lease   
purchase1 lease option1 hybrid lease1 or
 other similar instrument related to a  
property located in a ,state4  7#c7     

,state ,the term ,state means any ,state
 of the ,united ,states1 the ,district  
of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of      
,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 
the ,trust ,territory of the ,pacific   
,islands1 the ,united ,states ,virgin   
,islands1 the ,commonwealth of the      
,northern ,mariana ,islands1 and any    
other territory or possession of the    
,united ,states4  7b7 ,rental           
habitability requirement  7#a7 ,in      
general ,any property that is the       
subject of a covered contract shall be  
maintained in a habitable state1 as     
determined by applicable ,state and     
local habitability requirements1 by the 
seller of the property at all times     
until the purchaser of the property--   
7,a7 has fully paid the obligations of  
the purchaser under the covered         
contract2 and  7,b7 obtains title to the
 property4  7#b7 ,refund remedy ,if a   
property that is the subject of a       
covered contract does not comply with   
paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 the fair rental   

value of the property shall be deemed to
 be zero2 and  7,b7 the purchaser of the
 property shall be entitled to a refund 
from the seller of all amounts paid     
pursuant to the covered contract for the
 period during which the property was   
not habitable4  7c7 ,relief to seller   
only available through a judicial       
proceeding ,notwithstanding any other   
provision of law1 the seller in a       
covered contract may terminate the      
purchaser's right to purchase the       
property that is the subject of the     
covered contract or right of possession 
only upon determination by a court of   
competent jurisdiction that the         
purchaser is in material breach of the  
contract4  7d7 ,prohibition on eviction 
or ejectment  7#a7 ,in general ,except  
as may be ordered in a judicial         
proceeding1 the purchaser in a covered  
contract may not be evicted or otherwise
 ejected from the property that is the  
subject of the covered contract4  7#b7  
,damages  7,a7 ,in general ,a purchaser 

with respect to a covered contract that 
is terminated through a judicial        
proceeding may bring a claim or         
counterclaim to enforce a violation of  
paragraph 7#a7 in a civil proceeding4   
7,b7 ,amount ,if a purchaser described  
in subparagraph 7,a7 is the prevailing  
party1 the court shall award actual     
damages and attorney's fees to the      
purchaser4  7e7 ,recording ,not later   
than #de days after the date on which a 
covered contract is signed1 the seller  
in the covered contract shall record the
 covered contract in the applicable     
local governmental office that records  
land records4  7f7 ,state laws ,nothing 
in this section shall be construed to   
annul1 alter1 or affect any provision of
 ,state law if the protection that the  
provision of ,state law provides to     
purchasers in covered contracts is      
greater than the protection provided to 
those purchasers under this section4    
7g7 ,application ,this section shall not
 apply to a covered contract if-- 7#a7  

the seller in the covered contract is a 
person described in section #eja7;c77#c7
 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of     
#aihf for the #c-year period before the 
date on which the seller enters into the
 covered contract2  7#b7 the sale price 
is not higher than the amount the seller
 paid for the property that is the      
subject of the covered contract2 and    
7#c7 no interest is charged4  7h7 ,civil
 penalty ,a seller with respect to a    
covered contract that violates the      
requirements of this section shall be   
liable to the purchaser in the covered  
contract in an amount equal to--  7#a7  
the greater of-- 7,a7 the actual damage 
caused to the purchaser by reason of the
 violation2 and  7,b7 #aj1jjj2 and  7#b7
 the costs of any civil action and      
attorney's fees4  7i7 ,regulations ,not 
later than #a year after the date of    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,bureau     
shall promulgate regulations to carry   
out this section4  7j7 ,,gao study ,not 
later than #a year after the date of    

enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller
 ,general of the ,united ,states shall  
conduct a study and submit to ,congress 
a report on--  7#a7 the size and scope  
of the covered contract market2 and     
7#b7 the predatory practices occurring  
within the covered contract market4