,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cdfc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #aa1 
#bjbc,mr4 ,casey introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,banking1
 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs  ,a      
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,attorney     
,general to make grants to ,states and  
localities to provide the right to      
counsel in civil actions related to     
eviction1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,eviction ,prevention ,act of #bjbc4
  #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7  
,access to counsel ,the term access to  
counsel means full representation by an 
attorney4  7#b7 ,administrative eviction
 ,the term administrative eviction means
 a ruling in favor of the landlord in an
 administrative forum within a public   
housing agency1 such as grievance       
procedures1 to recover possession of    
residential property from a tenant1     
including a tenant residing in a public 

housing dwelling unit or receiving      
tenant-based assistance or project-based
 assistance under section #h of the     
,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f74  7#c7          
,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 tenant1     
including a tenant residing in a public 
housing dwelling unit or receiving      
tenant-based assistance or project-based
 assistance under section #h of the     
,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f74  7#d7          
,department ,the term ,department means 
the ,department of ,housing and ,urban  
,development4  7#e7 ,eligible individual
 ,the term eligible individual means an 
individual whose income is less than    
#abe percent of the ,federal poverty    
level4  7#f7 ,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 tenant1 including a tenant residing in
 a public housing dwelling unit or      
receiving tenant-based assistance or    
project-based assistance under section  
#h of the ,united ,states ,housing ,act 
of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f74  7#g7 
,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 tenant1     
including a tenant residing in a public 
housing dwelling unit or receiving      
tenant-based assistance or project-based
 assistance under section #h of the     
,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f71 such as-- 7,a7 
willfully interrupting or permitting the
 interruption of essential items of     
services required by the rental         
agreement2  7,b7 blocking or attempting 
to block the entry of a tenant upon the 

premises2  7,c7 changing the locks or   
removing the front door of the premises2
  7,d7 giving a tenant an eviction      
notice that does not comply with        
applicable ,federal1 ,state1 or local   
law2  7,e7 removing the belongings of a 
tenant2 and  7,f7 any other action      
defined as a self-help eviction under   
,state landlord-tenant law4  7#h7 ,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 assault1 sexual   
harassment1 stalking1 disorderly        
conduct1 or another type of behavior1   
situation1 or condition that results in 
the need for emergency services1 that   
results in loss of housing or limit the 
housing opportunities for victims of    
crime1 including victims of domestic    
violence1 or individuals with           
disabilities who may require emergency  
services1 abnegating local              
landlord-tenant law by-- 7,a7 requiring1

 encouraging1 or permitting the eviction
 of a tenant or resident because of a   
certain number of calls for emergency   
services2  7,b7 requiring1 encouraging1 
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        
resident2 or  7,c7 requiring1           
encouraging1 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 convicted4  7#i7  
,public housing2 public housing agency  
,the terms public housing and public    
housing agency have the meanings given  
those terms in section #c7;b7 of the    
,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;a7b774  7#aj7 ,rate
 of eviction ,the term rate of eviction 
means the number of judgments of        
eviction1 including illegal evictions1  
entered or occurring in a jurisdiction  

per capita during the previous fiscal   
year4  7#aa7 ,secretary ,the term       
,secretary means the ,secretary of      
,housing and ,urban ,development4  7#ab7
 ,state ,the term ,state means the      
,states of the ,united ,states1 the     
,district of ,columbia1 the             
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 the     
,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana 
,islands1 ,guam1 the ,virgin ,islands1  
,american ,samoa1 and any other         
territory or possession of the ,united  
,states4  7#ac7 ,unit of general local  
government ,the term unit of general    
local government means any city1 town1  
township1 county1 parish1 village1 or   
other general purpose political         
subdivision of a ,state4  #c4 ,grants   
for ,states and units of general local  
government to provide access to counsel 
in civil actions related to eviction    
7a7 ,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 eviction4  7b7 ,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 7a74  7c7       
,application ,a ,state or unit of       
general local government seeking a grant
 under this section shall submit an     
application to the ,attorney ,general at
 such time1 in such manner1 and         
containing such information as the      
,attorney ,general may reasonably       
require1 including-- 7#a7 the rate of   
eviction for that ,state or unit of     
general local government2  7#b7 during  
the previous year1 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 proceedings2    
7#c7 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 counsel2 and  7#d7
 the status with respect of the right to
 counsel in civil actions related to    
eviction in the ,state or unit of       
general local government and1 if the    
,state or unit of general local         
government does not have in effect laws 
providing a right to counsel1 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 right4  7d7 ,amount of grant     
,subject to the availability of         
appropriations1 a grant under this      
section shall be in an amount that is   
not less than #a1jjj1jjj1 and which     
amount is determined based on-- 7#a7 the
 rate of eviction in the applicant      
,state or unit of general local         
government1 compared to the national    
average rate of eviction1 as determined 
by the rates of eviction included with  
each application under subsection 7c72  

7#b7 the plan submitted by the applicant
 ,state or unit of general local        
government in accordance with subsection
 7c77#c72  7#c7 the status of right to  
counsel in applicant ,state or unit of  
general local government2 and  7#d7     
during the previous year1 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  
proceedings4  7e7 ,authorization of     
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #abe1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal 
years #bjbd through #bjbh4  #d4         
,national database of evictions  7a7    
,establishment of database ,not later   
than #a year after the date of enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall     
establish and maintain a database that--
 7#a7 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 ,secretary2 
7#b7 includes the data described in     
subsection 7b7 with respect to          
court-ordered evictions1 administrative 
evictions1 and illegal evictions in the 
,united ,states2 and  7#c7 ensures      
appropriate security to prevent improper
 disclosure of that data4  7b7 ,contents
 ,the database established under        
subsection 7a7 shall contain the        
following data3 7#a7 ,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
 established3 7,a7 ,information on the  
tenant who is the defendant1 including--
 7i7 the name of the tenant2  7ii7 the  
age of the tenant2  7iii7 the race1     
ethnicity1 gender1 and disability status
 of the tenant2  7iv7 the number of     
household members residing in the       
property1 including the number of       
children2 and  7v7 whether the tenant is

 a recipient of tenant-based or         
project-based assistance under section  
#h of the ,united ,states ,housing ,act 
of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f74  7,b7 
,information on the residential         
property1 including-- 7i7 the address   
and type of housing2 and  7ii7 whether  
the property is subject to a federally  
backed mortgage4  7,c7 ,information on  
the landlord who filed the court-ordered
 or administrative eviction case1       
including-- 7i7 the name of the         
landlord2  7ii7 the mailing address of  
the landlord2  7iii7 any additional     
names1 limited liability corporations1  
or entities associated with the mailing 
address of the landlord2  7iv7 the      
number of rental units owned by the     
landlord2  7v7 the name of the attorney 
or legally permitted representative of  
the landlord1 or an indication that the 
landlord was self-represented2  7vi7 the
 rent charged for the unit in question2 
7vii7 additional fees charged for the   
unit in question1 whether one-time or   

recurring2  7viii7 any amount that the  
landlord alleges that the tenant owes1  
including-- 7,i7 rent2  7,,ii7          
additional fees other than rent1 whether
 one-time or recurring2  7,,iii7 late   
fees and penalties2 and  7,,iv7 court   
fees and attorney's fees2  7ix7 any     
costs incurred by the landlord for      
engaging in the eviction process1       
including-- 7,i7 court costs1 such as   
filing fees2  7,,ii7 the cost of legal  
representation2 and  7,,iii7 the cost to
 set out a tenant2 and  7x7 the amount  
of emergency rental assistance received 
on behalf of the tenant4  7,d7          
,information about the location where   
the court-ordered or administrative     
eviction case took place1 including the 
name of the judge or adjudicator4  7,e7 
,procedural data on the court-ordered or
 administrative eviction case1          
including-- 7i7 the date1 if applicable1
 on which the tenant was served with a  
notice to quit2  7ii7 the date of the   
initial court filing by the landlord2   

7iii7 the reason why the landlord filed 
for eviction1 such as nonpayment or     
breach of lease2  7iv7 any affirmative  
defenses presented by the tenant1 if    
permitted under ,state law2  7v7 whether
 the eviction was as a result of the    
enforcement of a local ordinance        
impacting eviction2  7vi7 the date of   
the initial hearing2  7vii7 if the      
tenant moved out of the rental unit1 the
 date on which the tenant moved out2 and
  7viii7 the final outcome of the       
court-ordered or administrative eviction
 case1 including-- 7,i7 the disposition 
of the case1 including whether the      
initial hearing resulted in a default   
judgment1 dismissal1 consent agreement1 
settlement1 or trial2  7,,ii7 the date  
of final disposition2  7,,iii7 any      
amount owed to the landlord or tenant1  
if any1 and over what time period2      
7,,iv7 whether a judgment was made in   
favor of the tenant for code violations 
or warranty of habitability claims1     
including affirmative defenses2  7,v7   

whether the tenant paid any amounts to  
the landlord2 and  7,,vi7 whether the   
tenant had legal representation and the 
nature of that representation1 including
 a lawyer1 a law student participating  
in a clinic1 or another non-lawyer      
trained to represent clients in         
landlord-tenant court1 or whether the   
tenant was a lawyer representing himself
 or herself1 and whether the legal      
representation was supported by grant   
funding under section #c2  7ix7 the     
total court fees incurred by the tenant1
 separated into categories of fees2  7x7
 the total court fees incurred by the   
landlord2  7xi7 whether the landlord had
 appeared in landlord-tenant court for a
 court-ordered or administrative        
eviction matter involving the landlord  
in the #f-month1 #a-year1 or #b-year    
period preceding the court-ordered or   
administrative eviction case1 and the   
number of such appearances involving the
 same tenant2 and  7xii7 whether the    
tenant had appeared in landlord-tenant  

court for a court-ordered or            
administrative eviction matter involving
 the landlord in the #f-month1 #a-year1 
or #b-year period preceding the         
court-ordered or administrative eviction
 case1 and the number of such           
appearances involving the same landlord4
  7#b7 ,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 established1 including-- 7,a7 the    
total number of cases filed1 including a
 breakdown by-- 7i7 the number of cases 
filed for nonpayment criminal activity1 
code violation1 other breach of lease1  
both nonpayment and breach of lease1 and
 any other reason2  7ii7 the number of  
cases filed because of the enforcement  
of a local ordinance impacting eviction2
 and  7iii7 the outcome of the          
dispositive hearing1 including default  
judgment1 dismissal1 a consent          
agreement1 a trial1 and a settlement    

with or without mediation2  7,b7 the    
number of tenants and landlords who     
showed up for the dispositive hearing of
 a court-ordered or an administrative   
eviction case1 and how many tenants in  
each such type of case were represented 
by counsel described in paragraph       
7#a77;,e77viii77,,vi72  7,c7 the average
 duration of a court-ordered or an      
administrative eviction case1 including 
the average time from filing to first   
hearing2  7,d7 the average amount       
allegedly owed by a tenant1 per         
landlord2  7,e7 the average months of   
rent allegedly owed by a tenant2  7,f7  
the average amount paid by a tenant to  
resolve the case and stay in the        
housing2  7,g7 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 claims1        
including affirmative defenses2  7,h7   
the number and percentage of            
court-ordered or administrative eviction

 cases broken down by age bracket2  7,i7
 the number and percentage of           
court-ordered or administrative eviction
 cases broken down by race and          
ethnicity2  7,j7 the number and         
percentage of court-ordered or          
administrative eviction cases broken    
down by gender2  7,k7 the number and    
percentage of court-ordered or          
administrative eviction cases broken    
down by disability status2  7,l7 the    
number and percentage of court-ordered  
or administrative eviction cases with a 
tenant or household with children2  7,m7
 the number of tenants evicted from     
public housing1 broken down by each     
public housing agency2  7,n7 the number 
of tenants evicted from dwelling units  
who were receiving tenant-based         
assistance or project-based assistance  
under section #h of the ,united ,states 
,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#adcg;f72 and  7,o7 the number of       
court-ordered or administrative eviction
 or cases where late fees were collected

 from tenants by landlords1 and the     
average amount of late fees in those    
cases4  7#c7 ,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 eviction1 such that the   
court may determine which court-ordered 
or administrative evictions resulted in 
a law enforcement officer or other local
 official removing the tenant4  7#d7    
,data on tenant status following a      
court-ordered or administrative eviction
 ,each court or administrative forum    
responsible for adjudicating evictions  
shall require landlords to report       
whether tenants who were the subject of 
a court-ordered or administrative       
eviction were removed or remained in the
 property #ij days after the            
court-ordered or administrative         
eviction4  7#e7 ,data on each illegal   
eviction ,with respect to each illegal  
eviction occurring on or after the date 

on which the database is established3   
7,a7 ,the data described in paragraph   
7#a77;,a74  7,b7 ,information on the    
landlord1 including-- 7i7 the name of   
the landlord2  7ii7 the mailing address 
of the landlord2  7iii7 any additional  
names1 limited liability corporations1  
or entities associated with the mailing 
address of the landlord2  7iv7 the      
number of rental units owned by the     
landlord2  7v7 the rent charged for the 
unit in question2 and  7vi7 additional  
fees charged for the unit in question1  
whether one-time or recurring2  7,c7    
,the reason the tenant was evicted4     
7,d7 ,if the tenant was evicted for     
nonpayment1 the amount owed1 including--
 7i7 rent2  7ii7 additional fees other  
than rent1 whether one-time or          
recurring2 and  7iii7 late fees and     
penalties4  7,e7 ,if the tenant was     
evicted for nonpayment1 the total number
 of months owed4  7,f7 ,whether the     
tenant was evicted because of the       
enforcement of a local ordinance        

impacting eviction4  7#f7 ,aggregate    
data on illegal evictions ,aggregate    
data on illegal eviction cases occurring
 on or after the date on which the      
database is established1 including--    
7,a7 the average amount owed by a       
tenant1 per landlord2  7,b7 the average 
months of rent owed by a tenant2  7,c7  
the number and percentage of illegal    
eviction cases broken down by age       
bracket2  7,d7 the number and percentage
 of illegal eviction cases with a tenant
 or household with children2  7,e7 the  
number and percentage of illegal        
eviction cases broken down by race and  
ethnicity2  7,f7 the number and         
percentage of illegal eviction cases    
broken down by gender2  7,g7 the number 
and percentage of illegal eviction cases
 broken down by disability status2 and  
7,h7 the number and percentage of       
illegal eviction cases based on the     
enforcement of a local ordinance        
impacting eviction4  7c7 ,submission of 
data  7#a7 ,submission by courts ,not   

later than ,march #a of each year1 the  
,chief ,court ,administrator 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    
section4  7#b7 ,submission to ,secretary
  7,a7 ,in general ,the ,chief ,court   
,administrator of the ,state shall-- 7i7
 ensure the accuracy and consistency of 
the data submitted under paragraph 7#a72
 and  7ii7 upon receipt of the data1    
aggregate the data and report the       
individual and aggregate data to the    
,secretary in a timely manner4  7,b7    
,submission by courts ,if the ,chief    
,court ,administrator of the ,state     
fails to submit the data described in   
paragraph 7#a7 to the ,secretary in a   
timely manner under subparagraph 7,a71  
the clerk of each ,state or local court 
that handles landlord-tenant cases may  
submit the data directly to the         
,secretary4  7d7 ,guidelines ,the       

,secretary shall promulgate rules and   
establish guidelines for the submission 
of data under subsection 7c7 and        
publication of data in the database     
established under this section1 which   
shall include-- 7#a7 a technological    
solution that provides a single point of
 entry for data submissions to reduce   
the burden on clerks of the courts2     
7#b7 in consultation with local         
governments1 judges1 and legal services 
providers appropriate safeguards for    
protecting the privacy of personally    
identifiable information of vulnerable  
populations1 which shall incorporate    
confidentiality measures to ensure that 
any personally identifiable information 
regarding a tenant who is a victim of   
domestic violence1 dating violence1     
sexual assault1 or stalking is not      
disclosed during the process of data    
submission and publication2  7#c7       
standards for-- 7,a7 external           
researchers to be granted permission to 
access data in the database1 including  

both aggregate data and1 if necessary   
for the conduct of their research1      
personally identifiable information1    
with appropriate safeguards to ensure   
identities are protected in any publicly
 released analysis2  7,b7 the           
establishment of a research data center 
to support analysis of that data2 and   
7,c7 using generally accepted           
statistical principles to validate the  
data1 in consultation with outside      
participants2  7#d7 methods for         
collecting data required under          
subsection 7b7 that are not currently   
collected2  7#e7 establishing           
definitions for terms related to the    
eviction process based on how they are  
legally defined by courts of            
jurisdiction handling eviction cases2   
and  7#f7 standards for local officials 
to identify and designate social        
services agencies that may access the   
database to provide targeted social     
services to those tenants4  7e7 ,annual 
reports ,not later than #a year after   

the date of enactment of this ,act1 and 
each year thereafter1 the ,secretary    
shall make publicly available a report  
on the contents of the database         
established under this section4  7f7    
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,secretary to carry out this section   
#ajj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years   
#bjbd through #bjbh4  #e4 ,,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 evictions in  
the ,united ,states1 including an       
analysis of ways in which the legal     
system fails to provide sufficient      
protections from eviction for tenants1  
the rate of representation of tenants   
and landlords1 the effect of full       
representation on default rates1 case   
outcomes1 and eviction dockets as       
compared to cases where the tenant lacks
 representation or has pro se           

assistance1 and the potential cost      
savings from providing representation4