Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Ensuring Homeowner and Occupant Monetary Encouragement and Stability Act

or the

Ensuring HOMES Act

Treatment of deferred residential mortgage payments

(a)

In general

With respect to any payments of principal or interest on a residential mortgage loan that are deferred during a COVID–19 emergency period (whether pursuant to Federal law or otherwise), the applicable holder or servicer of such loan may not require such payments to be due until the later of—(1)the last day of the loan term; or(2)the end of the deferral period.(b)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting a borrower from making payments on a loan before the date specified under subsection (a).(c)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Residential mortgage loan

The term residential mortgage loan means any loan which is secured by residential real property designed principally for the occupancy of families, regardless of the number of families by which the real property is designed to be occupied.(2)

COVID–19 emergency period

The term COVID–19 emergency period means the period that—(A)begins upon a date that the President declares an emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) relating to a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic; and(B)ends upon the date of the termination by the Federal Emergency Management Administration of such emergency declaration.

Tenant Protection Program

(a)

In general

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the Secretary) shall carry out a program to be known as the Tenant Protection Program, under which the Secretary shall make quarterly loans to landlords who waive rent owned by tenants during the COVID–19 emergency period, in accordance with this section.(b)

Loan details

(1)

Loan amount

A loan provided under this section shall be in an amount equal to no more than half of the amount of rent that a landlord anticipates waiving during the applicable quarter.(2)

Fees; interest

The Secretary may not charge any fee in connection with a loan made under this section and may not charge interest on any such loan in an amount greater than 4 percent.(c)

Loan forgiveness

The Secretary shall forgive any loan made under this section to a landlord if—(1)the landlord permits each tenant of the landlord to extend any lease until the date that is 60 days after the end of the COVID–19 emergency period, if such lease would have terminated before such date; and(2)the landlord enters into an agreement with the Secretary under which the landlord will not evict any tenant until the date that is 60 days after the end of the COVID–19 emergency period.(d)

COVID–19 emergency period defined

In this section, the term COVID–19 emergency period has the meaning given that term under section 2.(e)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Rules of application

(a)

Application to existing and new emergencies

This Act shall apply to a COVID–19 emergency period (as defined under section 2) in existence on the date of enactment of this Act or beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.(b)

Retroactive effect

With respect to the COVID–19 emergency period in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall apply retroactively to actions taken beginning on the first day of such emergency period.