118 HR 4907 IH: End Junk Fees for Renters Act U.S. House of Representatives 2023-07-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 118th CONGRESS1st Session H. R. 4907 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 26, 2023 Mr. Frost (for himself and Mr. Gomez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 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 prohibit owners of covered dwelling units from assessing or collecting certain fees from tenants, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the End Junk Fees for Renters Act.

2.

Rental Junk Fees

(a)

Application fees

The appropriate regulator shall prohibit the owner of a covered dwelling unit from assessing or collecting a fee or charge, from any household in connection with the submission of an application for rental of such dwelling unit. (b)

Tenant screening fees

The appropriate regulator shall prohibit the owner of a covered dwelling unit from assessing to or collecting from any household applying to rent such dwelling unit any fee or charge for costs of conducting any criminal history, tenant screening, consumer report, or other background check of such household. (c)

Late fees

The appropriate regulator shall prohibit the owner of a covered dwelling unit from assessing to or collecting from any fee or charge in connection with the late payment of rent for such dwelling unit unless the amount of such late fee is applied to the amount of rent due the following month as a credit. (d)

Use of consumer reports

The appropriate regulator shall prohibit the owner of a covered dwelling unit from, when screening a potential tenant, using— (1)a credit score (as such term is defined in section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act); and (2)any consumer report by any consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis (as such term is defined in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act). (e)

Required disclosures

The appropriate regulator shall require each owner of a covered dwelling unit to disclose to the tenant before a lease is signed— (1)the total amount due each month, including any fees; (2)to the degree practicable, a summary of any past litigation between the such owner and any former or current tenants; (3)a description of any ongoing pest and maintenance issues; and (4)the amount rent increase for the property in each of the 10 previous years. (f)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Appropriate regulator

The term appropriate regulator means— (A)the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with respect to covered dwelling units described in— (i)paragraph (2)(A); (ii)paragraph (2)(B), to the extent the Federally backed mortgage loan referred to in such paragraph is described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3); or (iii)paragraph (2)(B), to the extent the Federally backed mortgage loan referred to in such paragraph is described in paragraph (4) and is made in whole or in part, or insured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way under or in connection with a housing or urban development program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (B)the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to covered dwelling units described in paragraph (2)(B), to the extent the Federally backed mortgage loan referred to in such paragraph is described in— (i)paragraph (3)(D); or (ii)paragraph (4) and is made in whole or in part, or insured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or under or in connection with a housing or related program administered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (C)the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to covered dwelling units described in paragraph (2)(B), to the extent the Federally backed mortgage loan referred to in such paragraph is described in— (i)subparagraph (E) or (F) of paragraph (3); or (ii)paragraph (4) and is made in whole or in part, or insured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by the Secretary of Agriculture or under or in connection with a housing or related program administered by Secretary of Agriculture; and (D)the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with respect to covered dwelling units described in paragraph (2)(B), to the extent the Federally backed mortgage loan referred to in such paragraph is described in— (i)paragraph (3)(G); or (ii)paragraph (4) and is purchased or securitized by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage Association. (2)

Covered dwelling unit

The term covered dwelling unit means a dwelling unit that— (A)is provided assistance within the jurisdiction of the Department, as such term is defined in section 102(m) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545(m)); or (B)is subject to, or is on or in a property that is subject to a Federally backed single-family mortgage loan or a Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan. (3)

Federally backed single-family mortgage loan

The term Federally backed single-family mortgage loan includes any loan that 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 that is— (A)insured by the Federal Housing Administration under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.); (B)insured under section 255 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–20); (C)guaranteed under section 184 or 184A of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–13a, 1715z–13b); (D)guaranteed or insured by the Department of Veterans Affairs; (E)guaranteed or insured by the Department of Agriculture; (F)made by the Department of Agriculture; or (G)purchased or securitized by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage Association. (4)

Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan

The term Federally backed multifamily 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 multifamily real property designed principally for the occupancy of 5 or more 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. (5)

Owner

The term owner means, with respect to a dwelling unit, 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 the dwelling unit.

3.

Rulemaking

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section issue a rule that— (1)defines the term junk fee with respect to rental housing; and (2)finds the furnishing of any information about a unpaid junk fee (as such term is defined pursuant to paragraph (1)) to a consumer reporting agency to be a unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect debt in violation of section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.