[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9472 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9472
To prohibit Community Development Block Grant funding and Federal
mortgage support in municipalities that allow squatting.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2026
Mr. Lawler 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 Community Development Block Grant funding and Federal
mortgage support in municipalities that allow squatting.
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 ``The Protecting Homeowners from
Squatters Act''.
SEC. 2. COMBATTING SQUATTING.
(a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) unlawfully entering a property without the permission
of the property owner and residing in that property for
consecutive days without the permission of the property owner
and without the payment of rent or a rental contract agreed to
by the property owner can be defined as ``squatting'' and
should not confer any special status as a tenant or lawful
occupant of the property;
(2) local law enforcement should take actions to
expeditiously remove from a property any persons or persons
engaging in squatting and should prosecute such actions as
prescribed by local law;
(3) Federal Government benefits, including loans, loan
guarantees, subsidies, and tax credits, should not be used to
reinforce, condone, or otherwise incentivize squatting; and
(4) real estate collateral securing a government or
government-sponsored enterprise loan, or subject to a loan
guarantee, mortgage insurance or other Federal mortgage support
program must be protected from persons engaging in squatting as
it creates undue risks for the value of such property.
(b) Prohibition on CDBG Funding.--Section 104 of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(n) Withholding of Funds for Jurisdictions That Permit
Squatting.--
``(1) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall, by regulation--
``(A) prohibit the allocation and provision of
funds under this title for any unit of general local
government that permits squatting or confers special
status for rights of tenancy for a person or persons
engaging in the practice of squatting; and
``(B) provide for--
``(i) units of general local government to
take corrective actions to remedy the
applicability of the prohibition under
subparagraph (A) to such unit of general local
government; and
``(ii) certification by the Secretary upon
a determination that such actions taken by a
unit of general local government are sufficient
for the unit of general local government to
receive funds under this title.
``(2) Public notice.--The Secretary shall make publicly
available for each fiscal year a list of all units of general
local government that are prohibited by paragraph (1) from
receiving funds under this title and the justification for
inclusion in the list of each such unit of general local
government.
``(3) Squatting.--For purposes of this subsection, the term
`squatting' means the practice of entering a property without
the permission of the property owner and residing in that
property for 10 or more consecutive days without the permission
of the property owner and without the payment of rent or a
rental contract agreed to by the property owner.''.
(c) Prohibition on Federal Mortgage Support.--
(1) Prohibition.--No Federal support may be provided for
any loan that is secured by a first or subordinate lien on
residential real property (including individual units of
condominiums and cooperatives) and designed principally for the
occupancy of from 1- to 4-families if the property securing
such loan is located in a unit of general local government that
is, at such time, prohibited from receiving funds under title I
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 by section
104(n)(1)(A) of such Act.
(2) Regulations.--The heads of the covered agencies shall
jointly develop, by regulations issued not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, guidelines for
such covered agencies to carry out this subsection.
(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the
following definitions shall apply:
(A) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency''
means--
(i) the Department of Housing and Urban
Development;
(ii) the Federal Housing Finance Agency;
(iii) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
and
(iv) the Department of Agriculture.
(B) Federal support.--The term ``Federal support''
means, with respect to a loan--
(i) insurance of the loan by the Federal
Housing Administration under title II of the
National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.);
(ii) insurance of the loan under section
255 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C.
1715z-20);
(iii) guarantee of the loan under section
184 or 184A of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-13a,
1715z-13b);
(iv) guarantee or insurance of the loan by
the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(v) guarantee or insurance of the loan by
the Department of Agriculture;
(vi) making of the loan by the Department
of Agriculture; or
(vii) purchase or securitization of the
loan by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage
Association.
(C) Squatting.--The term ``squatting'' means the
practice of entering a property without the permission
of the property owner and residing in that property for
14 or more consecutive days without the permission of
the property owner and without the payment of rent or a
rental contract agreed to by the property owner.
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