Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) introduced the “Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act of 2023” in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 11. The bill includes several measures supported by the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) and is endorsed by NLIHC.
The Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act would help prevent the displacement of disaster survivors with low incomes through the implementation of emergency rental protections when a disaster occurs. The bill would provide a 120-day moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent or other fees, including late fees, in the aftermath of a major disaster. During this time, landlords, lessors, and owners would be unable to issue a notice or require a tenant to vacate a property, nor would they be able to increase the cost of rent.
In addition, the bill includes a foreclosure moratorium that would prevent foreclosures on mortgages for six months once the moratorium is declared. The foreclosure moratorium would prevent servicers of a covered mortgage loan from initiating any judicial or non-judicial foreclosure proceedings, scheduling a foreclosure sale, moving for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or executing a foreclosure-related eviction or foreclosure sale.
“Americans affected by natural disasters should not have to worry about losing their homes and becoming homeless as they work to rebuild their lives,” said Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick in a press release announcing the bill’s introduction. “The historic flooding that hit the heart of Florida’s 20th Congressional District in April 2023 was a reminder that we must be proactive about protecting the financial security of American families confronting the climate crisis. This bill is about providing a safety net for our citizens who need it most, and it’s about protecting families from being forced to start over when they are at their most vulnerable.”
NLIHC and DHRC members, including the National Consumer Law Center and the National Housing Law Project, were actively involved in crafting the legislation.
“Disasters that damage or destroy homes create acute affordability challenges in communities already experiencing a severe shortage of affordable housing, further squeezing the lowest-income or newly displaced families,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of NLIHC in a press release. “Unscrupulous landlords exploit this crisis by dramatically increasing rents or evicting tenants from their homes so that they can charge higher rents to the next household, leading to even more housing instability and, in the worst cases, homelessness. Congress should enact the Federal Disaster Housing Stability Act introduced by Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick to help keep renters stably housed after a disaster and to stop landlords from displacing low-income households through rent gouging.”
Read the press release announcing the bill’s introduction at: https://bit.ly/3LYOrpZ
Read the text of the bill at: https://bit.ly/3BjcniD