Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) reintroduced on April 9 the “Rent Relief Act” to address the rising cost of rents afflicting low-income households. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Representatives Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA).
Seventy-one percent of extremely low-income households (7.8 million) spend more than half of the meager incomes on their housing. The bill aims to reduce such rent burdens by creating a new, refundable tax credit for renter households paying more than 30% of gross income for the taxable year on rent and utilities.
Harris first introduced a variation of the legislation in July 2018. The new version of the bill is improved from when it was first introduced. The new bill has a mechanism for the Treasury to pay the tax credit on a monthly basis to eligible households. The bill also caps the credit at 100% of Small Area Fair Market Rents (FMRs) instead of 150% of FMR. “I applaud Senator Harris and Congressmembers Danny Davis, Scott Peters, and Jimmy Gomez, for their leadership in introducing this innovative, bold proposal, which would help struggling families who today face impossible choices between paying rent and meeting their other basic needs, including putting groceries on the table and taking care of their health,” stated NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in Senator Harris’s press release. “A new tax credit for renters - like the one proposed today - could transform lives, providing millions of the lowest-income people with the breadth of opportunities that start with an affordable home—opportunities to climb the economic ladder, improve their health, and allow children to do better in school.”
For more information on the proposal, see NLIHC’s fact sheet on proposals for renters’ tax credits at: https://bit.ly/2J558yW
See Senator Harris’s press release about the bill at: https://bit.ly/2DaseCL
See full text of the bill at: https://bit.ly/2GiYkOn