Equal Opportunity for Residential Representation Act

Equal Opportunity for Residential Representation Act

This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Community Planning and Development to carry out a program to make grants to organizations to provide legal services and other related supportive services on behalf of low-income families (including individuals and victims of domestic violence) who reside in a rental dwelling unit and have an income that does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area in which the family resides.

The following organizations may receive such grants:

• nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to persons or families of limited income, including organizations that receive funding from the Legal Services Corporation;
• legal clinics sponsored by law schools or other organizations; and
• such other entities as HUD considers appropriate.

These grants may be used only to provide legal services and other related supportive services in connection with: (1) an eviction of such a family, (2) the prevention of such eviction, (3) a dispute between the landlord and a tenant who is a family member, or (4) enforcing the family's legal rights regarding tenancy or fair housing.

Funds for such program shall be derived from revenues resulting from amendments by this bill to the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the limitation on the mortgage interest deduction for the acquisition indebtedness of certain taxpayers.