Eviction Crisis Act of 2021

Eviction Crisis Act of 2021

This bill creates several eviction-related grant programs and shields certain eviction records from consumer reports.

Specifically, the bill requires the Bureau of Justice Assistance to award matching grants to state and local governments to support landlord-tenant focused community courts that allow social service representatives to assist tenants in the court process. The bill also permits the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award grants to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to provide financial assistance and housing stabilization services to extremely low-income households.

HUD is also required under the bill to award grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to collect data from landlords on illegal self-help evictions and to establish and maintain an eviction database.

The bill also requires a consumer report obtained in association with a rental application to be provided to the consumer applicant and requires that eviction information be excluded from a consumer report in cases decided in favor of the tenant.

Further, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to track historical eviction data and to report on savings and revenue generated by the grants awarded under the bill.