A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that is seeking to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to exclude evictions that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic from consumers’ credit reports.
H.R. 1594 was introduced last week by Rep. Greg Stanton [D-Ariz.]. It has picked up 14 co-sponsors since it was introduced, all of them Democrats as well. While the full text of the bill is not yet available on Congress’s website, a press release from Rep. Stanton offered details about what the bill seeks to accomplish.
Any eviction, information related to eviction, or proceedings seeking eviction would be prohibited from being reported on consumers credit reports, if it took place starting March 13, 2020 and ending 120 days after the national emergency declaration is rescinded by President Biden. The objective of the proposed legislation is to protect individuals who are evicted during the pandemic from “long-term financial consequences,” according to Rep. Stanton. It was not clear whether the individual needed to assert or declare that the eviction was related to the pandemic or if all evictions nationwide during the period covered by the bill are included in the exemption.
“The pandemic has caused so much financial hardship to millions of Americans. Without this important relief for renters, our credit reporting system could continue to needlessly punish hardworking families for years to come,” Rep. Stanton said in a statement. “When you’re at your lowest, unsure if you’re able to keep a roof of your family’s head, you likely aren’t considering the long-term impact of an eviction on your personal credit. By preventing renters’ credit opportunities from being dragged down by pandemic-evictions, families will have peace of mind as they build back and recover from this crisis.”
