Bill > A4226

Introduced Session

This bill provides protections to certain homeowners, tenants, and landlords during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency period. Under the bill, "emergency period" means the period during which a public health emergency exists as declared by the Governor in Executive Order No. 103 of 2020, as extended. The bill provides that, during the emergency period, a creditor is required to grant a mortgage forbearance to an impacted homeowner if the impacted homeowner submits a written request to the creditor affirming the following: (1) the mortgage loan on residential property for which a mortgage forbearance is being requested pursuant to this section was current with respect to payments as of February 1, 2020; and (2) the impacted homeowner has suffered a negative financial impact resulting from COVID-19 or the Public Health Emergency or State of Emergency declared in response thereto, including but not limited to a financial hardship from a reduction in hours or loss of employment, loss of income or increased costs incurred in necessary child care resulting from the closure of schools or caring for family members who are ill due to COVID-19 or quarantined due to a suspected exposure to COVID-19, or for funeral costs due to COVID-19. Upon receipt of a written request for a mortgage forbearance from an impacted homeowner pursuant to the provisions of the bill, a creditor is to provide to the impacted homeowner a mortgage forbearance and confirmation of that forbearance in writing. The minimum initial mortgage forbearance period of an impacted homeowner is to be 90 days. An impacted homeowner may request, and is to be granted, a subsequent forbearance period of at minimum 90 days, for a total of at minimum 180 days. Fees, penalties, or interest, including attorney's fees, shall not be assessed or accrue during and as a result of a mortgage forbearance granted pursuant to this section. Consistent with federal law, the bill provides that a creditor shall not furnish negative mortgage payment information to a debt collector or credit reporting agency related to mortgage payments subject to a mortgage forbearance under the bill. An impacted homeowner or the Attorney General may bring an action alleging a creditor has violated the provisions of the bill. Under the bill, the repayment period of any mortgage subject to the forbearance established pursuant to this section shall be extended by the number of months the forbearance is in effect. The payments not made during the months of the forbearance shall instead be due on a monthly basis during the period constituting an extension of the mortgage, unless the property owner has chosen to make these payments earlier. An impacted homeowner denied a forbearance under the bill by a creditor licensed by the Department of Banking and Insurance may file a complaint with the Department of Banking and Insurance. The department shall investigate the complaint and, if appropriate, shall order the creditor to grant a forbearance to the impacted homeowner. The bill also provides that, prior to the 60th day next following the end of the emergency period, a landlord or owner of a residential property shall not, for the purposes of a non-essential eviction for a residential property: (1) terminate a tenancy; (2) file a summary dispossess action; or (3) send any notice, including a notice to quit, requesting or demanding that a tenant of a residential property vacate the premises. Prior to the 60th day next following the end of the emergency period, a court having jurisdiction over an action for summary dispossess shall not, in a non-essential eviction for a residential property: (1) accept for filing a writ, summons or complaint; (2) enter a judgment or default judgment for a plaintiff for possession of a residential property; (3) issue warrant of removal; (4) deny, upon the request of a defendant, a stay of execution, or upon the request by a party, a continuance of a summary dispossess case; or (5) schedule a court event, including a summary dispossess trial. The bill also provides that, prior to the 60th day next following the end of the emergency period, a landlord shall not impose a late fee for non-payment of rent for a residential property. Consistent with federal law, a landlord is required not to furnish rental payment data to a collection or credit reporting agency related to the non-payment of rent during the emergency period and the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period, and no landlord shall refuse to rent to a tenant and place a renter on a "blacklist" or any list because of any record or information reflecting the tenant's non-payment of rent during the emergency period and the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period, if the tenant provides notice and documentation to the landlord establishing that: (1) the tenant's rent payments were current as of February 1, 2020, including rent payments held in escrow due to a previous landlord tenant dispute; and (2) the tenant has suffered a negative financial impact resulting from COVID-19 or the Public Health Emergency or State of Emergency declared in response thereto, including but not limited to a financial hardship from a reduction in hours or loss of employment, increased costs incurred in necessary child care resulting from the closure of schools or caring for family members who are ill due to COVID-19 or quarantined due to a suspected exposure to COVID-19, or for funeral costs due to COVID-19. Under the bill, a tenant or the Attorney General may bring an action alleging a landlord has violated the provisions of subsection b. of this section concerning the furnishing of information to a collection or credit reporting agency. Additionally, the bill provides that, in order to avoid mass evictions and widespread homelessness following the conclusion of the moratorium on evictions required under the bill, a tenant and landlord shall enter into an agreement pursuant to the bill, which shall be an addendum to the lease agreement, for the repayment of any partial or full rent payments not made during the emergency period and the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period, provided the tenant's rent payments were current including payments held in escrow as of the effective date of Executive Order No. 106 of 2020. During the repayment period, a landlord shall not impose any late fees or any other fees, including attorney's fees, for rent payments not made during the emergency period and the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Community Affairs to prepare and make available on its Internet website a statement of the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords for the repayment of missed rent payments and an explanation of, and model template for, the default repayment plans available pursuant to the bill. This statement and templates shall be printed in the English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese languages. Under the bill, every landlord is required to distribute one copy of the statement and templates prepared and made available to each of their tenants within 10 business days after it has been made available by the department, and landlords may not demand payment of unpaid rent until after the statement and templates have been distributed to each tenant. The bill provides that, within 10 business days following the conclusion of the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period, a landlord is required to calculate all partial or full rent payments legally owed and not made during the emergency period and the 60 days next following the end of the emergency period by each tenant liable for rent repayment pursuant to the bill. After determining the amount of the missed payments and applying all credits, if any, due to the tenant, the landlord is required to provide each tenant with a written notice, using the template to be prepared and made available on its website by the department, of the amount owed by the tenant in a form that specifies, in detail, the amount claimed to be due and an itemization of all credits to which the tenant is entitled. All amounts shall be legal and in compliance with all applicable laws, including local rent control ordinances. If the tenant does not agree with the amount claimed due, the notice shall provide that the tenant shall notify the landlord within 25 days after the date on which the rent and arrearage repayments are to commence; provided, however, that the tenant shall still begin repayment of missed rent pursuant to the repayment agreement. The tenant may assert any and all additional objections to the amount claimed due, including diminished habitability, payment by the tenant or by others on behalf of the tenant, or other legal and equitable setoffs or defenses. If the landlord fails to demonstrate the correctness of the amount assessed of rent due and owing by the tenant, then the landlord shall refund any incorrectly assessed amount paid by the tenant plus a penalty of 20 percent of such amount. Any unpaid rent during the emergency period is to be paid in accordance with whichever repayment plan set forth below results in the lowest monthly payments for the tenant, or a plan agreed to between the landlord and tenant as long as that plan has lower monthly payments than either option set forth below. (1) Repayment Plan A shall provide that any unpaid rent during the emergency period shall be repaid in equal installments over the remainder of the lease and shall constitute no more than 10 percent of the tenant's net household income after taxes. (2) Repayment Plan B shall provide a tenant with six months to repay each months' rent that was unpaid, whether in full or in part, during the emergency period. The surrender of property by the tenant shall not relieve the tenant from the obligation to pay any rent missed during the emergency period or restrict a landlord's ability to recover such rent.

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Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Britnee Timberlake (D)*,  Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  Thomas Giblin (D), 

Assembly Housing Hearing (19:00 6/16/2020 Due to the public health emergency, the State House Annex remain) (on 06/16/2020)