The National Housing Law Project Opposes Corporate Real Estate Legislation That Would Make It Easier to Evict Tenants in HUD and USDA Housing
WASHINGTON D.C.—The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) today released the following statement by Eviction Initiative Project Director Marie Claire Tran-Leung in response to the reintroduction of the so-called Respect State Housing Laws Act:
“Whether we rent or own, we all deserve a safe and stable place to call home. But the real estate industry and their lobbyists, private equity, and corporations are rigging the rules and taking away our freedom to live in our home without fear of being evicted at any moment. Last week, lawmakers in the pocket of the real estate industry introduced legislation that would allow landlords to evict some tenants with little to no notice.
“Corporations make money evicting tenants, and have spent tens of millions lobbying Congress in recent years. The industry groups propping up this bill have been laser-focused on gutting tenant protections at all levels of government since the pandemic. They helped end the pandemic-era eviction moratorium while skirting its rules, and they continue to attack protections against evictions in the wake of devastating disasters. The only thing they seem to want to protect is their bottom line.
“Evictions are devastating. Eviction histories trap tenants in vicious cycles of housing insecurity and poverty and force them to choose between homelessness and predatory housing. A majority of tenants in HUD and USDA housing are people of color, single parents, children, veterans, and people with disabilities, who have no savings or anywhere else to go.
“We need to protect tenants’ right to advance notice through the 30-day notice provision. It preserves safe and stable housing and ensures that a late paycheck or medical emergency doesn’t cost working people and families their homes. It saves lives and saves money, for both tenants and landlords. We’re ready to fight for it.”
More than a dozen state courts have upheld the 30-day notice requirement across the country. If passed, the bill would shrink the notice period for an eviction from 30 days to five days or less in federal housing programs and federally-backed properties in most states. Tenants in states like Maryland and West Virginia, where landlords are not required to give any notice in nonpayment of rent cases, could face immediate and preventable evictions.
A research brief with data showing how 30-day notice protects tenants and stabilizes communities may be found here. Also find NHLP’s letter to congressional leaders opposing the previous so-called Respect State Housing Laws Act.