S. 5535 — Eviction Crisis Act of 2026

This section states findings that more than 3,000,000 evictions are filed annually in the United States, disproportionately affecting families with children and renters of color; that 86 percent of civil legal problems reported by low-income people receive inadequate or no legal assistance; and that funding for the Legal Services Corporation must increase substantially to provide counsel to all tenants facing eviction who cannot afford it.

This section defines terms used in the Act, including administrative eviction, court-ordered eviction, eviction filing, executed eviction, illegal eviction, and local ordinance impacting eviction. It also defines the Department of Housing and Urban Development, public housing agencies, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and tribally designated housing entities.

This section authorizes the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to award grants to states and local jurisdictions for eviction diversion programs and landlord-tenant focused community courts that include social service representatives to assist tenants. It requires grants to reach urban, suburban, and rural areas with high eviction rates or large numbers of filings, serve families with children, accommodate limited English proficiency and disabilities, and mandates a nonfederal match equal to or exceeding the grant amount, with data reports due one to two years after award.

This section establishes a national database of court-ordered, administrative, and illegal evictions, to be created and maintained by the Secretary not later than one year after enactment. The database must be accessible to the HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and other designated Department employees; contain detailed tenant, landlord, and procedural data on each case filed after establishment, including names, demographics, rent amounts, case outcomes, representation, and prior appearances; and include aggregate statistics on filings, dispositions, representation rates, durations, and amounts owed, with security measures to prevent improper disclosure.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary awards grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to collect data from landlords on illegal evictions. It authorizes such sums as may be necessary to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section establishes the Committee on Eviction Research to advise the Secretary on the eviction database under section 5, a research agenda on the causes and consequences of evictions, and policies that reduce evictions or mitigate their effects. The Committee consists of 16 members appointed by the Secretary in consultation with the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees, including 2 Department employees, 3 landlords (at least 1 small or independent), 4 academics or researchers, 3 civil society representatives (at least 2 focused on housing civil rights and 1 with eviction experience), 2 data science and privacy experts, and 2 eviction law experts. It meets at least every 2 months, may hold hearings, issue reports, accept gifts, hire staff, and must submit a final report with recommendations within 90 days of termination, using existing appropriated funds.

This section establishes a competitive grant program for State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to provide financial assistance and housing stabilization services to very low-income households at risk of housing instability or homelessness. Assistance covers rent, utilities, security deposits, and related costs for up to 4 months in any 3-year period (or 12 months during periods of 5.5 percent or higher unemployment or a major disaster declaration), with up to 15 percent of funds for services such as case management, legal aid, and rehousing support, and $10 million reserved for program evaluation in FY2027.

This section requires consumer reporting agencies to provide consumers with a copy of any consumer report procured to evaluate a rental housing tenancy application. It prohibits consumer reporting agencies from including in consumer reports any eviction judgments, or related suits, where the judgment favors the tenant.

This section directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study tracking evictions over the shorter of the available data period or 30 years preceding enactment, analyzing local eviction laws and judicial processes, and assessing contributing factors by urban versus suburban and rural areas and by protected classes including race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability, and age. It requires a report to Congress 5 to 6 years after enactment estimating savings on housing, medical, and social welfare programs and additional revenues from the grants, and authorizes necessary appropriations.

This section clarifies that the Act does not deny landlords the ability to file and execute an eviction for a lawful reason or alter the standards for determining a violation of the Fair Housing Act.