Congress funds eviction prevention and creates first national eviction database

What it does

This bill establishes a national database to track evictions across the U.S., funds programs to divert tenants and landlords from court eviction proceedings, provides emergency rental assistance to very low-income households facing eviction, and requires tenant screening reports to disclose eviction judgments in favor of tenants. It aims to address the eviction crisis by collecting comprehensive data, preventing homelessness, and ensuring tenants have legal information about their records.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is establishing a national eviction database and funding emergency rental assistance and diversion programs. It is fundamentally a public-health and housing-stability measure, not a market-oriented or deregulatory bill.

What the text implies

• The national database will create the first comprehensive eviction dataset, enabling researchers and policymakers to identify patterns of discriminatory eviction practices and target interventions to high-impact communities.
• Emergency assistance is capped at 4 months per 3-year period (7 months in high-unemployment periods), meaning it addresses acute crises but does not substitute for long-term affordable housing policy.
• The bill requires state attorneys general to submit eviction data, but includes a fallback allowing court clerks to submit directly if states fail to comply, creating dual reporting pathways that may increase administrative burden.
• Tenant screening reports must now disclose eviction judgments in favor of tenants, potentially reducing the stigma of eviction filings that were dismissed or won by the tenant—a significant shift in tenant credit visibility.
• The advisory committee includes landlord representatives and academics, but also requires at least one member with lived eviction experience, embedding tenant voice in database governance.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary tenants gain access to emergency rental assistance ($3B authorized over 5 years), legal diversion programs, and transparency about their eviction records; the bill restricts use of eviction data to harm eligibility for other benefits and requires disclosure of favorable judgments. Landlords retain full access to courts and due process, and the bill explicitly protects their right to evict. The primary beneficiaries are very low-income renters facing housing instability.

Who stands to gain

• very low-income renters (emergency assistance recipients)
• nonprofit legal aid organizations (funding for legal services under emergency assistance)
• local governments and nonprofits (grants for illegal eviction data collection)
• state and local jurisdictions (grants for eviction diversion programs)

Named in the bill

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Attorney General (state and federal), Bureau of Justice Assistance, Legal Services Corporation, Public housing agencies, Tribally designated housing entities, Fair Credit Reporting Act, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Sep 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Sep 24, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.