Eviction Helpline Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Eviction Helpline Act directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish, within one year, a hotline that provides assistance with eviction-related matters to tenants of covered federally assisted rental dwelling units. It authorizes such sums as necessary for fiscal year 2026 and each later fiscal year to operate the hotline. Covered units include rental units assisted by HUD programs such as public housing, Section 8 rental assistance, HOME, McKinney-Vento homelessness assistance, the Housing Trust Fund, Section 202 elderly supportive housing, Section 811 supportive housing for persons with disabilities, HOPWA, Native American housing, Native Hawaiian housing, and properties with federally backed mortgage loans or federally backed multifamily mortgage loans as defined in the CARES Act. The definitions also clarify that assistance includes grants, loans, subsidies, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other financial assistance, but not loan, mortgage, or pool insurance or guarantees.
Who Benefits and How
Tenants in federally assisted rental units benefit because they gain a dedicated HUD hotline for eviction-related questions and assistance. Public housing tenants, Section 8 tenants, elderly supportive housing tenants, disability supportive housing tenants, and HOPWA tenants benefit because their programs are explicitly within the covered-unit definition. Native American and Native Hawaiian housing tenants benefit because the hotline covers units assisted under those housing programs. Tenants in properties with federally backed mortgage or multifamily mortgage loans benefit because CARES Act mortgage definitions are included.
Who Bears the Burden and How
HUD tenant assistance staff must establish and operate the hotline within one year and maintain it in fiscal year 2026 and later years. HUD program administrators must determine which rental units fall within the covered federally assisted dwelling unit definition. Property owners and managers may face more tenant inquiries, referrals, or disputes when residents use the hotline during eviction matters. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of such sums as necessary for the hotline.
Key Provisions
- Requires HUD to establish an eviction-assistance hotline within one year after enactment.
- Authorizes such sums as necessary for fiscal year 2026 and each later fiscal year to operate the hotline.
- Defines covered federally assisted rental dwelling units to include public housing, Section 8, HOME, McKinney-Vento, Housing Trust Fund, Section 202, Section 811, HOPWA, Native American housing, Native Hawaiian housing, and federally backed mortgage properties.
- Defines assistance to include grants, loans, subsidies, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other financial assistance while excluding loan and mortgage insurance or guarantees.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires HUD to establish an eviction-assistance hotline within one year for tenants in covered federally assisted rental dwelling units and authorizes such sums as necessary beginning in fiscal year 2026.
Key Policy Areas
Housing, Tenant Protections, HUD
Primary Purpose
Requires HUD to establish an eviction-assistance hotline within one year for tenants in covered federally assisted rental dwelling units and authorizes such sums as necessary beginning in fiscal year 2026.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Tenants in federally assisted rental units
- Public housing tenants
- Section 8 tenants
- Native American housing tenants
- Native Hawaiian housing tenants
- Tenants in federally backed mortgage properties
Identified Costs
- HUD tenant assistance staff
- HUD program administrators
- Federally assisted property owners
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Pressley introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Native American housing tenants, Native Hawaiian housing tenants, Public housing tenants
HUD eviction hotline staff, HUD program eligibility staff
Federally assisted property owners, Owners of federally backed mortgage properties
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology