Bills · HR 8185
IN COMMITTEE· 119TH CONGRESS
House BillHR 8185Housing and Community Development
HELP Act of 2026
This bill provides free legal aid to tenants, creates a national eviction tracking system, and stops credit companies from using old evictions to lower people's credit scores.AI-written
INTRO APR 2· LAST ACTION APR 2
READING
10MIN
COSPONSORS
5
READER REACTIONS0 TOTAL
NO VOTES YET · BE THE FIRST
- Introduced only
tl;dr
AI-writtenFunds free lawyers for low-income tenants facing eviction and bans credit agencies from reporting evictions or rent debt—wiping the slate clean for renters looking for new homes.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS
STEP 2 / 8Introduced
In Committee
Reported
Passed House
Passed Senate
Conference
To President
Became Law
WHAT THE BILL DOES
AI-writtenEviction is often a 'death sentence' for a person's ability to find safe housing because a single record can lead to automatic rejections from future landlords. By removing these records from credit reports, this bill breaks a cycle where one financial crisis prevents someone from ever getting back on their feet. It also addresses the 'justice gap,' where landlords almost always have lawyers in court while most tenants do not, which often leads to people being evicted for reasons that could have been solved legally.
KEY PROVISIONS
5AI-extractedPROVISION 01
Creates a national database of evictions from federally assisted housing.
It allows the government to see patterns of discrimination or specific areas where people are losing their homes at high rates.
PROVISION 02
Establishes a grant program for free legal representation for low-income tenants.
Having a lawyer significantly increases a tenant's chance of staying in their home or reaching a fair settlement with a landlord.
PROVISION 03
Bans evictions and rent/utility debt from appearing on credit reports.
It prevents a past housing crisis from blocking a person's access to future housing, loans, or even jobs.
PROVISION 04
Allows academic institutions to access unredacted eviction data for research.
This enables experts to study the root causes of the housing crisis and suggest more effective government policies.
PROVISION 05
Requires landlords to provide annual written notice of tenant rights.
Many tenants are evicted because they don't know the legal protections they already have.
SPONSORSHIP
1 + 5
D· Massachusetts
YRS IN OFFICE
7
BILLS LED
42
COSPONSOR BREAKDOWNBIPARTISAN · 0%
DEM 5 REP 0 IND 0
ACTION TIMELINE
2 EVENTSAPR 2
Introduced in House
APR 2
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
BILL INFO
TypeHouse Bill
NumberHR 8185
Congress119th
StatusIn Committee
IntroducedApr 2, 2026
Last actionApr 2, 2026
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IN COMMITTEE· 119TH CONGRESS · FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE · INTRODUCED APR 2, 2026
House BillHR 8185Housing and Community Development
HELP Act of 2026
This bill provides free legal aid to tenants, creates a national eviction tracking system, and stops credit companies from using old evictions to lower people's credit scores.AI-written
INTRODUCED APR 2, 2026· LAST ACTION APR 2, 2026
PASSAGE CHANCES
—%
READING
10 min
COSPONSORS
5
COMPLEXITY
Moderate
