Renter Resource Center Act

This bill, known as the Renter Resource Center Act, mandates the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a comprehensive renter outreach resource within 180 days of its enactment. This resource will consist of a toll-free telephone number and a public website, specifically designed to assist renters of residential properties owned by covered large institutional investors . The primary purpose of this resource is to enable renters to notify federal agencies about disputes related to their rental properties, including potential violations of federal or state law and other renter matters. HUD will be responsible for sharing this information with other relevant federal agencies, monitoring these disputes, and working towards their resolution where practicable. Furthermore, HUD must establish procedures to promptly respond to renters, document these responses, and investigate potential federal law violations, while also providing contact information for appropriate state authorities for state law violations. Covered large institutional investors are required to provide written notice about this renter outreach resource to their tenants upon initial occupancy and annually thereafter. They must also provide their own contact information for dispute resolution and prominently feature the resource's information on their public websites. Annually, these investors must notify HUD about their status as a covered investor and report the number and location of covered single-family homes they control. The bill defines a covered large institutional investor as a for-profit entity with direct or indirect investment control over at least 350 covered single-family homes , with specific exclusions for government entities, nonprofits, and community land trusts. A covered single-family home is generally a property with two or fewer dwelling units, though numerous exceptions are detailed, such as manufactured homes, military housing, and properties involved in certain "excepted purchases" like new construction or affordable housing programs. HUD is also required to submit an annual public report to Congress, aggregating and anonymizing data on the types and numbers of disputes received and their resolutions, while ensuring the protection of personally identifiable information.