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To assist applicants for community development block grant recovery assistance not having traditionally accepted forms of documentation of ownership of property to prove such ownership, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to amend regulations for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery and Mitigation programs to accommodate homeowners who lack traditionally accepted forms of property ownership documentation, including those who own "heir property" passed through intestacy. The bill would establish acceptable alternative documentation including a standardized affidavit of ownership form developed by HUD and letters from schools, benefit providers, and nonprofit organizations. Grantees administering these disaster relief programs would be required to inform applicants of the affidavit option and provide copies in English, Spanish, and other locally predominant languages of the disaster area. The bill prohibits grantees from requiring that affidavits be notarized. These changes would allow disaster recovery and mitigation assistance to reach homeowners who own property jointly with multiple heirs but lack traditional title documentation.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
11 cosponsors
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH)
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA)
- Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] (D-MO)
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL)
- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL)
- Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13] (D-OH)
- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS)
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33] (D-TX)
- Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5] (D-GA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Lizzie Fletcher’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- AZA LAW $14,450
- ARNOLD & ITKIN LLP $13,200
- AZA $13,150
- BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE $11,810
- SUSMAN GODFREY LLP $10,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Lizzie Fletcher → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Feb 26, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. · house
- Feb 26, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 26, 2025
Mrs. Fletcher (for herself, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Norton, Mr. Soto, Ms. Tlaib, Mrs. Beatty, and Mr. Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To assist applicants for community development block grant recovery assistance not having traditionally accepted forms of documentation of ownership of property to prove such ownership, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Heirs Empowerment and Inheritance Rights Act of 2025” or the “HEIR Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY AND CDBG-MITIGATION PROGRAMS.
(a) Documentation of Property Ownership.—
(1) In general.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall amend the regulations at part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, to ensure that in providing assistance for the Community Development Block Grant program for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and the Community Development Block Grant program for Mitigation (CDBG-MIT), in connection with a Presidentially declared disaster, in a case in which a homeowner is required to demonstrate ownership of a property heir property owners and any other owners not having traditionally accepted forms of documentation of ownership of property are provided resources and options for proving ownership for purposes of receiving assistance under such Disaster Recovery and Mitigation programs.
(2) Acceptable documentation.—Acceptable documentation for purposes paragraph (1) shall include—
(A) a signed affidavit of ownership form developed pursuant to subsection (b); or
(B) letters from local public or private schools, Federal or State benefit providers, and social service organizations, including community assistance programs and nonprofit organizations.
(3) Definition.—For purposes of this subsection, the term “heir property” means residential property for which title passed by operation of law through intestacy and is held by two or more heirs as tenants in common.
(b) Affidavit of Ownership.—
(1) Development and use.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall amend the regulations at part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, to provide for the use of a standardized affidavit of ownership form, to be developed by the Secretary, by grantees of the Community Development Block Grant program for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and the Community Development Block Grant program for Mitigation (CDBG- MIT) in coordination with appropriate authorities of the applicable jurisdiction. Each grantee shall ensure that, at the time of application for housing repair and reconstruction assistance or mitigation assistance under such programs—
(A) each applicant is informed of the existence of the affidavit of ownership and provided a copy at the time of application; and
(B) copies of the form in English, Spanish, and any other locally predominant languages of the Presidentially-declared disaster area are accessible to the applicant.
(2) Prohibition.—A grantee may not require that the signed affidavit of ownership form of an applicant be notarized.
(c) Exemption.—An affidavit of ownership form shall be exempt from any public comment periods or publication notices under part 570 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations. <all>
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