The HELP Act of 2023 is a comprehensive bill designed to address eviction and housing instability, particularly for Black and Hispanic renters who face disproportionately higher eviction rates. The bill recognizes that evictions are a major problem—about 3.7 million are filed annually in the U.S., with Black renters facing eviction at roughly twice the rate of white renters.

The bill creates three main programs. First, it establishes a national database to track evictions in federally-assisted housing, collecting detailed information about who gets evicted, why, and their demographics. This data will help researchers and policymakers understand eviction patterns and identify racial disparities. Second, it provides $10 billion in funding to help low-income tenants pay for legal representation in eviction cases and cover court fees. Research shows that when tenants have lawyers, they win cases 90 percent of the time and are much more likely to stay in their homes. Third, the bill prevents eviction records from appearing on credit reports, which currently damages renters' ability to get future housing or loans.

The bill also requires landlords in federally-assisted housing to inform tenants annually about their rights and local help resources, and establishes a hotline for eviction assistance. These changes aim to level the playing field in housing court, where landlords are represented by lawyers in most cases but tenants almost never are. By providing legal help, removing eviction records from credit reports, and collecting better data on who gets evicted, the bill targets what Congress identifies as a racial and economic justice issue that affects millions of Americans, especially communities of color.