Sponsors (10)
The bill strengthens rights and expands housing and service supports for unhoused and low‑income people—potentially reducing criminalization and improving access to services—while imposing higher public spending, new administrative burdens, and increased legal and compliance costs for governments, landlords, and businesses.
Unhoused and low-income people would gain explicit statutory recognition of multiple rights (housing, healthcare, sanitation, voting, ID access), giving them stronger legal protections and clearer standards for service access.
Low-income renters and people experiencing homelessness would have expanded access to housing and supports (housing-first models, universal and emergency rental assistance, coordinated health and social services), increasing chances of stable housing.
Fewer arrests and criminal penalties for unhoused people through decriminalization and limits on abusive enforcement practices would reduce criminalization and related harms.
Municipalities, local governments, and some businesses could face increased litigation and legal defense costs from expanded statutory rights and civil remedies, raising local expenses and potential liabilities.
Federal and local governments would likely need significant new spending (public housing repairs, full voucher funding, expanded rental assistance and services), which could raise taxpayer costs or force budget trade-offs.
Landlords, small landlords, nonprofits, and public facilities could face higher compliance and operational costs from nondiscrimination/service-access mandates and stronger renter protections, reducing flexibility or increasing rents.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Affirms 19 rights for people experiencing homelessness, urges decriminalization and service expansion, and recommends large nonbinding funding priorities to end homelessness.
Official title: Expressing that the United States is obligated to permanently end the unhoused crisis by 2029 and uphold, protect, and enforce the civil and human rights of unhoused individuals, including the human rights to housing, universal health care, livable wages, education, employment opportunities, access to public facilities, free movement in public spaces, privacy, confidentiality, internet access, vote, freedom from harassment by law enforcement, private businesses, property owners, and housed residents, and equal rights to health care, legal representation, and social services without discrimination based on housing status.
Introduced April 30, 2026 by Rashida Tlaib · Last progress April 30, 2026
Creates a House resolution that declares a broad set of civil and human rights for people experiencing homelessness, urges federal, state, tribal, and local governments to protect those rights, and directs the House to prioritize large increases in funding and program support to prevent and end homelessness. The resolution enumerates 19 specific rights (including housing, nondiscrimination, access to sanitation, healthcare, identification, education, privacy, freedom of movement and expression, and protection from certain law-enforcement and private actions), and calls for coordinated federal guidance to decriminalize homelessness and expand services. The resolution is hortatory (expresses goals and priorities rather than creating new binding law or mandatory appropriations). It lists large recommended funding targets and program preferences (including proposals to reallocate large sums from defense and to fully fund multiple HUD, HHS, VA, and education programs), asks federal agencies to consult with community groups and unhoused people, and requests a report to Congress within six months on policies to decriminalize homelessness and provide services.