Bankruptcy Reform Housing Provisions Supported
NAHB supports two housing provisions in bankruptcy reform legislation — H.R. 975, the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003” — introduced on Feb. 27 by House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
Under the first provision, home owners would be able to protect no more than $125,000 of home equity from creditors if they purchased their home within 40 months of filing for bankruptcy. If they had owned their homes longer than that, state homestead laws would prevail. In Florida and Texas, for instance, an unlimited amount of home equity is protected.
Intended to prevent renters from manipulating the bankruptcy process to avoid paying rent, the second provision would enable landlords to expedite evictions of residents who, during the bankruptcy process, haven’t paid rent or have used drugs or damaged property.