[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8747 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8747
To require disclosure of asbestos hazards in the sale and lease of
residential dwellings, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2024
Mrs. Torres of California introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require disclosure of asbestos hazards in the sale and lease of
residential dwellings, 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 ``Asbestos Exposure in Housing
Reduction Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE IN SALE OR LEASE OF HOUSING.
(a) Required Disclosure.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency shall, not later than the expiration of the 2-year period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, jointly issue
regulations under this section requiring the disclosure of asbestos
hazards in dwellings that are offered for sale or lease. Such
regulations shall require that, before the purchaser or lessee is
obligated under any contract to purchase or lease the dwelling, the
seller or lessor shall--
(1) disclose to the purchaser or lessee the presence of any
known asbestos, and any known asbestos-based hazards, in such
dwelling and provide to the purchaser or lessee any asbestos
hazard evaluation report available to the seller or lessor; and
(2) permit the purchaser a 10-day period (unless the
parties mutually agree upon a different period of time) to
conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of
asbestos hazards.
(b) Asbestos Warning Statement.--The regulations issued under this
section shall provide that every contract for the purchase and sale of
any interest in a dwelling, and every contract for lease of a dwelling,
shall contain an Asbestos Warning Statement and a statement signed by
the purchaser or lessee that the purchaser has--
(1) read the Asbestos Warning Statement and understands its
contents; and
(2) had a 10-day opportunity (unless the parties mutually
agreed upon a different period of time) before becoming
obligated under the contract to purchase the dwelling to
conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of
asbestos-based hazards.
(c) Contents of Asbestos Warning Statement.--The Asbestos Warning
Statement shall contain the following text printed in large type on a
separate sheet of paper attached to the contract: ``Every purchaser of
any interest in residential real property on which a dwelling is
located, and every lessee of a dwelling, is notified that such property
may present exposure to asbestos that may place occupants at risk of
lung disease and mesothelioma--a form of cancer. The seller of any
interest in residential real property, and the lessor of a dwelling, is
required to provide the buyer or lessee, respectively, with any
information on asbestos-based hazards from risk assessments or
inspections in the seller's or lessor's possession and notify the buyer
or lessee of any known asbestos-based hazards. A risk assessment or
inspection for possible asbestos-based hazards is recommended prior to
purchase or lease.''.
(d) Compliance Assurance.--Whenever a seller or lessor has entered
into a contract with an agent for the purpose of selling or leasing a
dwelling, the regulations issued under this section shall require the
agent, on behalf of the seller or lessor, to ensure compliance with the
requirements of this section.
(e) Penalties for Violations.--
(1) Monetary penalty.--Any person who knowingly violates
any provision of this section shall be subject to civil money
penalties in accordance with the provisions of section 102 of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of
1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545).
(2) Injunction authority.--The Secretary is authorized to
take such lawful action as may be necessary to enjoin any
violation of this section.
(3) Civil liability.--
(A) In general.--Any person who knowingly violates
the provisions of this section shall be jointly and
severally liable to the purchaser or lessee in an
amount equal to 3 times the amount of damages incurred
by such individual.
(B) Costs.--In any civil action brought for damages
pursuant to this paragraph, the appropriate court may
award court costs to the party commencing such action,
together with reasonable attorney fees and any expert
witness fees, if that party prevails.
(4) Prohibited act.--It shall be a prohibited act under
sections 15 and 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 2614, 2689) for any person to fail or refuse to comply
with a provision of this section or with any rule or order
issued under this section. For purposes of enforcing this
section under the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601
et seq.), the penalty for each violation applicable under
section 16 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2615) shall not be more than
$10,000.
(f) Validity of Contracts and Liens.--Nothing in this section shall
affect the validity or enforceability of any sale or contract for the
purchase and sale or lease of any interest in residential real property
or any loan, loan agreement, mortgage, or lien made or arising in
connection with a mortgage loan, nor shall anything in this section
create a defect in title.
(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) Asbestos.--The term ``asbestos'' has the meaning given
such term in section 202 of the Toxic Substances Control Act
(15 U.S.C. 2642).
(2) Asbestos-based hazard.--The term ``asbestos-based
hazard'' means any condition that causes exposure to asbestos
that would result in adverse human health effects as
established by the appropriate Federal agency.
(3) Dwelling.--The term ``dwelling'' means any dwelling, as
such term is defined in section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 3602) that was constructed prior to 2019. The exemptions
under section 803(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3603) shall not
apply for purposes of this Act.
(4) Inspection.--The term ``inspection'' means an on-site
investigation to determine the presence of asbestos and the
provision of a report explaining the results of the
investigation.
(5) Risk assessment.--The term ``risk assessment'' means an
on-site investigation to determine and report the existence,
nature, severity and location of asbestos-based hazards in
dwellings, including--
(A) information gathering regarding the age and
history of the housing;
(B) visual inspection;
(C) sampling or other environmental sampling
techniques;
(D) other activity as may be appropriate; and
(E) provision of a report explaining the results of
the investigation.
(h) Effective Date.--The regulations issued under this section
shall take effect upon the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to
carry out this section.
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