HB5519 - Immigrant Tenant Protection Act

• Prohibits landlords from requiring tenants to disclose or make statements about their immigration or citizenship status, or that of their guests or associated persons.

• Bars landlords from threatening to disclose immigration information, evicting tenants based on immigration status, or reporting tenants to immigration authorities for purposes of harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or forcing vacancies.

• Allows civil actions for violations with remedies including actual damages, civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation, attorney's fees, and court costs; permits nonprofit organizations to seek injunctive relief.

• Establishes that immigration status is irrelevant in housing-related civil disputes and generally prohibits discovery into immigration status unless the tenant raises it as a claim or clear and convincing evidence shows federal law compliance requires it.

• Creates an affirmative defense in eviction actions when a previously-approved tenant is sued based on failure to provide social security numbers, credit information, or acceptable identification.