OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
SB-194
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A RIGHT TO HOUSING.
AMENDMENT
LCO No.: 7177
File Copy No.: 139
Senate Calendar No.: 133
Primary Analyst: MP 4/27/21
Contributing Analyst(s): (NF)
OFA Fiscal Note
Significant Cost
The amendment establishes a new grant program for landlords that
have suffered a financial hardship due to a tenant's failure to pay rent
during the COVID-19 pandemic and the landlord's inability to evict
such tenant pursuant to the eviction moratorium. The program is to be
administered by the Department of Housing (DOH) to which landlords
can apply, as long as they are not eligible to receive federal
reimbursement for the lost rent.
DOH is anticipated to incur significant one-time costs in FY 22 for 1)
legal services, 2) other program administration, and 3) grants to eligible
landlords.
1
In the absence of federal funding being designated, it is
assumed that these costs would be funded by the General Fund.
The amendment requires DOH to assess each application to
determine whether sufficient evidence would exist for the landlord to
pursue an eviction action against the tenant, were it not for the eviction
moratorium. As DOH does not have the internal capacity to make such
determinations, it is anticipated that DOH would contract out with legal
services providers for that aspect of the program. The cost is unknown
but is expected to depend on the number of units referenced in landlord
1
Costs limited to FY 22 assumes the eviction moratorium will end by spring of 2022. 2021SB-00194-R00LCO07177-FNA.DOCX Page 2 of 3
applications.
The Department of Housing is anticipated to incur additional
program administration costs in the range of $500,000 to $2.5 million,
depending on the volume of applications and eligible recipients. Costs
are expected to include durational staffing, application processing
software/services comparable to what DOH is using for the UniteCT
emergency rental assistance program, and program marketing costs.
2
The total cost for grants to landlords is unknown but could be
significant. The amendment restricts the grants to landlords that cannot
receive federal reimbursement (presumably on a per-unit basis). It is not
known how many landlords would qualify, how many units would
require reimbursement and what the average grant amount would be.
For context, there are approximately 455,000 renter households in the
state, with approximately one third of those with incomes above the
household income threshold required to qualify for federal emergency
rental assistance.
3
Federal funding to support low-income homeowners
is limited to a homeowner's primary residence.
4
The amendment
specifies that DOH should pay eligible landlords "the prorated amount"
of lost rent, calculated from the date the tenant materially breached the
lease until the date of expiration of the eviction moratorium. It is not
clear if DOH is required to pay the full rent owed or some smaller share
for each of a landlord's eligible rental units.
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely
for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General
Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of
informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is
consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any
specific department.
2
For context, DOH spent approximately $2.8 million on program administration for
the Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program (TRHAP) in 2020 and early 2021
that assisted over 6,600 households.
3
Federal funding for emergency rental assistance through the Treasury Department,
in Connecticut provided through the UniteCT program under DOH, requires tenants
to have incomes no greater than 80 percent AMI. Rental arrears and prospective rent
for eligible tenants is paid directly to landlords.
4
U.S. Department of Treasury, Homeowner Assistance Fund Guidance, April 14, 2021 2021SB-00194-R00LCO07177-FNA.DOCX Page 3 of 3
Sources: Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy data for Connecticut, 2013-2017
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of Housing; Statistics on Temporary Rental Housing Assistance
Program (TRHAP)