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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 877
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 2842
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT CONCERNING TR ANSPARENCY OF RENTAL RATES FOR
TENANTS RECEIVING RENTAL ASS ISTANCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 8-45 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) Each housing authority shall manage and operate its housing 3
projects in an efficient manner so as to enable it to fix the rentals for 4
dwelling accommodations at the lowest possible rates consistent with 5
providing decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations, and no 6
housing authority shall construct or operate any such project for profit 7
or as a source of revenue to the municipality. To this end an authority 8
shall fix the rentals for dwelling in its projects at no higher rates than it 9
finds to be necessary in order to produce revenues which, together with 10
all other available money, revenues, income and receipts of the 11
authority from whatever sources derived, will be sufficient [(a)] (1) to 12
pay, as the same become due, the principal and interest on the bonds of 13
the authority; [(b)] (2) to meet the cost of, and to provide for, 14
maintaining and operating the projects, including the cost of any 15 Raised Bill No. 877
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insurance, and the administrative expenses of the authority; and [(c)] (3) 16
to create, during not less than six years immediately succeeding its 17
issuance of any bonds, a reserve sufficient to meet the largest principal 18
and interest payments which will be due on such bonds in any one year 19
thereafter and to maintain such reserve. 20
(b) In the operation or management of housing projects an authority 21
shall, at all times, rent or lease the dwelling accommodations therein at 22
rentals within the financial reach of families of low income. The 23
authority, subject to approval by the Commissioner of Housing, shall fix 24
maximum income limits for the admission and for the continued 25
occupancy of families in such housing, provided such maximum income 26
limits and all revisions thereof for housing projects operated pursuant 27
to any contract with any agency of the federal government shall be 28
subject to the prior approval of such federal agency. The Commissioner 29
of Housing shall define the income of a family to provide the basis for 30
determining eligibility for the admission and for the continued 31
occupancy of families under the maximum income limits fixed and 32
approved. The definition of family income, by the Commissioner of 33
Housing, may provide for the exclusion of all or part of the income of 34
family members which, in the judgment of said commissioner, is not 35
generally available to meet the cost of basic living needs of the family. 36
(c) Any housing authority administering a tenant-based rental 37
assistance program, such as the federal Housing Choice Voucher 38
program, 42 USC 1437f(o), shall, not later than thirty days after setting 39
or updating the payment standard, as defined in 24 CFR 982.4, or any 40
similar maximum monthly assistance payment for an assisted unit, (1) 41
post such payment standard in a prominent and publicly accessible 42
location on its Internet web site or the Internet web site of the 43
municipality in which it is located, and (2) submit such revised payment 44
standard to the 2-1-1 Infoline program for posting on its Internet web 45
site. Such posting shall include a disclaimer alerting program 46
participants that the maximum allowable payment standard may not be 47
applied in full to the actual rental rate paid by the applicant in certain 48 Raised Bill No. 877
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circumstances. 49
(d) No housing authority shall refuse to rent any dwelling 50
accommodation to an otherwise qualified applicant on the ground that 51
one or more of the proposed occupants are children born out of 52
wedlock. Each housing authority shall provide a receipt to each 53
applicant for admission to its housing projects stating the time and date 54
of application and shall maintain a list of such applications which shall 55
be a public record as defined in section 1-200. The Commissioner of 56
Housing shall, by regulation adopted in accordance with the provisions 57
of chapter 54, provide for the manner in which such list shall be created, 58
maintained and revised. 59
(e) No provision of this chapter shall be construed as limiting the 60
right of the authority to vest in an obligee the right, in the event of a 61
default by such authority, to take possession of a housing project or 62
cause the appointment of a receiver thereof or acquire title thereto 63
through foreclosure proceedings, free from all the restrictions imposed 64
by this chapter with respect to rental rates and tenant selection. 65
Sec. 2. Section 8-48 of the general statutes is repealed and the 66
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 67
In the cases of any tenants who are the recipients of one hundred per 68
cent social services aid from the Department of Social Services of the 69
state or any municipality and who have no income from any other 70
source, rentals shall be fixed by each housing authority for the ensuing 71
rental year established by the authority based on one-half of the costs 72
and expenses set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 8-73
45, as amended by this act, plus the full amount of costs and expenses 74
set forth in [subsections (b) and (c) of said section] subdivisions (2) and 75
(3) of said subsection as set forth in the operating statements of the 76
authority for the preceding fiscal year, which total amount shall be 77
divided by the total number of rooms contained in all low-rent housing 78
projects operated by such housing authority to establish the rental cost 79
per room per annum for such tenants, from which figure shall be 80 Raised Bill No. 877
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computed the rent per month per room. Said rentals shall govern for 81
said rental year. 82
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 8-45
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 8-48
HSG Joint Favorable