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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6708
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECURITY DEPOSIT GUARANTEE
PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 8-339 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2
(a) The Commissioner of Housing shall establish, within available 3
appropriations, and administer a security deposit guarantee program 4
for [persons who (1) (A) are recipients of temporary family assistance, 5
aid under the state supplement program, or state-administered general 6
assistance, or (B) have a documented showing of financial need, and 7
(2) (A) are residing in emergency shelters or other emergency housing, 8
cannot remain in permanent housing due to any reason specified in 9
subsection (a) of section 17b-808, or are] (1) any individual or family 10
whose income is eighty per cent or less of the median income of the 11
state, adjusted for family size, as determined by the United States 12
Department of Housing and Urban Development, (2) any individual 13
who is served a writ, summons and complaint in a summary process 14
action instituted pursuant to chapter 832, or [(B) have] (3) any 15
individual who receives a certificate or voucher from a rental 16
assistance program or federal [Section 8] Housing Choice Voucher 17
program. Under the security deposit guarantee program, the 18
[Commissioner of Housing] commissioner may provide security 19
deposit guarantees for use by [such] persons who are eligible pursuant 20 Substitute Bill No. 6708
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to this subsection in lieu of a security deposit on a rental dwelling unit. 21
Eligible persons may receive a security deposit guarantee in an amount 22
not to exceed the equivalent of [two] one and one-half months' rent on 23
such rental unit. No person may apply for and receive a security 24
deposit guarantee more than once in any [eighteen-month] twenty-25
four-month period without the express authorization of the 26
[Commissioner of Housing] commissioner, except as provided in 27
subsection (b) of this section. The [Commissioner of Housing] 28
commissioner may deny eligibility for the [security deposit guarantee] 29
program to an applicant for whom the commissioner has paid [two] 30
one or more claims by landlords. The [Commissioner of Housing] 31
commissioner shall prioritize the provision of security deposit 32
guarantees to eligible veterans and may establish priorities for 33
providing security deposit guarantees to other eligible persons 34
described in [subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (2)] 35
subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of this subsection in order to 36
administer the program within available appropriations. 37
(b) In the case of any person who qualifies for a guarantee, the 38
[Commissioner of Housing] commissioner, or any local or regional 39
nonprofit corporation or social service organization under contract 40
with the Department of Housing to assist in the administration of the 41
[security deposit guarantee] program established pursuant to 42
subsection (a) of this section, may execute a written agreement to pay 43
the landlord for any damages suffered by the landlord due to the 44
tenant's failure to comply with such tenant's obligations, as defined in 45
section 47a-21, provided the amount of any such payment shall not 46
exceed the amount of the requested security deposit. Notwithstanding 47
the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if a person who has 48
previously received a grant for a security deposit or a security deposit 49
guarantee becomes eligible for a subsequent security deposit guarantee 50
[within eighteen] not later than twenty-four months after a claim has 51
been paid on a prior security deposit guarantee, such person may 52
receive a security deposit guarantee. The amount of the subsequent 53
security deposit guarantee for which such person would otherwise 54 Substitute Bill No. 6708
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have been eligible shall be reduced by (1) any amount of a previous 55
grant which has not been returned to the department pursuant to 56
section 47a-21, or (2) the amount of any payment made to the landlord 57
for damages pursuant to this subsection. 58
(c) Any payment made pursuant to this section to any person 59
receiving temporary family assistance, aid under the state supplement 60
program or state-administered general assistance shall not be deducted 61
from the amount of assistance to which the recipient would otherwise 62
be entitled. 63
(d) On and after July 1, 2000, no special need or special benefit 64
payments shall be made by the commissioner for security deposits 65
from the temporary family assistance, state supplement, or state-66
administered general assistance programs. 67
(e) The [Commissioner of Housing] commissioner may, within 68
available appropriations, on a case-by-case basis, provide a security 69
deposit grant to a person eligible for the [security deposit guarantee] 70
program established under subsection (a) of this section, in an amount 71
not to exceed the equivalent of one month's rent on such rental unit, 72
provided the commissioner determines that emergency circumstances 73
exist which threaten the health, safety or welfare of a child who resides 74
with such person. Such person shall not be eligible for more than one 75
such grant without the authorization of said commissioner. Nothing in 76
this section shall preclude the approval of such one-month security 77
deposit grant in conjunction with a one-month security deposit 78
guarantee. 79
(f) The [Commissioner of Housing] commissioner may provide a 80
security deposit grant to a person receiving such grant through any 81
local or regional nonprofit corporation or social service organization 82
under an existing contract with the Department of Housing to assist in 83
the administration of the security deposit program. [, but in no event 84
shall a payment be authorized after October 1, 2000.] Nothing in this 85
section shall preclude the commissioner from entering into a contract 86 Substitute Bill No. 6708
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with one or more local or regional nonprofit corporations or social 87
service organizations for the purpose of issuing security deposit 88
guarantees. 89
(g) A landlord may submit a claim for damages not later than [forty-90
five] twenty days after the date of termination of the tenancy. Payment 91
shall be made only for a claim that includes receipts for repairs made. 92
No claim shall be paid for an apartment from which a tenant vacated 93
because substandard conditions made the apartment uninhabitable, as 94
determined by a local, state or federal regulatory agency. 95
(h) Any person with income exceeding one hundred fifty per cent of 96
the federal poverty level, who is found eligible to receive a security 97
deposit guarantee under this section and for whom the commissioner 98
has paid a claim by a landlord, shall contribute [five] fifty per cent of 99
one month's rent to the payment of the security deposit. The 100
commissioner may waive such payment for good cause. 101
(i) The [Commissioner of Housing] commissioner shall adopt 102
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to 103
administer the program established pursuant to this section and to set 104
eligibility criteria for the program, but may implement the program 105
while in the process of adopting such regulations provided notice of 106
intent to adopt the regulations is published [in the Connecticut Law 107
Journal within ] on the eRegulations System not later than twenty days 108
after implementation. 109
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2023) The sum of ten million dollars is 110
appropriated to the Department of Housing from the General Fund, 111
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, for the administration of the 112
security deposit guarantee program. 113
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 8-339
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section Substitute Bill No. 6708
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Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a), "not greater than" was changed to "or less" for clarity
and in Section 1(b) and 1(i), "within" was changed to "not later than"
for clarity.
HSG Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO