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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 146
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE RENTAL
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND OTHER HOUSING VOUCHER
PROGRAMS.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes to the Department of Housing’s
(DOH) Rental Assistance Program (RAP; see BACKGROUND ),
including the following:
1. establishes in statute the amount of time a RAP participant
initially has to find housing;
2. creates new statutory requirements related to housing unit
inspections under the program, including specific inspection
timelines;
3. requires DOH to begin payments to unit owners within 10 days
after a RAP participant’s tenancy begins;
4. gives DOH discretion to set maximum rent levels by zip code
(rather than by municipality, as current law requires) in a way
that promotes the program’s use in all municipalities;
5. requires DOH to create an online tool for calculating the
maximum allowable rent a unit owner can charge and the
monthly assistance the department would pay for a unit; and
6. authorizes DOH to adopt regulations for electronic signatures
and document submissions.
The bill also requires DOH to annually assess the maximum rent
amounts provided under RAP, as well as other housing voucher
programs, and adjust these amounts based on certain considerations. It
additionally extends certain requirements to other DOH-administered
housing voucher programs that, under current law, apply only to RAP. 2024SB-00146-R000091-BA.DOCX
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Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2024
CHANGES TO RAP PROCEDURES
Issuance of Rental Assistance Certificates
By law, DOH issues rental assistance certificates to eligible
households it selects to participate in RAP (i.e., certificate holders). The
bill gives certificate holders up to one year, from the date a certificate is
issued, to find housing under the program. It allows DOH to extend a
newly issued certificate’s effective period for an additional 180 days for
good cause. (It is unclear if this provision applies to current certificates
or just to prospective ones issued after the bill’s effective date.)
Current program regulations require certificate holders to enter into
an approved rental agreement within 90 days but allow DOH to extend
a certificate’s expiration up to 90 days (i.e., 180 days total). This 180-day
maximum can be further extended if the department finds good cause
to do so (Conn. Agencies Regs., § 17b-812-5). (DOH’s RAP
Administrative Plan states that a special extension beyond the 180-day
maximum may be granted if there are documented and verified
circumstances that (1) are beyond a family’s control and (2) affect the
family’s ability to find suitable housing.)
Housing Unit Inspections
Under the bill, any DOH-required initial housing-unit-eligibility
inspection must be done within five business days after a certificate
holder submits a request for tenancy approval to the department. The
bill requires DOH to (1) send a written notice with the inspection date
to both the unit owner and certificate holder and (2) do re-inspections,
following a failed initial inspection due to defects in the unit, within
three business days after the unit owner certifies in writing to the
department that the defects have been corrected.
Online Tool for Rent and Assistance Calculations
The bill requires DOH, by June 1, 2026, to create a publicly accessible
tool on its website that does the following: 2024SB-00146-R000091-BA.DOCX
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1. calculates the maximum allowable rent, including any utility
allowance, that a housing unit owner can charge a certificate
holder based on the unit’s location and physical characteristics
and
2. estimates the monthly rental assistance DOH would pay for the
unit based on monthly rent and a certificate holder’s projected
income.
Electronic Signatures and Documents
The bill authorizes DOH to adopt regulations for electronic
signatures or document submissions (e.g., applications, approvals,
reports, or other required agreements for RAP administration). It
requires the department to accept electronic signatures and document
submissions until it adopts the related regulations. (The bill does not
specify a process for doing so.)
ADMINISTRATION OF HOUSING VOUCHER PROG RAMS
The bill also requires DOH to take certain actions related to its
administration of RAP and other housing voucher programs (including
the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program). Specifically, the
bill requires DOH to do the following:
1. administer RAP and any other housing voucher program to
promote housing choice for program participants and encourage
racial and economic integration (under current law, this
requirement already applies to RAP);
2. inform participants in these programs that their housing
assistance may be used in any municipality, and to the extent it
is feasible, help them find housing in the municipality of their
choice (under current law, this requirement already applies to
RAP);
3. do an annual assessment to determine if maximum rent amounts
under these programs give participants housing opportunities in
all of the state’s municipalities and zip codes (based on
statistically representative rental housing survey data it selects); 2024SB-00146-R000091-BA.DOCX
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4. adjust the maximum rent levels for these programs accordingly;
and
5. post the assessment on its website.
The bill also specifies that RAP certificates and housing vouchers may
be used for housing in any municipality to the extent federal law allows
(as is the case for RAP certificates under current law). Additionally, it
presumably requires DOH to administer RAP in a way that ensures no
participant is displaced if the program is not funded (but the bill appears
to reference the incorrect subsection in existing law).
Lastly, the bill requires DOH to adopt regulations to implement these
provisions.
BACKGROUND
Rental Assistance Program
RAP is a DOH-funded program that helps very low-income families
afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.
Recipients of RAP certificates may choose any private rental housing
that meets the program requirements.
Related Bills
sHB 5336, favorably reported by the Housing Committee, requires
DOH to assess housing assistance payments under the federal HCV
program and attempt to equalize housing assistance payments under
state housing voucher programs to the HCV standards.
sSB 6, § 25, favorably reported by the Housing Committee, has nearly
identical provisions to § 2 of this bill on RAP and other housing voucher
programs.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Housing Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 15 Nay 0 (03/07/2024)