Sec. 8-37zz. State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee.
Sec. 8-37aaa. Grants for physical needs assessment of eligible housing.
Sec. 8-37ttt. Standardized rental agreement forms.
Sec. 8-37uuu. Program to recruit landlords for rental assistance program participation.
Sec. 8-37r. Department of Housing. Commissioner. Successor to certain functions, powers and duties. Designation as public housing agency. (a) There shall be a Department of Housing, which shall be the lead agency for all matters relating to housing. The department head shall be the Commissioner of Housing, who shall be appointed by the Governor in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-5 to 4-8, inclusive, with the powers and duties therein prescribed. Said commissioner shall be responsible at the state level for all aspects of policy, development, redevelopment, preservation, maintenance and improvement of housing and neighborhoods. Said commissioner shall be responsible for developing strategies to encourage the provision of housing in the state, including housing for very low, low and moderate income families.
(b) The Department of Housing shall constitute a successor to the functions, powers and duties of the Department of Economic Development relating to housing, community development, redevelopment and urban renewal as set forth in chapters 128, 129, 130, 135 and 136 in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-38d, 4-38e and 4-39. The Department of Housing is designated a public housing agency for the purpose of administering the Section 8 existing certificate program and the housing voucher program pursuant to the Housing Act of 1937.
(c) The commissioner shall, in consultation with the interagency council on affordable housing established pursuant to section 8-37nnn, review the organization and delivery of state housing programs and submit a report with recommendations, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, not later than January 15, 2013, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing and appropriations.
(d) Any order or regulation of the Department of Housing or Department of Economic and Community Development that is in force on January 1, 2013, shall continue in force and effect as an order or regulation until amended, repealed or superseded pursuant to law.
(e) On and after July 1, 2017, the Department of Housing shall constitute a successor department, in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-38d, 4-38e and 4-39, to the Department of Children and Families with respect to the homeless youth program as set forth in section 17a-62a.
(P.A. 79-598, S. 3, 27; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 112; P.A. 13-234, S. 4; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 419; P.A. 23-204, S. 129.)
History: P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 amended Subsec. (a) by creating Department of Housing within Department of Economic and Community Development for administrative purposes only, making department head the Commissioner of Housing and making commissioner responsible for developing strategies re housing in the state, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “Said department” with “The Department of Housing” and added Subsec. (c) re required report and Subsec. (d) re continuation of force and effect of order or regulation, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (b) by designating Department of Housing a public housing agency for purposes of Section 8 and housing voucher programs, effective July 1, 2013; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 added Subsec. (e) re successor department to the Department of Children and Families with respect to the homeless youth program, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 23-204 removed the Department of Housing from within the Department of Economic and Community Development for administrative purposes.
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Sec. 8-37yy. State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Fund. Financial assistance for preservation of eligible housing. Regulations. (a) The Department of Housing shall establish and maintain the State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Fund for the purpose of the preservation of eligible housing. The moneys of the fund shall be available to the department to provide financial assistance to the owners of eligible housing for the maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and modernization of eligible housing and for other activities consistent with preservation of eligible housing, including, but not limited to, (1) emergency repairs to abate actual or imminent emergency conditions that would result in the loss of habitable housing units, (2) major system repairs or upgrades, including, but not limited to, repairs or upgrades to roofs, windows, mechanical systems and security, (3) reduction of vacant units, (4) remediation or abatement of hazardous materials, including lead, (5) increases in development mobility and sensory impaired accessibility in units, common areas and accessible routes, (6) relocation costs and alternative housing for not more than sixty days, necessary because of the failure of a major building system, and (7) a comprehensive physical needs assessment. Financial assistance shall be awarded to applicants consistent with standards and criteria adopted in consultation with the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing. On and after July 1, 2009, the department shall prepare an administrative budget for the program.
(b) The department may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section and sections 8-37xx and 8-37aaa. Such regulations shall establish guidelines for grants and loans, and a process for certifying an emergency condition in not more than forty-eight hours and for committing emergency funds, including costs of resident relocation, if necessary, not more than five business days after application by the owner of eligible housing for emergency repair financial assistance.
(c) In reviewing applications and providing financial assistance under this section, the department, in consultation with the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing, shall consider the long-term viability of the eligible housing and the likelihood that financial assistance will assure such long-term viability. As used in this section, “viability” includes, but is not limited to, continuous habitability and adequate operating cash flow to maintain the existing physical plant and any capital improvements and to provide basic services required under the lease and otherwise required by local codes and ordinances.
(d) Annually, on or before March thirty-first, the department shall submit a report on the operation of the fund, for the previous calendar year, to the General Assembly, in accordance with section 8-37qqq. The report shall include an analysis of the distribution of funds and an evaluation of the performance of said fund and may include recommendations for modification to the program.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 104; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 2; P.A. 11-168, S. 1; P.A. 13-234, S. 22; P.A. 23-204, S. 234.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective June 29, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (c) to insert Subdiv. (1) designator, substitute regulations to implement section and Secs. 8-37xx, 8-37zz and 8-37aaa for procedures to implement section, and insert Subdiv. (2) to require written policies and procedures while in the process of adopting regulations, effective October 6, 2007; P.A. 11-168 amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) by replacing references to State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee with references to joint standing committee of General Assembly having cognizance of matters re housing, amended Subsec. (b) by deleting requirement that budget be approved by State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, amended Subsec. (c) by changing “shall” to “may” re adoption of regulations, by deleting requirement that guidelines for grants and loans provide for deferred payment of principal and interest and by deleting former Subdiv. (2) re policies and procedures, amended Subsec. (e) by replacing reference to Sec. 11-4a with reference to Sec. 32-1m, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 13, 2011; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “Department of Housing” for “Department of Economic and Community Development”, and amended Subsec. (e) by changing timing for annual report and substituting reference to Sec. 8-37qqq for reference to Sec. 32-1m re report, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, adding provision re department preparing an administrative budget, deleted former Subsec. (b) re administrative cost expenditures and administrative budget, redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (b) and amended same to delete reference to Sec. 8-37zz, and redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) and (e) as Subsecs. (c) and (d), effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 8-37zz. State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee. Section 8-37zz is repealed, effective July 1, 2023.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 105; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 3; P.A. 11-168, S. 2; P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 23-204, S. 444.)
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Sec. 8-37aaa. Grants for physical needs assessment of eligible housing. (a) The Department of Housing shall design and administer a program of grants to owners of eligible housing to pay the cost of a comprehensive physical needs assessment for each eligible housing development. Such assessment may be a twenty-year life cycle analysis covering all physical elements, adjusted for observed conditions, and shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of (1) dwelling units; building interiors and building envelopes; community buildings and amenities; site circulation and parking; site amenities such as lots; mechanical systems, including an analysis of technological options to reduce energy consumption and pay-back periods on new systems that produce heat and domestic hot water; and site conditions, (2) compliance with physical accessibility guidelines under Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and (3) hazardous materials abatement, including lead paint abatement. The costs of such needs assessments shall be paid from the fund.
(b) A copy of each completed comprehensive physical needs assessment shall be submitted to the Department of Housing in a format prescribed by the department. The format shall be designed by the department so that a baseline of existing and standardized conditions of eligible housing can be prepared and annually updated to reflect changes in the consumer price index and annual construction costs.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 106; P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 23-204, S. 235.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 effective July 1, 2007; pursuant to P.A. 13-234, references to Department of Economic and Community Development were changed editorially by the Revisors to references to Department of Housing, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to program review by State-Assisted Housing Sustainability Advisory Committee, effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 8-37sss. Term “commissioner” to be substituted for “secretary”. Term “Housing” to be substituted for “the Office of Policy and Management”, “Economic and Community Development” and “Social Services”. Section 8-37sss is repealed, effective July 1, 2023.
(P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 23-204, S. 444.)
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Sec. 8-37ttt. Standardized rental agreement forms. (a) The Commissioner of Housing shall, within existing appropriations, develop standardized rental agreement forms that may be used by landlords and tenants in the state. Such forms shall contain the essential terms of a rental agreement between any landlord and any tenant, be designed to be easily read and understood and include plain language explanations of all terms and conditions of the agreement, including, but not limited to, rent, fees, deposits and other charges. The commissioner shall make such forms available in both English and Spanish and shall post such forms on the Department of Housing's Internet web site not later than July 1, 2024, and shall revise such forms from time to time, at the commissioner's discretion.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2028, the commissioner shall (1) translate the forms developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section into the five most commonly spoken languages in the state, as determined by the commissioner, and (2) post such translations on the Department of Housing's Internet web site not later than December 1, 2028.
(P.A. 23-207, S. 13.)
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Sec. 8-37uuu. Program to recruit landlords for rental assistance program participation. (a) The Commissioner of Housing, within available appropriations, and in consultation with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and representatives of any public housing authority in the state selected by the commissioner, shall establish a program to encourage and recruit owners of rental real property to accept from prospective tenants any federal Housing Choice Voucher, rental assistance program certificate or payment from any other program administered by the state that provides rental payment subsidies for residential dwellings. Such program may include, but need not be limited to, advertisements, community outreach events and communications to owners of rental real property who utilize other programs concerning such property administered by the state.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit a report concerning (1) the status of the program, including an analysis of the effectiveness of the program in recruiting owners of rental real property to accept vouchers, certificates and any other rental payment subsidies, and (2) the commissioner's recommendations concerning the program to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.
(P.A 23-207, S. 19.)
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