The purpose of this Article is to establish a Rental Assistance Program in the Department of Health and Human Services to assist eligible persons or households to pay the rent on dwelling units that are appropriate to their needs. The Council intends that the Rental Assistance Program be periodically modified by regulations adopted by the County Executive to meet changes in the level of appropriated funding, the anticipated number of households eligible for benefits, the current average costs of rental housing, and the extent to which the available funding can provide a useful level of assistance to benefit recipients.

In this Article, the following words have the meanings indicated: (a) Applicant means a person, commonly the head-of-household, who applies for rental assistance on behalf of a household. (b) (1) Asset means any property or interest in property, including: (A) cash; (B) a time or demand deposit in a financial institution or money market fund; (C) stock; (D) a bond; (E) a share in a mutual fund; or (F) an interest in a trust; or (G) real estate. (2) Asset does not include: (A) furniture and furnishings used in the rental unit; (B) clothing; or (C) one automobile for each member of the household who is a licensed driver. (c) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services. (d) Director means the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Director's designee. (e) Eligible Household means a household that meets the standards of eligibility adopted in regulations, and includes one or more of the following: (1) a person with a documented disability and any others who live with the person under the same rental agreement; (2) a person 55 years of age or older, and any others who live with the person under the same rental agreement; or (3) a person who is a participant designated by the Director as eligible for participation. (f) Eligible rental unit means a rental unit in the County: (1) that conforms to the standards adopted in regulations; (2) for which the household has a rental agreement; and (3) that maintains all licenses and permits as required by Chapter 29. (g) (1) Gross income means the total household income from all sources, whether or not reported on a federal or state income tax return. (2) Gross income does not include losses from business, rental, or capital transactions and certain third-party, educational, and restitution payments specified in regulations. (h) Person with a documented disability means a person who: (1) receives disability benefits under the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act, or from a federal, state, or local government disability retirement system; or (2) has a physical, mental, or emotional impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of the individual as the Department determines after the individual submits a statement of condition of disability from the individual’s physician. (i) Recipient means a person who is receiving benefits on behalf of a household under this Article. A recipient includes a person who reapplies for benefits before the end of that person’s eligibility period. Each recipient must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the County, reside at the application rental unit, and be a member of the household. (j) Rental unit means a unit occupied by not more than one household, which includes: (1) a detached or attached single family home or townhouse; (2) an apartment in a multi-family facility; (3) a condominium or cooperative unit in a multi-family facility; (4) a rental mobile home in a licensed mobile home park, or a rented mobile home pad on which the applicant has placed a mobile home in a licensed mobile home park; or (5) a room or group of rooms in an attached or detached single family home or townhouse, apartment, condominium or cooperative.

(a) A household is eligible to receive Rental Assistance Program benefits if the household meets the standards established in regulations. The standards of eligibility must consider, but are not limited to, the following elements: (1) gross income limits for varying household sizes; (2) the combined assets of the members of the household; (3) appropriateness of the size of the rental unit for the number of persons in the household; and (4) whether the actual rent paid exceeds a monthly rent limit for the size rental unit that has been set by regulation. (b) Not more than one household in a rental unit may be approved for or receive benefits under this Chapter during any month.

(a) Each applicant for the Rental Assistance Program must submit, on a form provided by the Department, an application that must contain all information, documentation and certifications necessary to decide eligibility and benefit levels. (b) The applicant must sign the application and attest that the information provided is true and complete. (c) Any household that has received Rental Assistance Program benefits must reapply after each approval period expires to verify if the household continues to meet the applicable eligibility criteria. A recipient who moves from a rental unit for which benefits have been received must reapply to receive benefits for any other unit.

The Rental Assistance Program administrator must approve or disapprove each application received in accordance with the applicable regulations, and must notify each applicant in writing of any approval or disapproval. The administrator may authorize the Department of Finance to make benefit payments to eligible households as follows: (a) Benefits under this Article must be paid in accordance with criteria set by Method 2 regulation. However, the specific minimum and maximum benefit that may be paid to an eligible household must be determined annually by Method 3 regulation. (b) Benefits under this Article must be paid monthly in a form set by regulation. (c) Benefit payments below an amount specified by regulation must not be made. (d) A household receiving benefits must notify the Department of changes in its gross income as required by regulation. (e) If a recipient of Rental Assistance Program benefits dies or becomes institutionalized during the period for which benefits have been approved, the remaining benefit payments may be paid to a surviving member of the household if the household continues to reside at the application rental unit. At the end of the approval period, the household must reapply to see if the remaining household members continue to be eligible for Rental Assistant Program benefits.