(1) In addition to amounts otherwise authorized by this chapter, a displacing agency shall make a payment to or for a displaced person displaced from a dwelling not eligible to receive a payment under RCW
8.26.045 if the dwelling was actually and lawfully occupied by the displaced person for not less than ninety days immediately before (a) the initiation of negotiations for acquisition of the dwelling, or (b) in any case in which displacement is not a direct result of acquisition, such other event as the lead agency prescribes. The payment shall consist of the amount necessary to enable the person to lease or rent for a period not to exceed forty-two months, a comparable replacement dwelling, but not to exceed the dollar amount allowed under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4624 as it existed on July 23, 2017, or such subsequent date as may be provided by the displacing agency by rule or regulation, consistent with the purposes of this section. At the discretion of the displacing agency, a payment under this subsection may be made in periodic installments. Computation of a payment under this subsection to a low-income displaced person for a comparable replacement dwelling shall take into account the person's income.
(2) A person eligible for a payment under subsection (1) of this section may elect to apply the payment to a down payment on, and other incidental expenses pursuant to, the purchase of a decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwelling. The person may, at the discretion of the displacing agency, be eligible under this subsection for the maximum payment allowed under subsection (1) of this section.