SB 6663-S - DIGEST

(DIGEST AS ENACTED)

     Preserves federally assisted housing and minimizes the involuntary displacement of tenants residing in such housing.

     Directs the department of community, trade, and economic development to, within ninety days after the effective date of this act, consult with all interested stakeholders and develop and provide to owners and tenants of federally assisted housing, state and local agencies, and other interested persons all of the following:  (1) Written information concerning the legal rights, responsibilities, and options of owners and tenants when an owner intends to prepay a mortgage or loan or terminate a rental assistance contract.  This information shall include the name and telephone number of any qualified legal aid program that provides civil legal services to indigent persons and of any other state, regional, or local organization that can be contacted to request additional information about an owner's responsibilities and the rights and options of an affected tenant;

     (2) written information sufficient to enable an owner of federally assisted housing to comply with the notification requirements of this chapter, including the name and address of any public housing agency that would be responsible for administering tenant-based rental assistance to persons who would otherwise be displaced from federally assisted housing; and

     (3) any other information or technical assistance the department determines will further the purposes of this chapter.

     Provides that an owner of federally assisted housing who prepays the mortgage or loan or whose rental assistance contract expires and who continues to operate the property as residential housing within the scope of this chapter shall not evict a tenant residing in the dwelling unit when the mortgage or loan is prepaid or the rental assistance contract expires, except as authorized by the federal assistance program applicable to the project prior to prepayment of the mortgage or loan, or expiration of the rental assistance contract.

     Directs the department to adopt policies for residential homeownership housing, occupied by low-income households, which specify the percentage of family income that may be spent on monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, to qualify as affordable housing.