Housing Committee
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PRIORITY CATEGORY FOR THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING LOAN FUND
SUMMARY: This act requires the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) commissioner to establish a priority category under the Rental Housing Revolving Loan Fund for low-interest loans made to owner-occupants of buildings with between two and four residential units, including the unit the owner occupies. By law, this fund provides low-interest loans to owners of eligible buildings in distressed municipalities for eligible costs.
Loans made under the act's priority category may, at the commissioner's discretion, include (1) interest-free loans; (2) deferred payment loans, due when the building is sold or transferred; and (3) forgivable loans under which the principal balance is reduced based on how long the owner occupies the building. Existing law, unchanged by the act, authorizes the commissioner to establish certain priorities under the fund for low cost loans, including the (1) type of repair, (2) building location, (3) owner's ability to repay, and (4) extent to which repairs will extend a building's life.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2011
BACKGROUND
Rental Housing Revolving Loan Fund: Eligibility and Funding Sources
The Rental Housing Revolving Loan Fund provides building owners with low-interest loans to renovate and repair apartment buildings in distressed municipalities to (1) comply with the State Building Code or other state or municipal health codes or (2) otherwise make buildings suitable for tenants. To be eligible, a building must have no more than 20 residential units, and may include an owner-occupied unit.
The fund consists of (1) money the DECD commissioner may allocate from an affordable housing assistance program established in 2001, (2) money available to the commissioner or the revolving loan fund from other sources, (3) the fund's investment earnings, (4) fund balances carried forward from prior years, and (5) loan payments.
Distressed Municipalities
Table 1 shows the distressed municipalities designated by DECD for 2010, the most recent year available.
Table 1: Distressed Municipalities — 2010
Ansonia |
Meriden |
Putnam |
Bridgeport |
Naugatuck |
Sprague |
Bristol |
New Britain |
Torrington |
Brooklyn |
New Haven |
Waterbury |
Derby |
New London |
West Haven |
East Hartford |
North Canaan |
Winchester |
Enfield |
Norwich |
Windham |
Hartford |
Plainfield |
|
Killingly |
Plymouth |
OLR TRACKING: KS: JKL: PF: RO