Connecticut General Statutes 8-339 – Security deposit guarantee program
(a) The Commissioner of Housing shall establish, within available appropriations, and administer a security deposit guarantee program for persons who (1) (A) are recipients of temporary family assistance, aid under the state supplement program, or state-administered general assistance, or (B) have a documented showing of financial need, and (2) (A) are residing in emergency shelters or other emergency housing, cannot remain in permanent housing due to any reason specified in subsection (a) of § 17b-808, or are served a writ, summons and complaint in a summary process action instituted pursuant to chapter 832, or (B) have a certificate or voucher from a rental assistance program or federal Section 8 program. Under the security deposit guarantee program, the Commissioner of Housing may provide security deposit guarantees for use by such persons in lieu of a security deposit on a rental dwelling unit. Eligible persons may receive a security deposit guarantee in an amount not to exceed the equivalent of two months’ rent on such rental unit. No person may apply for and receive a security deposit guarantee more than once in any eighteen-month period without the express authorization of the Commissioner of Housing, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The Commissioner of Housing may deny eligibility for the security deposit guarantee program to an applicant for whom the commissioner has paid two claims by landlords. The Commissioner of Housing shall prioritize provision of security deposit guarantees to eligible veterans and may establish priorities for providing security deposit guarantees to other eligible persons described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (2) of this subsection in order to administer the program within available appropriations.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 8-339
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(b) In the case of any person who qualifies for a guarantee, the Commissioner of Housing, or any local or regional nonprofit corporation or social service organization under contract with the Department of Housing to assist in the administration of the security deposit guarantee program established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, may execute a written agreement to pay the landlord for any damages suffered by the landlord due to the tenant’s failure to comply with such tenant’s obligations as defined in § 47a-21, provided the amount of any such payment shall not exceed the amount of the requested security deposit. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if a person who has previously received a grant for a security deposit or a security deposit guarantee becomes eligible for a subsequent security deposit guarantee within eighteen months after a claim has been paid on a prior security deposit guarantee, such person may receive a security deposit guarantee. The amount of the subsequent security deposit guarantee for which such person would otherwise have been eligible shall be reduced by (1) any amount of a previous grant which has not been returned to the department pursuant to § 47a-21, or (2) the amount of any payment made to the landlord for damages pursuant to this subsection.
(c) Any payment made pursuant to this section to any person receiving temporary family assistance, aid under the state supplement program or state-administered general assistance shall not be deducted from the amount of assistance to which the recipient would otherwise be entitled.
(d) On and after July 1, 2000, no special need or special benefit payments shall be made by the commissioner for security deposits from the temporary family assistance, state supplement, or state-administered general assistance programs.
(e) The Commissioner of Housing may, within available appropriations, on a case-by-case basis, provide a security deposit grant to a person eligible for the security deposit guarantee program established under subsection (a) of this section, in an amount not to exceed the equivalent of one month‘s rent on such rental unit, provided the commissioner determines that emergency circumstances exist which threaten the health, safety or welfare of a child who resides with such person. Such person shall not be eligible for more than one such grant without the authorization of said commissioner. Nothing in this section shall preclude the approval of such one-month security deposit grant in conjunction with a one-month security deposit guarantee.
(f) The Commissioner of Housing may provide a security deposit grant to a person receiving such grant through any local or regional nonprofit corporation or social service organization under an existing contract with the Department of Housing to assist in the administration of the security deposit program, but in no event shall a payment be authorized after October 1, 2000. Nothing in this section shall preclude the commissioner from entering into a contract with one or more local or regional nonprofit corporations or social service organizations for the purpose of issuing security deposit guarantees.
(g) A landlord may submit a claim for damages not later than forty-five days after the date of termination of the tenancy. Payment shall be made only for a claim that includes receipts for repairs made. No claim shall be paid for an apartment from which a tenant vacated because substandard conditions made the apartment uninhabitable, as determined by a local, state or federal regulatory agency.
(h) Any person with income exceeding one hundred fifty per cent of the federal poverty level, who is found eligible to receive a security deposit guarantee under this section and for whom the commissioner has paid a claim by a landlord, shall contribute five per cent of one month’s rent to the payment of the security deposit. The commissioner may waive such payment for good cause.
(i) The Commissioner of Housing shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to administer the program established pursuant to this section and to set eligibility criteria for the program, but may implement the program while in the process of adopting such regulations provided notice of intent to adopt the regulations is published in the Connecticut Law Journal within twenty days after implementation.