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| Public Act 102-0270 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning housing.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Rental Housing Support
Program Act is | ||||
amended by changing Section 25 as follows: | ||||
(310 ILCS 105/25)
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Sec. 25. Criteria for awarding grants. The Authority | ||||
shall adopt rules
to govern the awarding of grants and the | ||||
continuing eligibility for grants
under Sections 15 and 20. | ||||
Requests for proposals under
Section 20 must specify that | ||||
proposals must satisfy these rules.
The rules must contain and | ||||
be consistent with, but need not be limited to,
the following | ||||
criteria:
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(1) Eligibility for tenancy in the units supported by | ||||
grants to local
administering agencies must be
limited
to | ||||
households with gross income at or below 30% of the median
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family income for the area in which the grant will be
made. | ||||
Fifty percent of the units that are supported by any grant | ||||
must be set
aside for households whose income is at or | ||||
below 15% of the area median
family income for the area in | ||||
which the grant will be made, provided that local | ||||
administering agencies may negotiate flexibility in
this | ||||
set-aside with the Authority if they demonstrate that they | ||||
have been
unable to locate sufficient tenants in this | ||
lower income range. Income eligibility for units supported | ||
by grants to local administering agencies must be verified | ||
annually by landlords and submitted to local administering | ||
agencies. Tenants
must have sufficient income to be able | ||
to afford the tenant's share of the
rent. For grants | ||
awarded under Section 20, eligibility for tenancy in units
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supported by grants must be limited to households with a | ||
gross income at or
below
30% of area median family income | ||
for the area in which the grant will be made. Fifty percent | ||
of the units that are supported by any grant must be set | ||
aside for households whose income is at or below 15% of the | ||
median family income for the area in which the grant will | ||
be made, provided that developers may negotiate | ||
flexibility in this set-aside with the Authority or | ||
municipality as defined in subsection (b) of Section 10 if | ||
it demonstrates that it has been unable to locate | ||
sufficient tenants in this lower income range.
The | ||
Authority shall determine what sources qualify as a | ||
tenant's income. Once a tenant has received assistance | ||
under the Program, the tenant shall remain eligible for | ||
assistance under the Program until the tenant reaches an | ||
income level of 35% of area median family income and will | ||
then begin the transition out of the Program, as described | ||
in the rules governing the Program.
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(2) Local administering agencies should must include | ||
2-bedroom, 3-bedroom,
and 4-bedroom units among those | ||
intended to be supported by grants
under the Program. In | ||
grants under Section 15, the precise number of
these units | ||
among all the units intended to be supported by a grant | ||
must be
based on need in the community for larger units and | ||
other factors that the
Authority specifies in rules. The | ||
local administering agency must specify
the basis for the | ||
numbers of these units that are proposed for support under
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a grant. Local administering agencies must make a good | ||
faith effort to
comply with this allocation of unit sizes. | ||
In grants awarded under Section
20, developers and the | ||
Authority or municipality, as defined in subsection (b) of | ||
Section 10, shall negotiate the numbers and sizes of
units | ||
to be built in a project and supported by the grant.
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(3) Under grants awarded under Section 15, local | ||
administering agencies
must enter into a payment contract | ||
with the landlord that defines the method of payment and | ||
must pay subsidies to landlords on a quarterly basis and | ||
in advance of the
quarter paid for.
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(4) Local administering agencies and developers must | ||
specify how
vacancies in units supported by a grant must | ||
be advertised and they must include provisions for | ||
outreach to local
homeless shelters, organizations that | ||
work with people with disabilities,
and others interested | ||
in affordable housing.
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(5) The local administering agency or developer must | ||
establish a schedule
for the tenant's rental obligation | ||
for units supported by a grant. The
tenant's share of the | ||
rent must be a flat amount, calculated annually, based on | ||
the size of the
unit and the household's income category. | ||
In establishing the schedule for
the tenant's rental | ||
obligation, the local administering agency or developer
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must use 30% of gross income within an income range as a | ||
guide, and it
may charge an additional or lesser amount.
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(6) The amount of the subsidy provided under a grant | ||
for a unit must be
the difference between the amount of the | ||
tenant's obligation and the total
amount of rent for the
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unit. The total amount of rent for the unit must be | ||
negotiated between the
local
administering authority and | ||
the landlord under Section 15, or between the
Authority or | ||
municipality, as defined in subsection (b) of Section 10, | ||
and the developer under Section 20, using comparable rents | ||
for units of comparable size and condition in the | ||
surrounding community as a guideline.
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(7) Local administering agencies and developers, | ||
pursuant to criteria
the
Authority develops in rules, must | ||
ensure that there are procedures in place
to maintain the | ||
safety and habitability of units supported under grants. | ||
Local administering agencies must inspect
units before | ||
supporting them under a grant awarded under Section 15.
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(8) Local administering agencies must provide or | ||
ensure that tenants are
provided with a "bill of rights" | ||
with their lease setting forth local
landlord-tenant laws | ||
and procedures and contact information for the local
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administering agency.
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(9) A local administering agency must create
a plan | ||
detailing a process for helping
to provide information, | ||
when necessary, on how to access education, training, and | ||
other
supportive services to tenants living in units | ||
supported under the grant. The
plan must be
submitted as a | ||
part of the administering agency's proposal to the | ||
Authority
required under
Section 15.
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(10) Local administering agencies and developers may | ||
not use funding under
the
grant to develop or support | ||
housing that requires that a tenant has a particular | ||
diagnosis or type of disability as a condition of | ||
eligibility for occupancy unless the requirement is | ||
mandated by another funding source for the housing. Local | ||
administering agencies and developers may use grant | ||
funding to develop integrated housing opportunities for | ||
persons with disabilities, but not housing restricted to a | ||
specific disability type.
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(11) In order to plan for periodic fluctuations in | ||
annual receipts on deposit appropriated to the Fund each | ||
year, the Authority shall establish by rule a mechanism | ||
for establishing a reserve fund and the level of funding | ||
that shall be held in reserve either by the Authority or by | ||
local administering agencies.
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(12) The Authority shall perform annual | ||
reconciliations of all distributions made in connection | ||
with the Program and may offset future distributions to | ||
balance geographic distribution requirements of this Act. | ||
(Source: P.A. 99-97, eff. 7-22-15.)
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