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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 29. PUBLIC WELFARE |
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Chapter 29-76. HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND RAPID RE-HOUSING PROGRAM |
Section 29-7605. HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND RAPID RE-HOUSING ASSISTANCE
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7605.1HPRP assistance may include those categories of assistance specified in sections 7606, 7607, 7608, 7609 and 7610.
7605.2HPRP assistance shall be “needs-based,” meaning that the assistance provided shall be the minimum amount as determined by the Provider needed to prevent the HPRP applicant or participant from becoming homeless or returning to homelessness in the near term.
7605.3The Program shall not be obligated to provide a monetary amount for a requested service if a less costly alternative is available.
7605.4In addition to any dollar caps on benefits set forth in this chapter, the total HPRP financial assistance to a participating household shall not exceed eighteen (18) months. The following HPRP benefits shall count toward the eighteen (18) month maximum allowed: rental arrearages, utility arrearages, security deposit, utility deposit, first month’s rent, and rental assistance. A HPRP payment provided for a part or the whole of any month shall be counted as one (1) month’s assistance for purposes of calculating the eighteen (18) month limit on HPRP assistance. Similarly, any ERAP benefits received by the applicant unit in the eighteen (18) months preceding the application to HPRP shall also count toward the HPRP eighteen (18) month limit.
7605.5The Provider shall not make benefit payments directly to the applicant household, but only to third parties, such as a landlord or utility company.
7605.6Receipt of HPRP assistance under sections 7607, 7609, and 7610 is conditioned on the applicant being able to demonstrate that the applicant is a leaseholder whose name is on the lease and that the rental unit meets HUD’s “Rent Reasonableness” standard. HUD defines Rent Reasonableness to mean that the total rent charged for a unit must be reasonable in relation to the rents being charged during the same time period for comparable units in the private unassisted market and must not be in excess of rents being charged by the owner during the same time period for comparable non-luxury unassisted units.
7605.7HPRP assistance under sections 7607, 7608, 7609, and 7610 shall be provided only for housing units located within the District of Columbia. Any unit constructed before 1978 in which a child under the age of six (6) will be residing must comply with the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act, 42 U.S.C. 4822, and implementing regulation, 24 C.F.R. part 35, subparts A, B, M, and R.
7605.8An HPRP provider may not approve or issue an HPRP benefit for a housing unit that is owned by the HPRP provider, its parent, subsidiary or an affiliated organization of the HPRP Provider.
7605.9Only in the rare circumstance where payment is required by a vendor or a controlling government authority, including but not limited to a court or federal marshals, may the benefit payment be made in the form of cash. In all other cases, all HPRP assistance payments shall be in the form of non-cash direct vendor payments.
7605.10HPRP benefits approved in accordance with sections 7607, 7608, 7609, or 7610 that are not utilized within sixty (60) days after approval may be forfeited absent a showing that the applicant or recipient has made reasonable efforts to use the assistance or good cause as to why the applicant or recipient could not expend the benefits.