a) Home Repair Program

i) The [Department] shall administer a Home Repair Program to provide funding for the following purposes:

1) To ensure owner-occupied and rental units are fit for human habitation, free from defective conditions or health and safety hazards, including asbestos, mold, pests, or lead.

2) To improve energy or water efficiency and ensure owner-occupied and rental units are free of conditions preventing the installation of measures to improve energy or water efficiency and lower utility costs.

3) To make units accessible for individuals with disabilities.

ii) The Program shall provide grants not to exceed $50,000 per unit to homeowners whose household income does not exceed 80% of the area median income. Homeowners in rural areas, persons with disabilities, families with children five years old and younger, shall receive priority for grants. 

iii) The Program shall provide loans not to exceed $50,000 per unit to small landlords renting affordable units that are recorded against a residential property in a mortgage security. Landlords in rural areas shall receive priority for loans.

1) Loans made to small landlords who have maintained compliance with each of the following shall be forgiven:

a) The small landlord offered to extend by three years the lease of the tenant occupying the unit when the funds were accepted;

b) Annual increases in monthly rent have not exceeded 3% of the base rent or the unit has been occupied by a tenant participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program for a period of no less than 15 years;

c) In the prior 15 years, the small landlord has not committed a serious violation with regard to the small landlord’s rental property for which the small landlord has taken no substantial steps to correct the serious violation within six months following notification of the serious violation and for which no fines or other penalties or a judgment to abate or correct were imposed by a magisterial district judge or municipal court, nor a judgment at law or in equity was imposed by a court; and, 

d) The small landlord has maintained ownership of the unit for a period of no less than 15 years.

2) Loans made to small landlords who have not maintained compliance with the above conditions shall be recaptured.

iv) The [Department] is authorized to coordinate with other state and local agencies to administer the Home Repair Program.

b) The [Department] shall adopt by rule processes for eligible entities to apply to receive grants to administer the Home Repair Program. The processes may include a request for proposals. Counties and non-profit corporations shall be eligible to apply to receive grants and administer the Home Repair Program. Such processes shall require applicants to demonstrate that they:

i) Have the capacity to administer grant funds received under this section; and

ii) Are able to comply with the requirements of all state and federal laws, rules and regulations.

c) The [Department] shall adopt by rule:

i) Standards for repair and rehabilitation activities conducted by low-income households;

ii) Standards for repair and rehabilitation activities conducted by landlords;

iii) Additional requirements for landlords who receive program funds; and

iv) Provisions for the allocation of program funds including but not limited to allocations for types of eligible entities, types of recipients, types of housing and regions of this State.

d) The [Department] may adopt by rule:

i) standards for the work performed using grants from the program to be performed by disadvantaged business enterprises, minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses or businesses that service-disabled veterans own, as those terms are defined in state law.

e) Upon being awarded a grant or loan under this section, the recipient shall enter into an agreement with the [Department] containing provisions that:

i) Indicate the purposes for which the grant funds may be used;

ii) Prohibit the grant program recipient from using more than 15 percent of grant funds for administrative expenses and program delivery costs;

iii) Require the grant program recipient to provide reports as outlined by the [Department];

iv) Permit the [Department] to conduct audits and investigations regarding the purposes for which grant funds have been used; and

v) Require that the recipient must repay, in whole or in part, grant funds received under this section to the extent that: 

1) The recipient does not use the grant funds in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement executed under this section; or 

2) The [Department] determines that the grant program recipient must repay all or part of the grant funds on grounds of misappropriation, fraud or similar reasons after an audit or investigation and conducting a case hearing

f) Home Repair Fund

i) The Home Repair Fund is established as a special fund in the STATE Treasury

ii) The following shall be deposited into the fund:

1) Appropriations from the General Assembly.

2) Any allocations received by the State from the Federal Government made available for purposes of funding the program.

3) Any gift, donation, legacies or other revenues.

iii) In addition to any money available through gifts, grants, donations or legislative appropriation to carry out the purposes of this Act, the [Department] shall identify any other sources of money which may be used to provide money for the program, including by leveraging funds available through the federal American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, and other federal funding or investment.

iv) Any interest that accrues from money in the fund shall remain in the fund.

v) Money in the fund is appropriated to the [Department] on a continuing basis to carry out the provisions of this Act. The appropriation shall not lapse at the end of any fiscal year.

vi) The [Department] shall be reimbursed by the fund for its administrative costs in carrying out the provisions of this act.

g) Reports

i) No later than September 1st following the first fiscal year or any portion of the first fiscal year in which the program is in effect and no later than September 1st for all succeeding fiscal years in which the program is in effect, the [Department] shall prepare a report on the program and submit it to the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate, the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives, the chairperson and minority chairperson of the [Housing Committee] of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the [Housing Committee] of the House of Representatives. The [Department] shall post the report on the [Department’s] publicly accessible website. The report shall include all of the following information for the prior year:

1) The total number of units, and the average cost per unit, for which homeowners addressed habitability concerns, installed energy efficiency measures and made accessible for individuals with disabilities as a result of program funds awarded under this act.

2) The total number of units, and the average cost per unit, for which small landlords addressed habitability concerns, installed energy efficiency measures and made accessible for individuals with disabilities as a result of program funds awarded under this act.

3) The total amount of program funds invested in addressing habitability concerns, installing energy efficiency measures and making units accessible for individuals with disabilities.

4) The total number of grant and loan applications that were received, approved, and denied.

5) A summary of the most common reasons for denial of applications.

6) The income and demographic information for households assisted under the program.

ii) The [Department] may require county applicants awarded grants under the program to submit reports, on a form and in a manner prescribed by the [Department], containing information necessary for the [Department] to comply with subsection (a).

h) Definitions

i) “Affordable units.”  Units where rents are affordable to tenants at or below 60% of area median income, adjusted for household size, as defined annually by [Department].

ii) “Disabilities.” As the term “handicap or disability” is defined in state law.

iii) “Habitability concerns.”  Home repairs that are required to ensure residential units are any of the following:

1) Fit for human habitation.

2) Free from defective conditions or health and safety hazards, including asbestos, mold, pests or lead.

3) Free of conditions preventing installation of measures to improve energy or water efficiency and lower utility costs.

iv) “Homeowner.”  A person who is any of the following:

1) An owner of record evidenced by a publicly recorded deed.

2) An owner-occupant of a manufactured home who leases a space in a manufactured home community.

3) An equitable owner who can demonstrate an ownership interest in a property as provided by law, including:

(a) A person who has inherited an interest in a property.

(b) A person who has entered a contract to purchase a property.

(c) A person who was the owner of record before a fraudulent conveyance of the property.

(d) A person who is a trust beneficiary and a person holding a partial ownership interest in a property such as tenancy by the entirety, joint tenancy, tenancy in common and life estate.

v) “Serious violation.”  A violation of a State law or code that poses an imminent threat to the health and safety of a dwelling occupant, occupants in surrounding structures or a passersby.

vi) “Small landlords.”  A person, who is a landlord, who has an ownership stake in no more than five properties and no more than 15 rental units and rents those properties or units for use as a primary residence for a fee, regardless of the length or form of the lease.

vii) “Rural areas” means areas of the state defined as non-entitlement areas by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

viii) “Substantial step.”  An affirmative action as determined by a property code official or officer of the court on the part of a small landlord or property managing agent to remedy a serious violation of a State law or code, including physical improvements or repairs to the property, which affirmative action is subject to appeal in accordance with applicable law.

i) [State] has a compelling interest in protecting privacy and the protection of personal information. In administering this Act, state and local agencies, businesses, and any other entity, shall only request data necessary to administer this Act and retain it only as required to administer and achieve the purposes of the Act. Any personal information or data collected or obtained in the course of administering this Act shall be shared only in a manner that has been deidentified and aggregated to the greatest extent allowable while still in compliance with federal eligibility requirements and every allowable effort shall be made to revoke access to such data should programs be eliminated or should there be an ineligibility determination. Personal information or data collected or obtained in the course of administering this Act shall not be otherwise disclosed without the informed consent of the individual, a warrant signed by a [state] judge or federal judge, lawful court order administered within [state] or a lawful federal court order, or subpoena administered within [state] or federal subpoena, or unless otherwise required by federal or state statute. Personal information or data may be considered deidentified if it cannot reasonably be used to infer information about, or otherwise be linked to, a particular individual or household.

j) The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.