Sec. 8-345. (Formerly Sec. 17b-812). Rental assistance for low-income families living in privately-owned rental housing. Regulations. Hearing. (a) As used in this section, “housing” or “housing unit” means any house or building, or portion thereof, that is occupied, designed to be occupied, or rented, leased or hired out to be occupied, exclusively as a home or residence of one or more persons. The Commissioner of Housing shall implement and administer a program of rental assistance for low-income families living in privately-owned rental housing. For the purposes of this section, a low-income family is one whose income does not exceed fifty per cent of the median family income for the area of the state in which such family lives, as determined by the commissioner.
(b) Housing eligible for participation in the program shall comply with applicable state and local health, housing, building and safety codes.
(c) In addition to an element in which rental assistance certificates are made available to qualified tenants, to be used in eligible housing which such tenants are able to locate, the program may include a housing support element in which rental assistance for tenants is linked to participation by the property owner in other municipal, state or federal housing repair, rehabilitation or financing programs. The commissioner shall use rental assistance under this section so as to encourage the preservation of existing housing and the revitalization of neighborhoods or the creation of additional rental housing.