Public Act 099-0097
 
HB1361 EnrolledLRB099 08494 KTG 28650 b

    AN ACT concerning housing.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Rental Housing Support Program Act is
amended by changing Sections 7, 10, and 25 as follows:
 
    (310 ILCS 105/7)
    Sec. 7. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Annual receipts" means revenue derived from the Rental
Housing Support Program State surcharge from July 1 to June 30.
    "Authority" means the Illinois Housing Development
Authority.
    "Developer" means any entity that receives a grant under
Section 20.
    "Program" means the Rental Housing Support Program.
    "Real estate-related document" means any recorded document
that affects an interest in real property excluding documents
which solely affect or relate to an easement for water, sewer,
electricity, gas, telephone or other public service.
    "Unit" means a rental apartment unit receiving a subsidy by
means of a grant under this Act. "Unit" does not include
housing units intended as transitional or temporary housing.
(Source: P.A. 94-118, eff. 7-5-05.)
 
    (310 ILCS 105/10)
    Sec. 10. Creation of Program and distribution of funds.
    (a) The Rental Housing Support Program is created within
the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The Authority
shall administer the Program program and adopt rules for its
implementation.
    (b) The Authority shall distribute amounts for the Program
solely from annual receipts on deposit in the Rental Housing
Support Program Fund that are appropriated in each year for
distribution by the Authority for the Program, and not from any
other source of funds for the Authority, The Authority shall
distribute amounts appropriated for the Program from the Rental
Housing Support Program Fund and any other appropriations
provided for the Program as follows:
        (1) A proportionate share of annual receipts on deposit
    appropriated to the Fund each year the annual
    appropriation, as determined under subsection (d) of
    Section 15 of this Act, shall be distributed to
    municipalities with a population greater than 2,000,000.
    Those municipalities shall use at least 10% of those funds
    in accordance with Section 20 of this Act, and all
    provisions governing the Authority's actions under Section
    20 shall govern the actions of the corporate authorities of
    a municipality under this Section. As to the balance of the
    annual distribution, the municipality shall designate a
    non-profit organization that meets the specific criteria
    set forth in Section 25 of this Act to serve as the "local
    administering agency" under Section 15 of this Act.
        (2) Of the remaining annual receipts on deposit
    appropriated to the Fund each year appropriation after the
    distribution in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
    Authority shall designate at least 10% for the purposes of
    Section 20 of this Act in areas of the State not covered
    under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
        (3) The remaining annual receipts on deposit
    appropriated to the Fund each year appropriation after the
    distributions in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
    shall be distributed according to Section 15 of this Act in
    areas of the State not covered under paragraph (1) of this
    subsection.
(Source: P.A. 94-118, eff. 7-5-05.)
 
    (310 ILCS 105/25)
    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:
        (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
    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
    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.
        (2) Local administering agencies must include
    2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, and 4-bedroom units among those
    intended to be supported by grants under the Program
    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 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.
        (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.
        (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.
        (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
    must use 30% of gross income within an income range as a
    guide, and it may charge an additional or lesser amount.
        (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
    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.
        (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.
        (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
    administering agency.
        (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.
        (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.
        (11) In order to plan for periodic fluctuations in
    annual receipts on deposit appropriated to the Fund each
    year program revenue, 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.
        (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. 97-892, eff. 8-3-12.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/22/2015