(a) The County Council may by resolution establish and maintain a special fund, known as the "tenant displacement aid fund", to make grants and loans to persons of eligible income.
(1) Down payment assistance loans.
a. Down payment assistance loans may be made from the tenant displacement fund to persons who are eligible for the following reasons: household member is sixty-two (62) years of age or older at the time of the application or is physically or mentally handicapped as defined by executive regulation adopted by the County Executive under method (2) of Section 2A-15 of this Code, and has an income within the moderately priced dwelling unit ordinance income limits and is being displaced or threatened by displacement as a result of a rental facility changing in status or use, including, but not limited to, the establishment of a condominium regime, the establishment of a cooperative housing project, the establishment of a commercial use of a facility, or partial or complete demolition.
b. Loans may be made from the fund for down payment assistance in purchasing a replacement dwelling unit.
c. All loans made from the fund to tenants to buy replacement dwelling units must be repaid either when title to the property is transferred, or when the person who qualified the household for eligibility changes his or her primary place of residence for an extended period of time. Eligible households may elect to have the interest on the loans computed by either of the following methods:
(i) Interest is fixed at the average interest rate for new mortgages issued in the metropolitan area and compounded annually at that rate. The Director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs must fix the interest rate at least 30 days before the estimated settlement date.
(ii) The interest rate for the first year of the loan is the average interest rate for new mortgages issued in the metropolitan area. The Director must fix the interest rate at least 30 days before the estimated settlement date. Thereafter, the interest is compounded annually using the average interest rate for new mortgages issued in the metropolitan area in the preceding year as determined by the Director.
d. Loans may be paid in full or in part at any time, and there shall be no penalty for such payment.
e. The amount of the down payment assistance loan to eligible households shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).
(2) Rental assistance grant.
a. Grants from the tenant displacement aid fund may be made for rent differential assistance, as defined by executive regulations adopted by the County Executive under method (2) of Section 2A-15 of this Code, to persons who are eligible for the following reasons: A household member is sixty-two (62) years of age or older at the time of the application or is physically or mentally handicapped as defined by executive regulation, and has an income within the moderately priced dwelling unit ordinance income limits, and is being displaced or threatened by displacement as a result of a rental facility changing in status or use, including, but not limited to, the establishment of a condominium regime, the establishment of a cooperative housing project, the establishment of a commercial use of a facility, or partial or complete demolition.
b. Grants for rent differential assistance may also be made to persons of any age who have household incomes at or below eighty (80) percent of the Washington Metropolitan Area median income, and who are being displaced or threatened by displacement as a result of a rental facility changing in status or use, including but not limited to the establishment of a condominium regime, the establishment of a cooperative housing project, the establishment of a commercial use of a facility, or partial or complete demolition.
c. The amount of grant payments to households eligible for rent differential assistance payments to assist them in the rental of a replacement housing unit shall not exceed thirty-five hundred dollars ($3500.00). This payment will amount to the monthly difference in rent between the original dwelling unit and a comparable replacement unit multiplied by twenty-four (24) months.
(b) Grant payments to the Housing Opportunities Commission may be made for the purchase of rental units converting to condominium or other status. The County Executive shall prescribe from time to time regulations, adopted under method (2) of Section 2A-15 of this Code, as he shall deem appropriate for the making of grants and the administration of the fund.
(c) The County Executive shall prescribe from time to time regulations adopted under method (2) of Section 2A-15 of this Code, as he shall deem appropriate for the making of all grants and loans and the administration of the fund.
(d) Eligible households are entitled to receive only a one-time benefit from the tenant displacement aid fund or the condominium emergency aid fund. (1980 L.M.C., ch. 55, § 1; 1981 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 1; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch.24, § 54; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 37; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1.)