Loading...
The duties, powers, authorizations and responsibilities set forth in this article may be carried out by and through the housing authority of the county or any successor thereto wherever and to the extent they are within the powers granted by law to the said authority. Subject to the foregoing, the county is hereby authorized to provide for the creation of a nonprofit corporation or corporations pursuant to state law, or assist a private nonprofit corporate body or bodies, to carry out opportunity housing projects, which corporation or corporations may be authorized to assist the county in exercising its duties, powers, authorizations and responsibilities set forth in this article, including but not limited to the sale of real property upon such terms and conditions and at such prices as may be determined to make economically feasible the development of opportunity housing. The articles of incorporation and bylaws of any such nonprofit corporation or corporations created under county direction pursuant to state law, other than corporations created by special act of the general assembly, shall be submitted by the county executive to the county council and shall be subject to approval, disapproval or modification and approval by resolution of the council after appropriate public hearing. An additional public hearing or hearings shall not be required if either the articles of incorporation or the bylaws are modified by the council after the initial public hearing. Any articles of incorporation submitted hereunder shall include, but not be limited to, provisions specifying the composition and membership of the board of directors, the method of their appointment and methods of financing the operations and programs of the corporation. (1974 L.M.C., ch. 41, § 1.)
The county council may grant to the county any and all additional power and authority necessary or proper to carry into full force and effect any and all of the specific powers set out in this article and to fully accomplish any and all of the purposes and objects contemplated by the provisions of this article; provided such additional power or authority is not inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this article or with any of the provisions of the constitution of Maryland or any other provision of state law. (1974 L.M.C., ch. 41, § 1.)
The county council hereby finds that there is a portion of the county's rental housing being converted to condominium or other status; that such conversions are having the effect of displacing particular segments of the population from the rental housing market, the most vulnerable of whom are elderly and/or handicapped persons of fixed income, and other persons of moderate income; that many such individuals are financially unable to remain in the rental housing market in Montgomery County successfully or to exercise any right of first refusal without special financial assistance; and that loans and grants for rental or purchase assistance for elderly or handicapped persons and rental assistance for other qualified persons are hereby declared to be for a public purpose serving the good government, peace, health and welfare of the county. (1980 L.M.C., ch. 55, § 1; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1.)
(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.)