Promulgation of list of municipalities exempt from section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes

General Statutes (a) The Commissioner shall promulgate, annually, a list containing each municipality in the state and identifying those municipalities in which at least ten percent (10%) of all dwelling units in the municipality are: (1) Assisted housing; (2) Currently financed by Connecticut Housing Finance Authority mortgages; or (3) Subject to deeds containing covenants or restrictions which require that such dwelling units be sold or rented at, or below, prices which: (A) Will preserve the units as housing for individuals or families whose annual income is less than or equal to eighty percent (80%) of the median income; and (B) Are calculated, consistent with section 8-30g-8 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, by limiting assumed annual household expenditures for housing to no more than thirty percent (30%) of such household annual income. (4) Mobile manufactured homes located in mobile manufactured home parks or legally approved accessory apartments which homes or apartments are subject to a covenant or restriction substantially in compliance with section 8-30g-10 of these regulations. (b) To be counted as assisted housing: (1) The housing unit must be occupied by persons receiving either state rental assistance under sections 17b-812 to17b-814, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes or Federal Rental Assistance under 42 USC 1437f; or (2) The housing must meet the following conditions: (A) It must be receiving or will receive financial assistance under a governmental program, which assistance may come from federal, state, or local government, or any combination of these levels of government; (B) The assistance must be for construction or substantial rehabilitation of low and moderate income housing, as defined by the income eligibility rules of the governmental program providing the financial assistance. "Construction" refers to the creation of a new dwelling unit or units which did not previously exist. "Substantial rehabilitation" refers to rehabilitation of existing structures or units for which the cost of rehabilitation equals at least twenty-five thousand dollars and 00/100 ($25,000.00) per unit or twenty-five percent (25%) of the fair market value of the property, whichever is less; and (C) The housing must be for low or moderate income persons, as defined by the income eligibility rules of the governmental program providing the financial assistance. Any such housing must restrict occupancy of some or all units to persons of low and moderate income. If only a portion of the units in the housing are restricted to occupancy by low or moderate income persons, only the number of units so restricted shall be included on the list. If such restrictions are in effect for a limited period of time, such housing shall be considered as assisted housing only for the period of time that such restrictions are in effect. (c) To be counted as housing subject to deed covenants or deed restrictions: (1) The covenants or restrictions must provide that the housing units must, at time of initial occupancy by each new household, be occupied by persons and families: (A) Whose annual income does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the median income; and (B) For whom the maximum cost of such housing has been calculated by limiting assumed annual household expenditures for housing to no more than thirty percent (30%) of such household annual income. (i) For rental housing, the cost of housing includes the cost of rent, common charges in the case of a rental in a common interest community; and heat and utility costs, excluding television, telecommunications, and information technology services. Heat and utility costs may be calculated by reasonable estimate. (ii) For ownership housing, the cost of housing includes periodic mortgage payments; real property taxes; real property insurance; common charges in the case of a common interest community; and heat and utility costs, excluding television, telecommunications, and information technology services. Heat and utility costs may be calculated by reasonable estimate. (2) The covenants or restrictions must run with the land and be binding on each subsequent owner of the property. If such covenants or restrictions are in effect for only a limited period of time, such housing shall be counted for purposes of the list only for the time period that such covenants or restrictions are in effect. If such covenants or restrictions cover only a portion of the units, only those units shall be included on the list. (d) In order for an accessory apartment as defined in section 8-30g(k) of the General Statutes to be eligible to be counted for purposes of the affordable housing appeals list, it shall be legally approved in accordance with the criteria set forth in section 8-30g(k) of the General Statutes. The municipality in which such accessory apartment is located shall be responsible for inspecting such accessory apartment to ensure it meets the criteria for legal approval, and shall maintain a list of deed restricted legally approved accessory apartments. Such list of legally approved accessory apartments shall be submitted to the commissioner in addition to other data submitted for purposes of promulgating the affordable housing appeals list. (e) The list shall be promulgated at the beginning of each calendar year and shall cover housing occupied by September 30 of the previous calendar year. A notice of availability of the list shall be published in the Connecticut Law Journal every year. (f) The list shall be compiled using the following information to determine the number of qualifying units in a municipality: The Department’s Construction Activity Information System; Connecticut Housing Finance Authority’s mortgages; the Department of Social Services’ Rental Assistance Program; privately-owned properties with deed restrictions and covenants and the list of deed restricted legally approved accessory apartments, provided by individual municipalities; and statistics on assisted housing provided by the Department, individual municipalities, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Farmers’ Home Administration, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (g) The determination of whether a municipality shall be included in the list set forth in subsection (a) above shall be made based on the following calculation: If the result of the calculation is ten percent (10%) or more, the municipality shall be included in the list. (h) Any person who wishes to challenge the inclusion of a municipality on the list of municipalities in which the provisions of section 8-30g are not available, or any municipality that wishes to challenge its exclusion from the list, may do so by giving written notice to the commissioner and, in the case of a challenge to inclusion, to the chief elected official of the affected municipality. Such notice shall include a detailed statement of the reasons for the challenge, and an identification of the dwelling units in question, if known. (i) Upon receipt of such a challenge, the commissioner may undertake any investigation deemed necessary to resolve the challenge. Within forty-five (45) business days after receipt of the challenge, unless the commissioner extends such period to accommodate his investigation, the commissioner shall transmit his findings to the person initiating the challenge and to the chief elected official of the affected municipality. (j) If the commissioner finds that a municipality was erroneously included or excluded from the list, the list shall be amended.