Definitions

As used in sections 17b-802-1 through 17b-802-12, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies: (1) "Applicant" means a person who has completed, signed and submitted an application to the department or to any entity so designated under section 17b-802-5 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies to obtain a security deposit guarantee or security deposit that, if approved, will allow the person to move into a dwelling unit. (2) "Application" means the forms prescribed by the commissioner to be used by applicants to apply for a security deposit guarantee or a security deposit. The application forms, which may be modified from time to time, shall contain information that the commissioner deems necessary to determine whether the applicant should be granted a security deposit guarantee or security deposit. (3) "Catastrophic event" means a situation that arises due to a natural or man-made disaster that results in destruction or loss of housing, as determined by appropriate local or state officials or by the department. (4) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Social Services. (5) "Current income status" means the household's gross income for, at a minimum, the thirty (30) days preceding the date of application. (6) "Department" means the state Department of Social Services. (7) "Dwelling unit" means any house or building, including a mobile manufactured home in a mobile manufactured home park as defined in section 21-64 of the Connecticut General Statutes, or portion thereof, which is occupied, is designed to be occupied, or is rented, leased or hired out to be occupied as a home or residence of one or more persons. (8) "Emergency housing" means a temporary residential facility, other than an emergency shelter, such as a hotel, motel, hospital, state institution or shelter for victims of domestic violence. Emergency housing also includes the private residence of a friend or relative which temporarily houses individuals or families displaced within the past sixty (60) days due to an eviction, catastrophic event or domestic violence. (9) "Emergency shelter" means a privately or publicly supported structure designed to shelter homeless persons on a temporary basis pending relocation to permanent housing. (10) "Eviction" means one of the following: (A) The applicant is forced to relocate after receiving a legal notice to quit; (B) The applicant is a sublessee or is sharing the dwelling unit with the lessee and the lessee has received a legal notice to quit or has been evicted through court action; (C) The applicant is either an owner or a tenant of a dwelling unit and is being forced to relocate as a result of a foreclosure judgment in a foreclosure action completed in court; or (D) The applicant is illegally locked out of the dwelling unit by the landlord and the applicant has filed a police complaint concerning such lockout. (11) "Gross income" means the total annual income of all household members, before deductions, derived from earned and unearned income. Earned income includes any compensation payable by an employer to an employee for personal services and includes wages, salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses and earnings from self-employment or contractual agreements. Unearned income includes, but is not limited to: pensions, annuities, dividends, interest, rental income, estate or trust income, royalties, social security or supplemental security income, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, alimony, child support and cash assistance from federal or state funded assistance programs. (12) "Household" means one or more individuals living together as a unit. (13) "HUD" means the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. (14) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor or sublessor of: the dwelling unit, the building of which the dwelling unit is a part, or the premises on which the dwelling unit is located. "Landlord" includes a licensee, permittee or any person who owns, operates or maintains a mobile manufactured home park. (15) "Recipient" means any individual or household that has received a security deposit guarantee or a security deposit by meeting the criteria as set forth in section 17b-802-2 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. (16) "Security deposit" means a security deposit as defined in section 47a-21 of the Connecticut General Statutes. (17) "Security deposit guarantee" means a written agreement in lieu of paying the security deposit directly to the landlord that is executed between the commissioner or his or her designee or agent and the landlord. (18) "Tenant" means the lessee, sublessee or person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit or premises to the exclusion of others, or as is otherwise defined by law.