WAC 468-100-402
Replacement housing payment for
ninety-day occupants. (1) Eligibility: A tenant or
owner-occupant displaced from a dwelling is entitled to a
payment not to exceed five thousand two hundred fifty dollars
for rental assistance, as computed in accordance with
subsection (2) of this section, or downpayment assistance, as
computed in accordance with subsection (3) of this section, if
such displaced person:
(a) Has actually and lawfully occupied the displacement
dwelling for at least ninety days immediately prior to the
initiation of negotiations; and
(b) Has rented, or purchased, and occupied a DSS
replacement dwelling within one year (unless the agency
extends this period for good cause) after:
(i) For a tenant, the date the tenant moves from the
displacement dwelling; or
(ii) For an owner-occupant, the later of:
(A) The date the owner-occupant receives final payment
for the displacement dwelling, or in the case of condemnation,
the date the full amount of the estimate of just compensation
is deposited with the court; or
(B) The date the owner-occupant moves from the
displacement dwelling.
(2) Rental assistance payment:
(a) Amount of payment: An eligible displaced person who
rents a replacement dwelling is entitled to a payment not to
exceed five thousand two hundred fifty dollars for rental
assistance (see also WAC 468-100-404). Such payment shall be
forty-two times the amount obtained by subtracting the base
monthly rent or the fair market rent (in accordance with (b)
of this subsection) of the displacement dwelling for a
reasonable period prior to displacement, as determined by the
agency, from the lessor of:
(i) The monthly rent and average monthly cost of
utilities for a comparable replacement dwelling; or
(ii) The monthly rent and estimated average monthly
utilities for the DSS replacement dwelling actually occupied
by the displaced person.
(b) Base monthly rental for displacement dwelling. The
base monthly rental for the displacement dwelling is the
lesser of:
(i) The average monthly cost for rent and utilities at
the displacement dwelling for a reasonable period prior to
displacement, as determined by the agency. (For an
owner-occupant, use the fair market rent for the displacement
dwelling. For a tenant who paid little or no rent for the
displacement dwelling, use the fair market rent, unless its
use would result in a hardship because of the person's income
or other circumstances); or
(ii) Thirty percent of the person's average gross
household income. If the amount is classified as "low income"
by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's
Annual Survey of Income Limits for the Public Housing and
Section 8 Programs*. The base monthly rental shall be
established solely on the criteria in (b)(i) of this
subsection for persons with income exceeding the survey's "low
income" limits, for persons refusing to provide appropriate
evidence of income, and for persons who are dependents. A
full time student or resident of an institution may be assumed
to be a dependent, unless the person demonstrates otherwise;
or
*The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public Housing and Section 8 Program Income Limits are updated
annually and are available on FHWA's web site at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/us/ualic.htm
(iii) The total of the amounts designated for shelter and
utilities if receiving a welfare assistance payment from a
program that designates the amounts for shelter and utilities.
(c) Manner of disbursement: A rental assistance payment
may, at the agency's discretion, be disbursed in either a lump
sum or in installments. However, except as limited by WAC 468-100-403(6), the full amount vests immediately, whether or
not there is any later change in the person's income or rent,
or in the condition or location of the person's housing.
(3) Downpayment assistance payment:
(a) Amount of payment: An eligible displaced person who
purchases a replacement dwelling is entitled to a downpayment
assistance payment in the amount the person would receive
under subsection (2) of this section if the person rented a
comparable replacement dwelling. At the discretion of the
agency, a downpayment assistance payment that is less than
five thousand two hundred fifty dollars may be increased to
any amount not to exceed five thousand two hundred fifty
dollars. However, the payment to a displaced homeowner shall
not exceed the amount the owner would receive under WAC 468-100-401(2) if he or she met the one hundred eighty-day
occupancy requirement. An agency's discretion to provide the
maximum payment shall be exercised in a uniform and consistent
manner, so that eligible displaced persons in like
circumstances are treated equally. A displaced person
eligible to receive a payment as a one hundred eighty-day
owner-occupant under WAC 468-100-401(1) is not eligible for
this payment.
(b) Application of payment: The full amount of the
replacement housing payment for downpayment assistance must be
applied to the purchase price of the replacement dwelling and
related incidental expenses.