You asked for information about and the status of (1) the assisted housing inventory required to establish an Assisted Housing Registry under PA 05-239 and (2) the database of housing units accessible to people with disabilities required under CGS § 8-119x.

INVENTORY AND DATABASE INFORMATION

PA 05-239 requires the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to develop and maintain a comprehensive inventory of all assisted housing in the state by July 1, 2006. The inventory must identify all existing assisted rental units by type and funding source. It also must include information on tenant eligibility, rents charged, available subsidies, occupancy and vacancy rates, waiting lists and accessibility features. To assist DECD in the completing the inventory, the act requires all assisted housing unit owners, both public and private, to report information on their units to the database established and maintained by DECD under CGS § 8-119x. “Assisted housing” is (1) housing that is receiving, or will receive, financial assistance under any governmental program for the construction or substantial rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing and (2) any housing occupied by people receiving state or federal low-income rental assistance (e. g. , federal Section 8 vouchers or state Rental Assistance Program certificates) (CGS § 8-30g).

CGS § 8-119x, which became effective July 1, 1998, requires the DECD commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Social Services, the State Building Inspector, the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Information and Technology, and the Office of Policy and Management, to establish a state-wide electronic database, using computer-assisted mass appraisal systems to the extent feasible, of information on the availability of housing units that are accessible to or adaptable for people with disabilities.

The database must include:

1. the location of, monthly rent for, and the number of bedrooms in each housing unit,

2. the type of housing and neighborhood in which each housing unit is located,

3. the vacancy status of each unit,

4. the date unavailable units are expected to become available, and

5. any feature that makes the unit accessible to or adaptable for people with disabilities.

STATUS

First, a search is ongoing for a vendor to handle the requirements of the Assisted Housing Registry inventory, including that it will connect in some way with the database of housing units accessible to people with disabilities. Second, a request for proposals has been issued to locate a new vendor for the database of housing units accessible to people with disabilities (CGS § 8-119x), as its former vendor could no longer meet the database obligations, according to Joseph Oros, DECD Legislative Program Manager.

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