2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 42 - Real Property › Chapter 26 - Home Purchase Assistance Fund › Subchapter I - General Provisions › § 42–2604. Promulgation of rules and regulations by Mayor; review by Council; contents of loan agreements

§ 42–2604. Promulgation of rules and regulations by Mayor; review by Council; contents of loan agreements.
(a) The Mayor is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to govern the operation of the Fund, including but not limited to, rules and regulations establishing standards for determining the eligibility and selection of applicants; procedures for applying for assistance and for notifying applicants (including the development of appropriate forms); and criteria for determining the terms and conditions under which loans or other forms of financial assistance may be made from the Fund which, among things, shall reflect the ability of the recipient to pay and may provide for the deferred payment or forgiveness of loans. The rules and regulations issued by the Mayor for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this subchapter shall be submitted by the Mayor to the Council of the District of Columbia for a 45 calendar day review period, excluding days of Council recess. No such rules or regulations shall take effect until the end of the 45 calendar day period beginning on the day such rules or regulations are transmitted by the Mayor to the Chairman of the Council, and then only if during such period, the Council does not adopt a resolution disapproving such rules and regulations in whole or in part.
(b) Any loan agreement entered into pursuant to such rules and regulations shall provide that:
(1) All applicants for and recipients of financial assistance from the Funds shall be tenant organizations (as defined in § 42-3401.03(18) or a first time homebuyer seeking to purchase housing in the District of Columbia as a primary residence including, but not limited to, single family homes, condominium units, or occupancy rights to cooperative housing. For the purposes of this section, the term “first time homebuyer” means a real property purchaser who had no ownership interest in his or her principal residence at any time during the 3 year period ending on the date of his or her application for assistance, but including an applicant who has divorced or separated during the 3 year period where a formal settlement has been made under which the applicant does not receive an ownership interest in a primary residence which had been jointly owned, and who has no other current ownership interest in residential real property.
(1A) Priority in the allocation of assistance under the Fund shall be given to residents of the District of Columbia and District of Columbia residents who are low income, elderly, displaced applicants, or residents with disabilities.
(2) If the home purchased ceases to be the primary residence of the recipient of financial assistance from the Fund, the payments to such Fund by the recipient shall be accelerated on terms and conditions prescribed by the Mayor; provided, that such obligation shall not be inconsistent with the applicable law or regulations of any federal home purchase assistance program made available to the recipient.
(3) Repealed.
(c)(1) No later than 120 days after October 1, 2022, the Mayor shall issue updated rules that will allow organizations that meet the following criteria to provide homebuyer education and counseling and to underwrite eligibility for the Home Purchase Assistance Program:
(A) The organization is approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide housing counseling services, including homebuyer education workshops, pre-purchase counseling, and financial management.
(B) The organization provides access to below market, fixed-rate mortgages with no down payment or closing costs.
(2) The rules shall require any such organizations to provide closing disclosure verifying the mortgage and use of any Home Purchase Assistance Program funds.
(Sept. 12, 1978, D.C. Law 2-103, § 5, 25 DCR 1977; Oct. 24, 1981, D.C. Law 4-44, § 2(d), 28 DCR 4265; Sept. 23, 1986, D.C. Law 6-151, § 2(b), 33 DCR 4783; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-259, § 2(b), 46 DCR 1316; Apr. 24, 2007, D.C. Law 16-305, § 61, 53 DCR 6198; Sept. 21, 2022, D.C. Law 24-167, § 2062(b), 69 DCR 009223.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 45-2204.
1973 Ed., § 45-1804.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 47-3502.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 16-305, in subsec. (b)(1A), substituted “displaced applicants, or residents with disabilities” for “handicapped, disabled, or displaced applicants”.
Cross References
Lower income homeownership households, qualifications, see § 47-3502.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2062(b) of Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-470, July 13, 2022, 69 DCR 008707).
Editor's Notes
Because of the enactment of subchapter II of this chapter by D.C. Law 12-266, “subchapter” has been substituted for “chapter” in the second sentence of (a).
Home Purchase Assistance Program Loan Repayment Resolution of 1998: Pursuant to Resolution 12-(PR12-890), effective October 7, 1998, the Council approved the amendment of Chapter 25 of the Home Purchase Assistance Program Regulations to authorize the use of loan repayment funds to pay reasonable administrative costs associated with making loans.
Resolutions
Resolution 16-651, the “Home Purchase Assistance Program Approval Resolution of 2006”, was approved effective May 29, 2006.