Section 65.04 - Determination of Benefits(1)General Provisions. (a) If administering agency determines, pursuant to guidelines issued by the Department, that assistance other than Rental Assistance will best serve the family in obtaining safe, permanent housing, the Department may provide alternative housing-related expenses for eligible families, in accordance with guidance published by the Department, which guidance may, but need not, include household assistance payments for the purposes listed in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) through (g). The administering agency shall determine the specific benefits to be provided to a Participant in its reasonable discretion pursuant to such guidelines as the Department may issue from time to time. Such determination shall not be overturned unless in violation of the law or 760 CMR 65.00. Any assistance paid under 760 CMR 65.04(1) must be necessary to maintain housing for the Participant Family.(b) Rental assistance shall be limited to families who as of June 30, 2012, were receiving STHT rental assistance.(2)Rental Assistance. (a) In determining the value of Rental Assistance for each Rental Assistance Benefits Participant in STHT, the administering agency shall establish each Rental Assistance Benefits Participant's gross family income as defined in 760 CMR 67.02(5). The administering agency may utilize data provided by another government agency in determining income. The amount of a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant's Rental Assistance Payment shall be the difference between the Rental Assistance Benefits Participants' portion of the rent and utility allowance, as determined in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b), and the Contract Rent.(b) Rental Assistance Benefits Participants shall pay 35% of gross family income, as determined pursuant to 760 CMR 67.02(5), toward rent and utility allowance. For purposes of calculating this requirement, utility allowances shall be as determined by the Department on a regional basis, based on such factors as the Department deems relevant, including but not limited to comparable values for Departmentally determined utility allowances for recipients of Housing Choice (Section 8) vouchers, geography, and historic usage patterns.(c) When the value of the Rental Assistance benefits has been determined in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b), the administering agency will send a Rental Assistance Payment each month to the Owner of the Contract Unit in which the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant lives, or to the Owner's Agent, and the remainder of the Contract Rent shall be paid to the Owner or the Owner's Agent by the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant. In cases when 35% of the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant's gross income is less than the utility allowance as calculated pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b), the administering agency will send a Rental Assistance Payment each month to the Owner of the Contract Unit in which the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant lives, or to the Owner's Agent in the amount of the full Contract Rent, and the administering agency will send a utility allowance payment each month to the Participant in an amount determined by subtracting 35% of gross family income, as determined pursuant to 760 CMR 67.02(5), from the full utility allowance for the Participant's family as determined in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b).(d) Determination of Value of Rental Assistance benefits on an Annual Basis. Upon the annual recertification of family income in accordance with 760 CMR 65.03(8), the administering agency shall then determine whether the Participant's Rental Assistance benefits value and share of rent should be adjusted based on the family income at the time of the annual review in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2). If the Participant's share of the rent is adjusted, the value of the Rental Assistance benefits shall be adjusted accordingly, effective in the first month of the following year of Rental Assistance benefits.(e) If a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant relocates or there is a change in the Participant's family composition, the Participant's continued eligibility, share of rent and appropriate unit size shall be fully redetermined at that time. If a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant experiences a decrease in family income of more than 10% of the previously reported income, the Rental Benefits Participant may request an interim recertification, which may result in a redetermination of the Rental Assistance Payment. Interim recertification shall not be required if a Rental Benefits Participant's family experiences an increase in income, except in the case of a Participant family:1. that reported no income or minimal income (less than $250 per month) at the time of application;2. whose income increased due to receipt of initial or additional public benefits; or3. who experienced a decrease in income expected to be temporary at the time of the decrease. Participant families covered by 760 CMR 65.04(2)(e)1. or 2. shall report, within ten days, any change of income greater than 10% of their prior income and shall receive an interim recertification on the basis of their new income. Participant families covered by 760 CMR 65.04(2)(e)3. shall inform the Administering Agency at the time of the temporary decrease in income of the anticipated date that income will increase and to what level the anticipated increase will affect the Participant's share of rent as of the following month, unless the Participant provides verification that income will not increase as expected at that time, in which case the increase in income will take effect at such later date as is determined by the verification. If the Participant's share of the rent is adjusted pursuant to an interim recertification, the value of the Rental Assistance benefits shall be adjusted accordingly, effective in the first day of the full month following the change requiring interim recertification.(f) Rental Assistance benefits values shall be adjusted whenever necessary to comply with 760 CMR 65.00. In the event that a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant files an appeal as to the amount of a redetermined rent share within 14 days of the administering agency's notice of the redetermined rent, the Participant shall continue to pay the rent share in effect instead of the redetermined rent (unless the redetermined rent is lower) until disposition of the appeal. Following disposition of the appeal, the Participant shall forthwith pay to the administering agency any additional amounts determined to have been due but not paid since the effective date set out in the notice of redetermined rent or the administering agency shall credit the Participant with any amounts paid but determined not to have been due. The redetermined rent shall be paid beginning on its effective date.(g) A Rental Assistance Benefits Holder shall submit a Request for Program Payment for a proposed Contract Unit to the administering agency.(h) Upon receipt of the necessary documentation, the administering agency shall enter into a Rental Assistance Payment Contract with the Owner of the Contract Unit, or the Owner's Agent, on behalf of the Rental Assistance Benefits Holder (subsequently referred to as the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant).(i) While a Rental Assistance Payment Contract is in effect, the terms and conditions of the Participant's Program Participation Agreement remain in effect for the period of time that the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant occupies the Contract Unit or until otherwise ter- minated. When a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant chooses to move for reasons considered good cause as determined by 760 CMR 67.06(2)(c) or is required to move, the Participant shall give one calendar month's written notice to the administering agency and to the Owner or Owner's Agent. If a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant chooses to leave a Contract Unit without good cause as determined by 760 CMR 67.06(2)(c), the Participant will be deemed to have abandoned the Contract Unit.(j) If a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant has vacated an STHT unit with good cause as determined by 760 CMR 67.06(2)(c) before locating another Suitable Unit and does not locate a new Suitable Unit within 30 days of vacating the unit, the Program Participation Agreement will expire and the Contract Unit will be deemed abandoned, and the Participant shall not be entitled to further STHT benefits. The administering agency may extend this period for up to an additional 60 days upon a showing of good cause, as determined by 760 CMR 67.06(2)(c), by the Participant.(k) Subject to the qualifications in 760 CMR 65.04(2)(i) and (j), a Rental Assistance Benefits Holder may move anywhere in the state without jeopardizing program eligibility. When a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant relocates from one administering agency's jurisdiction to another, the Rental Assistance benefits will thereafter be administered by the administering agency with jurisdiction where the Participant takes up residence and the Department will make any necessary adjustments to the budget allocations for the affected administering agencies pursuant to guidelines issued by the Department.(3)Household Assistance Benefits and Other Non-rental Assistance Benefits. (a)Maximum Expenditures. The administering agency shall not pay more than $4000 per year per family towards benefits available through STHT in any 12 month period, except for families who are recipients of Rental Assistance benefits. Except for families who received Rental Assistance benefits within the past 12 months, the maximum annual STHT benefit shall be reduced by any amount paid to the STHT Participant Family, or to another family including one or more of the children in the STHT Participant Family, pursuant to the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program pursuant to budget line item 7004-9316. Except as provided otherwise in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(c), the benefits year for purposes of 760 CMR 65.04(3) shall commence on the first date on which services were paid to or benefits were received by the Participant Family. The Department may issue guidance as to the nature, use, and amount of benefits for specific purposes payable pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04. Non-rental Assistance Benefits subject to the $4000 per year family cap, including but not limited to benefits listed in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) through (g), otherwise known as "cash assistance", may be referred to as "Household Assistance" benefits.
(b)Limitations. Participant Families can receive assistance in any combination of types of non-rental assistance up to the $4000 annual maximum, with the exception of: 1.Temporary Accommodation. Temporary Accommodation is not subject to the cap on maximum annual benefits.2.Out-of-state Relocation Assistance. Out-of-state relocation assistance, which may only be received one time by any family. Families utilizing out-of-state relocation assistance, whether or not in combination with other forms of non-rental assistance, may not further access STHT assistance during the year following their receipt of relocation assistance.3.Moving Cost Assistance. Moving cost assistance may only be paid for one move per year per family, except when a subsequent move is caused by a direct threat to the family's safety, a serious health condition of a family member that cannot be reasonably accommodated in the original housing arrangement, or a move to safe, permanent housing.(c)Temporary Accommodation. 1. A family eligible to receive STHT Rental Assistance benefits that cannot remain in its STHT unit because of domestic violence or because the Owner or Owner's Agent has evicted the family during the period that the family is receiving aid pending appeal may receive temporary accommodation.2. A family receiving temporary accommodation because of domestic violence receives such benefits subject to the housing search limits of 760 CMR 65.04(2)(j). A family receiving temporary accommodation because of aid pending appeal may receive such benefits only during the aid pending appeal period and, if the family is successful in retaining STHT Rental Assistance benefits through the appeal process, during an additional period subject to the housing search limits of 760 CMR 65.04(2)(j), which shall be deemed to run from the date on which the appeal was decided.3. Administering agencies shall provide to the Participant receiving temporary accommodation benefits, and the Participant shall sign, an agreement based on a standard form approved by the Department. A Participant who refuses to sign such an agreement may not receive temporary accommodation benefits. The agreement shall provide, in addition to such other terms and conditions of receipt of benefits as the Department may require, that: a. the temporary accommodation shall constitute only a license to use any space provided to the family as a temporary accommodation, and only so long as the family complies with 760 CMR 65.00.b. the Participant Family must move to another temporary accommodation for the convenience of the Department;c. the Participant Family must move to alternative feasible housing, including but not limited to alternative feasible housing made available through STHT non-rental assistance benefits, when such housing becomes available;d. the Participant Family must move out if terminated from STHT for any cause on the effective date of the termination;e. the Participant Family will abide by any reasonable rules relating to use and occupancy of the premises required by the Owner or Owner's Agent, of which the Participant has had reasonable notice; andf. the temporary accommodation does not create a tenancy.(d)Incentive Payments. 1. The administering agency may provide incentive payments to a non-STHT-Recipient primary tenant to permit the Participant Family to reside with such primary tenant. This benefit allows a family to stay with another family in a situation when the Owner of the unit or the Owner's Agent approves and the unit complies with 105 CMR 410.000: Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation State Sanitary Code: Chapter II, 780 CMR: Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and 760 CMR 65.02: Appropriate Size Unit for the total number of residents including the Participant Family, or the primary tenant has the ability to transfer to another unit that complies with 105 CMR 410.000: Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation State Sanitary Code: Chapter II, 780 CMR: Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and 760 CMR 65.02: Appropriate Size Unit for the total number of residents including the Participant Family. The Owner or Owner's Agent shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the State Building Code, the State Sanitary Code, and Appropriate Unit Size requirements.2. Payments pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) shall not be made in cash to the primary tenant, but shall be in the form of direct payment to providers of services for the benefit of the primary tenant or through the provision of goods (which may include stored value cards) and services to the primary tenant. Incentive payments shall not be considered income to the primarily tenant in any program administered by the Department, unless otherwise required by law. Primary tenants receiving incentive payments shall be notified that incentive payments may be considered income in other governmental benefits programs.3. The primary tenant shall list the Recipients as additional household members with the Owner or Owner's Agent of the primary tenant's unit, and shall sign such documents as the Owner or Owner's Agent and the administering agency may require so that the Participant Family will be able to continue to reside in the primary tenant's unit on a long-term basis. Payments to or on behalf of a primary tenant pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) shall cease immediately as soon as a Participant Family ceases to reside in the relevant unit.(e)Furnishings. The administering agency may provide the Participant Family with furnishings, or payment to or on behalf of the family for furnishings, such as a refrigerator, beds, bedframes, or cribs, that are necessary to make an unfurnished unit rented by the Participant Family habitable. No furnishings provided pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(e) shall be affixed to the unit. If benefits are provided pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d), any furnishings provided to the Participant pursuant to this provision shall be the property of the Participant and the Participant shall acknowledge that the Participant intends in good faith to use any such furnishings for the intended purpose.(f)Moving Cost Assistance. Pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(f), an administering agency may make a single payment to assist a Participant Family with: 1. expenses of transportation for persons and goods to move to a location outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; or2.a. payments of first month's rent, last month's rent, or a security deposit as required by an Owner or Owner's Agent prior to the Participant Family moving into a unit meeting Appropriate Unit Size and Suitable Unit requirements;b. expenses of transportation for persons and goods to move to a location within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; andc. expenses to remove goods from storage. Payments pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(1) shall be limited as provided in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(b). Moving Cost Assistance may be made on behalf of any Participant Family, whether receiving rental assistance or household assistance.(g)Rental Stipend. STHT Household Assistance may be used to subsidize regular monthly rental payments for a Participant who is a tenant or co-tenant in a unit pursuant to such guideline as may be established by the Department.(h)Mediation Services. Pursuant to guidance provided by the Department, administering agencies may provide mediation services to Participant Families, their extended family members, former roommates or housemates, primary tenants who sublet a unit to the Participant Family, and an Owner or Owner's Agent of a unit previously rented by the Participant Family, provided that such mediation services have a significant likelihood of resulting in an agreement to allow the Participant Family to obtain a safe residential accommodation for a period of one year or longer. Mediation services provided through STHT shall be deemed to have incurred no cost to or on behalf of the Participant Family for purposes of annual maximum STHT benefits.(i)Stabilization Services. 1. Pursuant to guidance provided by the Department, administering agencies shall provide stabilization services to Participant Families. Such services shall include economic self-sufficiency case management services and may include housing search assistance, housing placement support, links with community-based agencies to ensure long-term housing stability and economic growth, and assistance with locating resources to aid in fulfilling stabilization plan requirements for Participant Families.2. Stabilization services provided through STHT shall be deemed to have incurred no cost to or on behalf of the Participant Family for purposes of annual maximum STHT benefits and shall be provided to all Participant Families for the duration of their receipt of benefits pursuant to 760 CMR 65.00. Interactive stabilization services shall be made available to all Participant Families during such time as the family is receiving non-stabilization STHT benefits or for 12 months from the first date on which non-stabilization STHT benefits were provided to, or payments made on behalf of, the Participant Family, whichever is later, provided that no such services shall be provided after termination of the family's benefits pursuant to 760 CRM 65.05.