172/Maryland Manual

rental properties must make at least two-thirds of
the units available to low-income tenants.
Authorized by the General Assembly in 1975,
MHRP is funded by State General Obligation
Bonds.

Initiated in 1982 as a pilot program, the Residen-
tial Energy Conservation Program was replaced by
the Home and Energy Loans Program (HELP), in
1983. HELP provides loans for energy conserva-
tion, home improvements, and combined energy
conservation and home improvements. Loans are
made directly through CDA for multi-family hous-
ing and by participating lenders in the single-
family program. Funds are generated by the sale of
mortgage revenue bonds.

Federal Subsidy Programs. CDA is the
administering agency for federal funds which
subsidize rental housing under the Section 8
Existing Program and the Moderate Rehabilitation
Program. These funds are provided to the State
through the U. S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development under the Federal Housing
Act of 1937 (42 USC 1437) as amended.

Under the Section 8 Existing Program, partici-
pating landlords make rental housing, which meets
occupancy standards, available to low-income fam-
ilies. To qualify, total family income must be 80
percent or less of the median income for the area in
which the housing is located. As an administering
local agency, CDA accepts and reviews applica-
tions from prospective tenants for participation in
the program. Families that qualify are issued
Certificates of Family Participation.

Owners who agree to rent to these families sign a
contract with CDA or the administering local
agency that guarantees payments to the owner as
long as the housing and lease adhere to federal
standards. The U. S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, through CDA, subsidizes
that part of the rent which exceeds 25 percent of
the family's total income. Individual applicants
must find their own housing. In this way, families
may select neighborhoods that best suit their
needs.

Other than the elderly, disabled, or handicapped,
the only single persons automatically eligible for
the Section 8 Existing Program are those displaced
from their previous housing by governmental ac-
tions, or those who are the remaining member of a
tenant family.

The Regional Planning Council (RPC) adminis-
ters the Section 8 Existing Program in Anne
Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and

Howard counties, and in Annapolis and Baltimore
City.

The Moderate Rehabilitation Program is a new
program designed to help improve existing multi-
family rental units that need repair or renovation.
It is part of the Section 8 Existing Program. Under
the Moderate Rehabilitation Program, the private
landlord rehabilitates the unit—often with Com-
munity Development Administration financing—
and then CDA, on behalf of the tenants, commits
rent subsidies to the unit for a period of fifteen
years. These rent subsidies are funded by the
federal government.

The Rental Rehabilitation Demonstration Pro-
gram is directed at rental housing in need of repair.
The program encourages owners of such housing
to renovate the structures. It provides federal
housing subsidies to families unable to pay market
rate rents on renovated housing or helps them find
alternate housing. CDA also assists owners by
providing financing for rental housing rehabilita-
tion.

MARYLAND HOUSING POLICY
COMMISSION

Chairperson: Robert E. Hecht, Sr., 1987

Richard R. dark, 1987; Jacqueline Simon, 1987;
Adele Simons, 1987; Patrick J. Fennell; James I.
Humphrey, Jr.; Harold L. Kramer; Vincent P.
Quayle; Annette G. vanHilst; Shirley Wise.

Ex officio: Melvin A. Steinberg, President of the
Senate; Benjamin L. Cardin, Speaker of the
House of Delegates.

45 Calvert St.
Annapolis 21401 Telephone 269-2468

Created in 1983, the Maryland Housing Policy
Commission helps the Secretary of Economic and
Community Development identify ways to increase
housing supply and ownership opportunities for
low and moderate income people (Chapter 668,
Acts of 1983).

The Commission develops, adopts, and annually
updates a State housing plan, issues a policy and
needs statement, and assesses departmental prog-
ress in implementing them. The Commission rec-
ommends to the Secretary innovative programs for
building, financing, insuring, and managing hous-
ing for families, elderly citizens, and others not
adequately served by the private market. It also
assists the Secretary in creating a public informa-
tion service to bring available housing resources to
the attention of those in need.