Code of the District of Columbia

§ 4–281.03. Eligibility, enrollment, and program requirements.

(a) To be eligible to participate in the program, a household shall:

(1) Reside in the District;

(2) Be a low-income household at the time the household's initial eligibility is determined;

(3) Contain at least one individual who is currently participating in a housing assistance program administered by the District or federal government at the time that the household's initial eligibility is determined; and

(4) Meet any other eligibility criteria established by the Mayor by rule.

(b)(1) The Department may establish preference criteria and an application process and conduct a randomized lottery to select eligible households to participate in the program to aid in the evaluation of the program.

(2) The established preference criteria may:

(A) Factor in whether a household:

(i) Is participating in a time-limited housing-assistance program;

(ii) Includes children under the age of 18; and

(iii) Is willing to participate in career-related and other program activities; and

(B) Limit participation to households that are participating in one or more specific housing assistance programs at the time their initial eligibility for the program is determined.

(c) No provision of this chapter shall be construed to create an entitlement to the program.

(d)(1) A program participant shall remain eligible to participate in the program for no more than 5 years after enrollment regardless of income.

(2) To remain eligible to participate in the program, a program participant shall:

(A) Maintain residency in the District;

(B) Participate in any support services mandated;

(C) Comply with paragraph (3) of this subsection; and

[(D)] Meet other requirements and criteria established by the Department.

(3) Program participants must exit other housing-assistance programs upon enrollment in the program. A program participant shall cease to be eligible to participate in the program if, during the program participant's enrollment, any member of the program participant's household becomes enrolled in another District- or federal government-funded rental assistance program.