Any state-assisted rental housing or rental housing project constructed or substantially rehabilitated under a building permit application filed on or after January 1, 1976, and prior to October 1, 2004, that contains ten or more housing units shall have at least ten per cent of the units and all common use areas and facilities designed to promote safe and accessible means of entrance and egress and ease of access and use of facilities for the physically disabled, as defined in subsection (b) of section 1-1f, unless a waiver of such requirement is obtained from the Commissioner of Housing as provided in this section. Any state-assisted rental housing or rental housing project constructed or substantially rehabilitated under a building permit application filed on or after October 1, 2004, that contains four or more dwelling units shall have the dwelling units and all common use areas and facilities designed in accordance with the State Building Code to promote the safe and accessible use of facilities for the physically disabled, as defined in subsection (b) of section 1-1f, unless such waiver is obtained. Said commissioner may, with the concurrence of the State Building Inspector, waive the requirement for such units for any state-financed rental housing project awarded state assistance under sections 8-214a and 8-216b, provided all requirements concerning the provision of housing units accessible to the physically disabled promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development have been met. The State Building Inspector shall electronically publish such waiver on the Internet web site of the Department of Administrative Services. Physically disabled persons and families shall receive priority in placement in no less than ten per cent of the housing units constructed or substantially rehabilitated after January 1, 1976.

(P.A. 75-147, S. 1, 2; P.A. 81-79; P.A. 87-378, S. 8; P.A. 88-280, S. 11; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 62, 121; P.A. 04-237, S. 2; P.A. 05-288, S. 196; P.A. 07-6, S. 5; P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 17-96, S. 29.)

History: P.A. 81-79 provided for the waiver of handicapped unit requirement in some cases where two or fewer such units are required; Sec. 19-395p transferred to Sec. 29-271 in 1983; P.A. 87-378 changed “housing or housing project” to “rental housing or rental housing project”, extended section requirements to all common use areas and facilities in applicable housing, and made waiver provisions applicable to rental housing awarded assistance under Sec. 8-213 to Sec. 8-214a where federal requirements have been met; P.A. 88-280 made technical change, substituting reference to Secs. 8-214a and 8-216b for reference to Secs. 8-213 to 8-214a, inclusive; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 changed reference from “advocacy for the handicapped and the developmentally disabled” to “advocacy for persons with disabilities”, effective June 24, 1998; P.A. 04-237 provided that 10% requirement re state-assisted rental housing or rental housing project applies to those constructed or substantially rehabilitated under building permit application filed on or after January 1, 1976, and prior to October 1, 2004, added requirement that any state-assisted rental housing or rental housing project constructed or substantially rehabilitated under building permit application filed on or after October 1, 2004, which contains four or more dwelling units shall have the dwelling units and all common use areas and facilities designed in accordance with code, and required concurrence of State Building Inspector for commissioner to waive such requirement; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-6 replaced reference to Sec. 8-124a with reference to Sec. 8-214a; pursuant to P.A. 13-234, reference to Commissioner of Economic and Community Development was changed editorially by the Revisors to reference to Commissioner of Housing, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 17-96 deleted reference to Director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, and added provision re publishing waiver on Internet web site of Department of Administrative Services, effective July 1, 2017.