SECTIONS 11271-11274 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 11271-11274

11271. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Restricted payment" means payment of homeless assistance
benefits in the form of either of the following:
(1) A vendor payment to the provider of shelter or utilities or
both.
(2) A two-party payment for rent or utilities, or both.
(b) "Recipient" means a recipient of aid pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 11450.
(c) "Two-party payment" means a check which is drawn jointly to
the order of the recipient and the service provider and is negotiable
only upon the endorsement of both parties.
(d) "Vendor payment" means a voucher, or check drawn to the order
of the service provider.
(e) "Homeless assistance benefits" means benefits paid pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 11450 and Section
11450.4.

11271.5. (a) Restricted payments for homeless assistance benefits
shall be provided by a county welfare department to a recipient, if
at least one of the following criteria is met:
(1) The recipient has mismanaged AFDC funds, as defined in Section
11273 and in accordance with federal law.
(2) The recipient has voluntarily requested restricted payments.
The request shall be in writing from the recipient and shall be
recorded and retained in the case file by the county welfare
department.
(b) At the option of the county welfare department, restricted
payments made pursuant to subdivision (a) may be made for utilities
as well as shelter.

11272. When restricted payments are provided to a recipient, the
county welfare department shall do all of the following:
(a) Issue the vendor or two-party payment by one of the following
methods, at the discretion of the county:
(1) Mail or delivery to the recipient for delivery to the service
provider.
(2) Mail or delivery directly to the service provider.
(b) Do the following in order to develop greater ability on the
part of the recipient to manage funds in such a manner as to protect
the welfare of the family:
(1) Provide each family with informational materials designed to
improve the recipient's ability to manage funds.
(2) Refer the family to appropriate services where these exist.
(c) Provide for timely and correct vendor payments and two-party
payments.

11273. (a) Homeless assistance provided pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subdivision (f) of Section 11450 shall be subject to restricted
payments consistent with federal regulations when the county welfare
department has made a determination that mismanagement exists.
Instances where mismanagement exists include, but are not limited to,
the following situations.
(1) Nonpayment of rent unless nonpayment is due to:
(i) A rent increase which results in the recipient's share of the
rent being over 80 percent of the maximum aid payable pursuant to
Section 11450.
(ii) Domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate.
(iii) Reasonable exercise of a tenant's right to withhold rent for
cause.
(2) The homeless assistance payment was not used for shelter.
(3) The recipient or applicant fails to provide verification that
homeless assistance payments were used for shelter.
(b) To the extent allowed by federal law, the department is
authorized to issue regulations defining additional situations when
mismanagement may exist.

11274. (a) Notwithstanding Section 11271, for purposes of this
section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "AFDC" benefits means benefits paid pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 11450.
(2) "Recipient" means a recipient of aid pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 11450.
(3) "Restricted payment" means payment of AFDC benefits in the
form of any of the following:
(A) A vendor payment to the provider of shelter or utilities, or
both.
(B) A two-party payment for rent or utilities, or both.
(4) "Two-party payment" means a check that is drawn jointly to the
order of the recipient and the service provider and is negotiable
only upon the endorsement of both parties.
(5) "Vendor payment" means a voucher or check drawn to the order
of the service provider.
(b) A county may, at its option, provide restricted payments for
AFDC on behalf of a recipient to the provider of shelter or
utilities, or both, if the county determines that the recipient has
demonstrated such an inability to manage funds that payments to the
relative have not been or are not currently used in the best interest
of the child. A recipient shall be presumed to have mismanaged funds
when he or she has previously failed to pay rent within the past 12
months, unless the failure was due to a significant rent increase, a
reasonable exercise of a tenant's right to withhold rent for repair
and deduct, or domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or roommate.
(c) If the county, at its option, elects to establish a program to
provide restricted payments to the provider of shelter or utilities,
or both, the county shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide restricted payments on behalf of recipients who
request them, in addition to making involuntary restricted payments
to those persons to whom subdivision (b) applies.
(2) Continue voluntary restricted payments for not less than three
months, unless the county determines that exceptional circumstances
exist that require that the restricted payments be ended earlier.
(3) If a recipient notifies the county at least two weeks prior to
the issuance of the next regular rental payment that he or she
wishes to exercise his or her right to withhold rent due to
untenantable conditions, issue a two-party check to the recipient
requiring endorsement of both the landlord and the recipient.
(4) If a recipient notifies the county at least two weeks prior to
the issuance of the next regular rental payment that he or she
wishes to exercise his or her right to repair and deduct the money
pursuant to Section 1942 of the Civil Code, and the amount the tenant
wishes to deduct, deduct that amount from the restricted payment to
the landlord and add the amount to the recipient's grant check.
(5) If a recipient notifies the county at least two weeks prior to
the issuance of the next regular rental payment that he or she
intends to move, provide the next regular rental payment to the new
landlord. If the recipient indicates his or her intent to move but
does not provide the name and address of the new landlord, the county
shall terminate restricted payments for rent until the name and
address of a new landlord is provided.
(d) (1) In no case is a landlord entitled to payment under this
section for days that the recipient was not residing at the landlord'
s property.
(2) If a landlord does receive a restricted payment pursuant to
this section for days that the recipient did not reside at the
landlord's property, the landlord shall remit to the county welfare
department an amount that represents the overpaid rent.
(3) The county may not assess an overpayment against a recipient
for payments made to a landlord for periods in which the recipient
was not residing at that location.
(4) A landlord may not base an eviction or late fee upon failure
to receive rent due to county administrative error.
(5) If the notice from the recipient is given less than two weeks
prior to a move, the county shall pay the new landlord as soon as
practicable.
(6) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent a
landlord accepting restricted payments from pursuing existing
remedies against a tenant or former tenant for money that may be owed
by the tenant to the landlord.
(e) Restricted payments shall expire after a period of 12 months,
unless the recipient requests a continuation of that period or the
county finds that the recipient continues to experience money
management problems. The county shall provide notification to the
recipient within 30 days of the expiration of the restricted payment.
(f) When restricted payments are provided on behalf of a
recipient, the county welfare department shall do all of the
following:
(1) Either of the following:
(A) Mail or deliver the voucher or check to the recipient for
delivery to the service provider.
(B) Mail or deliver the voucher or check directly to the service
provider.
(2) Provide timely notification to the recipient that the
restricted payment has been made.
(3) Refer the family to appropriate money management services,
where those services exist.
(g) If the restricted payment involves a third party, the
third-party payee shall be an individual or organization interested
in, or concerned with, the recipient's welfare, and shall not include
any employees of the county welfare department or parties who are
vendors who stand to gain financially from doing commercial business
with the recipient. To the extent possible, the selection of a
third-party payee shall be made by the recipient, or with his or her
participation and consent.
(h) Any landlord who accepts a restricted payment of AFDC benefits
shall not require his or her tenant to pay the last month's rent in
advance or retain any portion of the tenant's security deposit as
rent owing.
(i) (1) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a
landlord who accepts a restricted payment of rent pursuant to this
section from charging a cleaning or damage deposit, or a deposit for
both cleaning and damage, in an amount that does not exceed an amount
equal to rent for one month.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the rights
of tenants provided under Section 1942 of the Civil Code.
(j) (1) The department shall seek all appropriate federal waivers
for the implementation of this section.
(2) The department shall implement this section commencing on the
date the Director of Social Services executes a declaration, that
shall be retained by the director, stating that the administrative
actions required by paragraph (1) as a condition of implementation of
subdivisions (a) to (i), inclusive, have been taken by the director
and the waivers have been obtained from the United States Secretary
of Health and Human Services.