1. (a) Request for hearing. To be entitled to a hearing, any applicant determined to be ineligible for a housing opportunity shall submit a written request for a hearing to the entity not more than thirty (30) days after the date of the written determination of ineligibility, except as otherwise set forth in section 17b-812-14 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Such written request shall specify the reason for challenging the determination.

2. (b) Selection of hearing officer or hearing panel. An impartial person or persons other than the person who made or approved the entity’s action or a subordinate of such person shall conduct a hearing. An officer or member of the entity’s governing body may be considered to be an impartial person, subject to evaluation pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection. The entity’s selection of the hearing officer or the hearing panel shall comply with the following:

   1. (1) The entity shall state the method or methods for appointment of the hearing officer or the members of the hearing panel in the tenant selection plan.
   2. (2) The entity shall select the hearing officer or the members of the hearing panel in the manner required under the tenant selection plan. In the event that the applicant objects to the original appointment of the person or persons selected, the entity shall propose the appointment of an alternate hearing officer.
   3. (3) In the event the method for the appointment of a hearing officer or members of the hearing panel in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection fails to produce a hearing panel or hearing officer, as appropriate, not more than thirty (30) days after the applicant’s written request for a hearing, the entity shall be required to procure and pay for the services of a firm or organization that is in the business of providing such hearing officer services, where such firm or organization has no discernable conflict of interest with the entity. Such professional hearing officer shall be deemed to be impartial and will constitute the final selection in such cases.
3. (c) Failure to request a hearing. If the applicant does not request a hearing in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, the entity’s determination of ineligibility under section 8-37ee-906 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies shall become final, provided, however, the failure to request a hearing shall not constitute a waiver by the applicant of his or her right thereafter to contest the entity’s determination of ineligibility in an appropriate judicial proceeding or an appropriate state agency administrative proceeding.
4. (d) Scheduling of hearings. Upon the applicant’s compliance with subsection (a) of this section, the hearing officer or hearing panel shall promptly schedule a hearing for a date not more than sixty (60) days after the entity’s receipt of the applicant’s written request pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, except as otherwise set forth in section 17b-812-14 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, for a time and place reasonably convenient to both the applicant and the entity. The hearing officer or hearing panel shall deliver a written notice specifying the time, the place and a copy of the procedures governing the hearing consistent with section 8-37ee-908 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies to the applicant and the appropriate entity representative.
5. (e) Persons with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation pursuant to section 46a-64c of the Connecticut General Statutes to permit such persons to avail themselves of the procedures set forth in this section.

(Effective February 4, 2025)