7507.1 A security or damage deposit shall only be authorized if the landlord does not waive the deposit and one of the following circumstances is present:

1. (a) The applicant unit is or will become homeless if assistance is not provided; or
2. (b) The purpose of the assistance is to reunite a child less than eighteen (18) years of age with his or her family or prevent separation from his or her family. Prevention of family separation shall be broadly interpreted to include situations where the family is currently homeless or are residents of a family shelter facility, a family is forced to move to another dwelling due to overcrowded conditions, the condemned nature of the current housing, or the forced sale of the currently dwelling, and there are no other means, other than through the provision of this assistance, whereby new housing could be secured.

7507.2 The maximum emergency assistance payment for a security or damage deposit shall be the actual amount of the deposit, which may not exceed more than the cost of one (1) month's unsubsidized rent, as specified by the landlord up to nine hundred dollars ($900).

7507.3 Any applicant coming directly from a transitional housing program that requires an escrow account for purposes of obtaining permanent housing, shall demonstrate why they do not have sufficient resources available for security deposit and first month's rent.

7507.4 The security or damage deposit payment shall be made directly to the landlord.

7507.5 Where the emergency was a result of eviction or displacement from a residence in the District of Columbia, assistance under sections 7507 and 7508 may be used for relocating to another jurisdiction within the greater Washington area as defined by the boundaries of the District of Columbia and its contiguous counties in the states of Maryland and Virginia.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 54 DCR 12622 (December 28, 2007).