HUDBlast April 27, 2006

Questions & Answers Regarding Eligibility Of Students For Section 8 Assisted Housing – Supplementary Guidance

The final notice regarding the eligibility of students for Section 8 assisted housing was posted in the Federal Register on April 10, 2006. This notice provides additional guidance to assist public housing agencies and multifamily project owners and management agents with the implementation of the new Section 8 eligibility restrictions for the final rule that was published in the Federal Register on December 30, 2005 and became effective on January 30, 2006.

On April 12, 2006, a conference call was held with HUD Headquarters staff and the HUD RHIIP Help Desk Representatives to discuss the implementation of the new Section 8 eligibility restrictions of students for Section 8 assisted housing.

Questions and answers from the conference call have been posted to the RHIIP web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/rhiip/mfhrhiip.cfm. Please contact your RHIIP Representative if you have further questions and concerns regarding the final notice.  You can find the name and number of your RHIIP representative at the following address http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/rhiip/helpdesk.pdf.

The new student eligibility restrictions only apply to HUD's Section 8 programs administered by the Office of Housing and the Office of Public and Indian Housing.

APPS 2530 Deadline Extended

In an April 21, 2006 memo from Brian Montgomery, HUD has extended the deadline for APPS participation.  To quote “The Department expects that participants interested in new business opportunities in Multi-family programs have diligently pursued completion of their participant baseline information during the extended implementation period.  Participants must have completed baselines in APPS if they wish to pursue participation clearance after June 30, 2006.  All participants in Multi-family Programs are reminded that failure to register and complete the data input required by APPS will restrict new and revised participation until after the participant’s system inputs are completed.  Introductory and explanatory information, including a system tutorial, are available on HUD’s web site at www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/apps/appsmfhm.cfm”

Please note that compliance with the HUD 2530 process is now monitored during the Management and Occupancy Review.

Verification of Disability – Eligibility vs. Reasonable Accommodation/Modification

During the MOR classes, we have noticed that the discussion of verification of disability has become a hot topic.

There are two instances where verification of disability is considered – during the initial eligibility determination for properties serving the disabled and when a request for reasonable accommodation and/or modification is received by any owner/agent. 

If an applicant must be disabled to live on your property, their disability must be verified during the eligibility determination when a household member applies for assistance.  Owner/agents must refer to the table in Paragraph 3-17 of the 4350.3 Revision 1, Change 1 to determine the disability definition to be used for your specific contract type.

Appendix 3 specifically states that 3^rd party verification from a physician is the acceptable form of verification of disability.  However, after additional research, please note that Paragraph 3-28 indicates that a third-party verification form may be sent by the owner to an appropriate source of information, including but not limited to the individual’s physician, care worker of the elderly, social worker, psychiatrist, or the Veterans Administration. 

The verification form should provide the definitions of disability used to determine eligibility and should request that the source completing the form identify whether the applicant meets the definition.  In this way the owner is not required to make any judgments about whether a condition is considered a disability based on the contract requirements. 

Receipt of social security disability payments is adequate verification of an individual’s disability status for programs listed in Figure 3-5 that use definition E for person with disabilities.  Because the Section 202 and Section 811 programs do not use the same definition of disability as the Social Security Administration, this does not apply to applicants for units in Section 202 or 811 projects.

Receipt of a veteran's disability benefits does not automatically qualify a person as disabled, because the Veteran's Administration and Social Security Administration define disabled differently.

While the information above pertains to eligibility, understand that different rules apply when addressing requests for reasonable accommodation and modification.  HUD and the DOJ released a joint statement on May 17, 2004 which can be found at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/huddojstatement.pdf.  It is important that staff who respond to requests for reasonable accommodation and modification - especially the 504 coordinator - are familiar with this document. 

This document provides excellent guidance on how to properly respond to requests from people with disabilities.  Pay particular attention to questions 17 & 18 which discuss when it is appropriate to verify disability when responding to requests for reasonable accommodation and modification.

We hope the additional research helps answer some of the questions you or your managers are asking.

RHIIP ListServ

RBD encourages our customers to sign-up for the RHIIP Listserv, so you too can receive current RHIIP related information from HUD http://www.hud.gov/subscribe/mailinglist.cfm

Join RBD for the following training:

Class Schedule at a Glance

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We are also looking forward to seeing you at the following events:

Yardi Advanced Solution Conference – Durham, NC – April 27

AHMA IA/NE Spring Workshop – Omaha, NE – May 9

AHMA IA/NE Spring Workshop – Des Moines, IA – May 10

SAHMA – Kentucky State Meeting – Louisville, KY – May 16

Yardi Affordable User Group Meeting – Washington, D.C. – May17

Midwest AHMA – Fair Housing Training – Lansing MI – May 23

AHMA Plains/Mountains/Desert – MT State Meeting – Great Falls, MT – June 20 & 21

Mid-Atlanta AHMA – West Virginia State Meeting – Charleston, WV – June 28

Classic Real Estate Systems Annual Conference – Atlanta, GA – July 13

RBD does not act as a legal advisor nor as a regulatory governing agency.  The recipient should understand that any materials or comments contained herein are not designed for, nor should be relied upon as a source of legal guidance or as a final authority with respect to any particular cicumstance. Ross Business Development, Inc. makes no warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty of any type. Owners and management should seek competent legal advice in developing and carrying out policies and procedures.  While we have been diligent in our efforts to provide comprehensive and accurate regulatory information, Ross Business Development, Inc. shall not be responsible for errors or inaccuracies.