Housing for People With Disabilities: Reasonable Accommodation and Reasonable Modification Presentation to the 2010 HUD FHEO National Fair Housing Policy Conference July 20 & 21, 2010 Andrew Sperling National Alliance on Mental Illness Co-Chair Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities Housing Task Force

Federal Housing Needs Reports HUD “Worst Case” Housing Needs Reports to Congress Very low income households already in housing who are: –Paying more than 50% of income for housing –Living in substandard housing –Both conditions Assess needs of 4 categories of households (elderly, families, disabled, other) Estimates on disabled households acknowledged as flawed

Worst Case Estimates Total households = 6 million HUD’s estimate on disabled households without children = 542,000 (9%) CCD study completed by Katherine Nelson, retired HUD Research Economist CCD’s estimate = 1.3 – 1.4 million (23%) HUD’s revised estimate = 694,000 (11.5%) CCD estimates on disabled households with children = 2.35 million (39%)

People Not Counted Chronically homeless people with disabilities (130,000 – 150,000) People in public mental health institutions (20,000+) Non-elderly people in nursing homes (430,000) People living with aging parents Conclusion: Need is much greater than CCD Worst Case Needs estimates

Priced Out in 2008 Study Compares SSI income to HUD Fair Market Rents SSI = $668 monthly 1 Bedroom rent of $743 = 112% of monthly SSI Studio rent of $663 = 99% of monthly SSI Rents above 100% of SSI in communities where 53% of the nation’s population reside SSI = 18 percent of Median Income # of non-elderly adults with disabilities receiving SSI in 2008 = 4.2 million

The “Housing Affordability Gap” Federal policy = very low income households should pay no more than 30% of monthly income towards housing costs 30% of SSI = $190 per month Rents for “affordable” housing = $400- 1,000+ Solution: People with disabilities with SSI level incomes need an on-going rental subsidy

Cost Effective Arguments Numerous studies document cost effectiveness of providing permanent housing for people with disabilities: –New York/New York Culhane study on permanent supportive housing –University of Washington study published today in JAMA on “Housing First” –Massachusetts study released last week on chronically homeless people –Health Affairs study on Medicaid long-term care costs

HUD Rent Subsidy Programs That Address “Affordability Gap” Total units = 4.8 million Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers = 2 million vouchers. –Only 19% assist people with disabilities Public housing units =1.1 million units (affect of “elderly only” housing policies) –Only 16% assist people with disabilities HUD “Assisted Housing” = 1.2 million units (affect of “elderly only” housing policies) –Only 17% assist people with disabilities Other programs = 443,000 units –Section 811 = 30,000 units –Homeless programs = 50,000+ –HOPWA

What Works Section 8 Vouchers targeted to people with disabilities HUD Homeless Assistance programs New Section 811 legislation (H.R. 1675)

Section 811 Background $300 million in 2010 Deep cut proposed for FY 2011 – no funding for development of new units Funded only 930 units nationwide in 2008 Only 132 applications submitted in 2008 competition Funds only segregated “single purpose” properties

Section 811 legislation (HR 1675 & S 1481) Passed the House on July 22, 2009 by a vote of Senate hearing held on October 29, 2009 Reforms existing 811 Capital/PRAC program Shifts appropriations for “broken” 811 voucher program to the Section 8 appropriation Creates new Demonstration program to leverage integrated affordable housing units financed with mainstream housing funding (tax credits, HOME funds, new National Housing Trust Fund, etc.) Funds 3, ,000 units with same appropriation level Cross-disability approach focused on priority Medicaid populations

McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act Provides permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities –Shelter Plus Care program –Supportive Housing Program (SHP) –Section 8 Single Room Occupancy program Coordinated through local Continuum of Care groups 6,000 new permanent supportive housing units funded in 2008 for people with disabilities who are chronically homeless $1.5 billion for Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re- Housing Program (HPRP) –Housing relocation and stabilization funding (housing search, mediation, credit repair, security deposits, moving out costs, etc.) –Must be spent within 24 months

McKinney-Vento Funding $1.865 billion appropriation for FY 2010 $2.034 billion request for FY 2011 –$190 million increase (10% above current level) –$200 million for ESG –1 st year of HEARTH Act $2.4 billion needed for FY 2011 to fully implement HEARTH and maintain new projects Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration – FY 2011 Request –$85 million request for homeless vouchers –4,000 vouchers and SAMHSA services funding for chronically homeless individuals enrolled in 1115 Medicaid waivers, linked to $7.5 million request at SAMHSA –6,000 vouchers for homeless or at risk families jointly administered by HUD, HHS, and Education –SAMHSA Homeless Grants—$12 million increase to $87 million

New McKinney-Vento Law Signed by President Obama on May 20, 2009 Consolidates HUD’s Continuum of Care Programs (Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, and Moderate Rehabilitation/SRO) into a single Community Homeless Assistance Program. Continue incentives for permanent housing and serving people who experience chronic homelessness (adding families to the definition of chronic homelessness). Funds renewals of permanent housing out of the same account that funds Section 8

Reasonable Accommodation and Reasonable Modification in Section 8 Rental Housing Reasonable accommodation grounded in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act “Reasonable accommodation” in rules, policies, practices or services to people with disabilities PHAs are required to inform Section 8 households of the right to seek an accommodation or modification PHAs can decide that requests are “unreasonable” or may suggest a different solution to a problem – typically based on previous HUD decisions PHAs must have a process for households making reasonable accommodation requests and determining if they are reasonable

Examples of Changes to Section 8 Rules That Can Be Requested as a Reasonable Accommodation Outreach –Notifying disability community before opening waiting list –Providing training on Section 8 application process to disability groups Completing and submitting a Section 8 application –Fully accessible on-line application (Braille & large print) Waiting list management –Allowing a secondary contact person to be listed on the application, with all copies to secondary person –Allowing applications discarded during the “update” process to be reinstated to the list in the original position

Examples of Changes to Section 8 Rules That Can Be Requested as a Reasonable Accommodation Housing search process –Providing a higher utility allowance –Providing a list of available wheelchair accessible units –Accounting for participants live in aide or overnight support staff –Allowing extensions to the housing search time (up to 60 additional days) –Allowing for a larger unit size if needed to accommodate an individual’s disability –Providing a higher payment standard to help cover the costs of accessibility modifications –Allowing Section 8 vouchers to be used in special housing types such as shared housing, group homes, SROs and congregate housing –Allowing voucher holders to rent from relatives

Examples of Changes to Section 8 Rules That Can Be Requested as a Reasonable Accommodation Maintaining a Section 8 voucher –Rescheduling recertification appointments –Providing home visits to conduct re-certifications –Allowing additional time for the annual re-certification process –Reinstating a voucher that terminated for cause, due to mitigating circumstances Screening and Verification –Making exceptions to screening criteria regarding criminal histories, past rental histories, or credit histories based on mitigating circumstances –Providing extra time to gather documentation of eligibility

Reasonable Accommodation and Exception Rents PHAs and/or HUD may approve an exception payment standard if needed as a reasonable accommodation (24 CFR ) (c)(2)(ii)) –An individual with a disability may make a request to reside in a certain neighborhood where units exceed the payment standard because proximity to family, work, medical supports, etc. –Accessible units can be harder to find or available only in newer buildings –If no accessible units can be identified, a participant can ask the owner for a modification and request the higher payment standard to cover the cost, so long as the unit meets the PHA’s rent reasonableness standard If the PHA’s applicable rent standard is below 110% of FMR, the PHAs can make its own determination on a case-by-case basis If it is above 110%of the FMR, the PHA must pass the exception payment standard request on to HUD for review HUD HQ has the authority to grant requests over the 120% of FMR

Reasonable Accommodation – PHA Obligations PHAs must provide information on how to complete and file a housing discrimination complaint (24 CFR ) PHAs are entitled to a one-time “Hard to House” fee for assisting people with disabilities to locate housing with a voucher (PIH Notice )

Reasonable Modification Policies under the fair housing laws that allow people with disabilities to alter their rental housing units to meet their unique needs An owner participating in Section 8 must allow a person with disability – at their own expense – to make certain physical modifications to a unit if needed to fully use and enjoy the housing unit Owners may require that the modifications be completed in a professional manner and in compliance with all applicable building codes Owners may require tenants to restore the unit to its original condition before vacating No obligation to allow tenant to make a modification deemed “unreasonable” – that is, not related to the tenant’s disability Evaluated on a case-by-case basis

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