Eligibility for Accessible Units

1. A percentage of units in most properties contain accessible features. Eligibility for these accessible units may be limited to a specific population (e.g., persons with mobility impairments). (See Chapter 3, Section 2, for more information about project eligibility.)

   2. Owners must place applicants eligible for an accessible unit on the waiting list in accordance with the property’s waiting list procedures. (See Chapter 4, Section 3, for more information about waiting list management.)

   3. Owners may not prohibit an eligible family with a member who has a disability from accepting a suitable nonaccessible unit if no accessible unit is available when the family reaches the top of the waiting list. Owners must make physical alterations to the nonaccessible unit as a reasonable accommodation, unless the alterations would result in an undue financial and administrative burden.

   4. If an appropriate-size accessible unit is not available, owners may house an applicant needing an accessible unit in a larger accessible unit in order to maximize the use of the accessible features.

• C. Order When Assigning Accessible Units

Section 504 requires that owners take reasonable, nondiscriminatory steps to maximize the use of accessible units by eligible individuals whose disability requires the accessibility features of a particular unit. As part of this requirement, owners must assign available accessible units to tenants/applicants in the following order:

1. When there is a current tenant or qualified applicant with a household member requiring accessibility features of the unit:

   • a. Current Tenants. Owners must first offer the unit to an individual with disabilities currently residing in a nonaccessible unit in the same project or comparable project under common control, who requires the features of the unit;

HUD Occupancy Handbook Chapter 2: Civil Rights and Nondiscrimination Requirements

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Section 3: Additional Nondiscrimination and Accessibility Requirements for Persons with Disabilities

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Subsection 2: Policies and Procedures to Ensure Nondiscrimination and Promote Accessibility

• b. Applicants with Disabilities. If no current tenants require the special features of the accessible unit, the owner must then offer the unit to the next qualified applicant on the waiting list with a family member who needs the features of the accessible unit.

2. When neither a current tenant nor a qualified applicant requires the features of the available accessible unit:

   • a. Owners may offer the unit to another tenant or applicant in a manner consistent with the property’s tenant selection policy and should incorporate into the lease an agreement that the tenant will move to a nonaccessible unit of the proper size within the same property when one becomes available. The lease should state whether the tenant or the owner will pay for the cost of such moves. (See paragraph 3-23 on occupancy standards and overcrowded and underutilized units, and paragraph 4-4 C on tenant selection plans.)

   • b. In the case where the members of the tenant household who required the special features of the accessible unit no longer reside in the unit, and where the lease permits, owners should require the remaining members of the household to move to a unit without accessibility features. The Department strongly suggests that owners incorporate this provision as an addendum to the lease to avoid placing themselves in a situation of having to retrofit additional units.