A.5.2.4.1 Definition of Assisted Housing

A. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies to recipients of Federal financial assistance (Assistance). The Section 504 regulations define "recipient" as any state or its political subdivision, any

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Appendix 5 Architectural and Construction Analysis A.5.2 Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities

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instrumentality of a state or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity or any person to which Federal financial assistance is extended for any program or activity directly or through another recipient, including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance (24 CFR 8.3). Multifamily housing facilities receiving Assistance from HUD (Assisted Housing) are subject to HUD’s Section 504 regulations, including all program accessibility requirements.

1. “Federal financial assistance” is broadly defined to include, among many things, grants, loans, contracts, or other arrangements which may take the form of funds, services from Federal personnel, community development grants, and the use of real or personal property (24 CFR 8.3). A few but not exhaustive examples of Assisted Housing subject to Section 504 requirements relevant to FHA loan transactions include:

   • HUD funded Section 811 or Section 202 developments and any developments that have projectbased rental certificates or vouchers (i.e., rent supplement, rental assistance program, Section 8 project-based assistance).

• A HUD mortgagor receiving a subsidy through the Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate Program or the 236 Rental Housing Program.

• Any project assisted with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), HOME, or HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS) funds or any contribution of Federal land or services.

  • As of 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP), which had become added sources of Federal financial assistance for some multifamily properties.

2. Assistance is provided to the entire property and not to particular buildings or a subset of units, even when the result of the Assistance is the designation of, or a set-aside of, portions of the property for affordable housing or other federal objectives. Accordingly, Section 504 requirements apply to the property as a whole. A property owner’s receipt of housing assistance payments from a recipient on behalf of eligible families under a housing assistance payment or voucher program, i.e., tenant-based rental assistance, does not make a project assisted (24 CFR 8.3). However, a recipient of federal financial assistance administering tenant-based assistance must, among other requirements, assist tenants in locating accessible dwelling units (24 CFR 8.28).

3. Owners of Assisted Housing are required to make and pay for physical changes as reasonable accommodations at the request of tenants or prospective tenants unless doing so would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the housing provider (24 CFR 8.4, 8.20, 8.21, 8.24, 8.33).