The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and full application for HUD's Demonstration Program for Elderly Housing for Intergenerational Families is online. The opportunity was open to all private nonprofit owners of Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly projects and closed on July 2, 2008. For program updates please see the link below.
There was a satellite broadcast with questions and answers on applying for the Demonstration Program for Elderly Housing for Intergenerational Families on May 20, 2008 at 3:30pm. The broadcast is titled "SuperNOFA: Mulifamily, Intergenerational, May 20, 2008" and you may access it in the webcast archives.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The demonstration program originates from the Legacy Act of 2003, which also required HUD to conduct a study with the Census Bureau on intergenerational housing needs; and to carry out training for federal employees who, through no fault of their own, may be misinterpreting policies that affect the grandparent- and other relative-headed families. An archived webcast of this training is available on the Multifamily Webcast Archives page under the title "Affordable Housing for Intergenerational Families, May 30, 2007."
HUD GUIDANCE ON INTERGENERATIONAL HOUSING
The majority of elderly units today are one-bedroom units which may limit an elderly grandparent or other relative including grandchildren under the age of 18 in their household. However, the Department does not dictate sleeping arrangements in its assisted housing. It is up to the owner to establish and follow occupancy standards that take into account the size and number of bedrooms needed based on the number of people in the family. Owner’s occupancy standards establish the size based on their policy, Federal, State, and local fair housing and civil rights laws; tenant-landlord laws; and zoning restrictions. Owners also set eligibility requirements for family members remaining once the elderly caregiver passes or when children become adults. However, there are no HUD policies that restrict or prevent intergenerational families. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has never had a policy that excluded children from an elderly family. Here are some examples of how HUD policy supports intergenerational families:
- The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing providers from discriminating on the basis of familial status, making it illegal to discriminate against families because of the presence of children. The Fair Housing Act’s definition of “family” is defined as one or more minors who are: (1) living with a parent(s); (2) a legal guardian, or (3) with a person to whom the parent or guardian has given written permission to reside. Familial status refers to families living with children under the age of 18, regardless of age or number of children. Familial status also includes pregnant women, families that are planning to adopt, and families that have or are planning to have foster children or to become guardians of children.
- HUD Handbook 4350.3 Rev-1, Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs contains the prohibition of occupancy standards that exclude children, and also states that “Owners may not exclude otherwise eligible elderly families with children from elderly properties or elderly/disabled properties covered by this handbook.”
- HUD’s Public Housing Guidebook clearly defines elderly families. “An elderly family is a family whose head, spouse or sole member is a person who is at least 62 years of age. It may include two or more persons who are at least 62 years of age living together or one or more persons who are at least 62 years of age living with one or more live-in aides. There is nothing in the definition of elderly family that excludes children. Many elderly families today consist of grandparents with custody of grandchildren. This is an elderly family. ” This definition prevents ambiguity and discrimination against intergenerational families.
- HUD’s Public Housing Guidebook also defines “kinship care”: an arrangement in which a relative or non-relative becomes the primary caregiver for a child or children but is not the biological parent of the child or children. The primary caregiver need not have legal custody. Documentation to prove that children in a “kinship care” relationship are actually residing in the unit can be child’s medical records or school records that establish the place of residence.