Did you know that if a person with physical or cognitive disabilities resides in section 8 funded HUD housing, the law requires the Public Housing Agency (PHA) to allow a necessary home health aide to reside with the tenant? The concept is that the PHA is required to make a reasonable accommodation for the tenant’s needs pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, to enable the participating tenant to reap full benefit from this federal housing program to enable them to dwell in the community and avoid nursing home placement. The regulation is in surprisingly plain English:
Normally, the income of other occupants of the apartment will be counted in the household income calculation for Section 8. However, if the person resides there because s/he serves as the live-in aide, his/her income is not counted. The criteria for exclusion of that person’s income are in the federal regulations and are basically that (1) the aide’s services are essential to the care and well being of the person(s); (2) the aide is not under a legal obligation to support the person(s) with the disabilities, and (3) the aide would not be living in the unit except to provide the necessary supportive services. The tenant needs to formally request the accommodation by submitting an application to the PHA. The tenant who is applying for this special accommodation would need to provide relevant and necessary medical proofs as to the disability and need for a live-in aide, including physicians’; opinion reports, and evidence concerning the identity of the aide and services to be provided. A sample detailed explanation of the requirements for this application are here, from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
The person being proposed as the live-in aide must still be eligible to reside in HUD housing based on other federal criteria, but that is a different topic.
Senior care planning involves looking at the opportunities to enable a person to age in place in his or her preferred environment. There are a wide array of legal questions that are relevant to that planning, including the public benefits that might be available.
Call us for advice about planning for senior care …. 732-382-6070