HUD PIH Notice § 2013-18
Revision for Requests for Exception Payment Standards for Persons with Disabilities as a Reasonable Accommodation (HUD PIH Notices)
Operative Text
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Public and Indian Housing
_________________________________________________________________________
Special Attention of: Notice PIH 2013-18 (HA)
Directors of HUD Regional and Field
Offices of Public Housing; Issued: August 1, 2013
Agencies that Administer the
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Expires: Effective until amended,
superseded, or rescinded
_______________________________
Cross References:
Notice PIH 2011-19 (HA)
Notice PIH 2010-11 (HA)
Notice PIH 2008-13 (HA)
24 CFR § 982.505(d)
24 CFR § 982.503(c)(2)(ii)
_________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Revision for Requests for Exception Payment Standards for Persons
with Disabilities as a Reasonable Accommodation
1. Purpose. This notice supersedes Notice PIH 2011-19 (which extended Notice PIH 2010-11).
Prior to this revision, public housing agencies (PHA) were informed that an exception payment
standard may remain in effect until or unless a higher exception payment standard was
warranted, requested, and subsequently approved. With this notice, PHAs must maintain the
approved exception payment standard until or unless a higher exception payment standard is
warranted, requested, and subsequently approved (see Section 5). Section 6 of the prior notice
has also been revised to explain the expedition of the review process and allow for advanced
copies of waiver requests to be sent to HUD Headquarters directly.
2. Background. One of the purposes of an exception payment standard is to ensure that a
family with a person with disabilities can rent a unit that meets the disabled person’s needs.
On a case-by-case basis, as a reasonable accommodation, a PHA may approve a payment
standard amount up to 110 percent of the published fair market rent (FMR) if its payment
standards are set below 110 percent of the FMR in accordance with 24 CFR § 982.505(d). Such
higher payment standards must be requested by the family and subsequently approved, as
necessary, by the PHA after a family with a disabled person or an individual person with
disabilities locates a unit.
The HUD Field Office Public Housing Director can approve exception payment standards above
110 percent to 120 percent of the FMR as a reasonable accommodation in accordance with 24
CFR § 982.503(c)(2)(ii). Only HUD Headquarters may waive 24 CFR § 982.505(d) to allow the
PHA to approve any exception payment standards higher than 120 percent of the FMR as a
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reasonable accommodation.
Please note that Notice PIH 2013-03 (Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs –
Temporary Compliance Assistance) allows PHAs to establish an exception payment standard of
not more than 120 percent of the FMR without HUD approval as a reasonable accommodation.
However, any PHA that wishes to implement this provision must notify HUD in accordance with
section 4 of that notice.
3. Calculation Process. Since the family’s rent share is capped at 40 percent of monthly
adjusted income at initial occupancy when the gross rent exceeds the payment standard, the
difference between 40 percent of monthly adjusted income and 30 percent of monthly adjusted
income (i.e., 10 percent of monthly adjusted income) is subtracted from the gross rent (contract
rent plus utility allowance) to determine the adjusted gross rent. Please note that the 40 percent
cap will also be applied to families that need an exception payment standard to remain in their
assisted units.
The adjusted gross rent is divided by the FMR for the unit size to determine its percentage of the
FMR. If the adjusted gross rent is not more than 110 percent of the FMR, the PHA can review
and approve the request. If the adjusted gross rent is more than 110 percent, but not more than
120 percent of the FMR, the review and approval may be done by the field office. If the adjusted
gross rent is above 120 percent of the FMR, the request must be submitted to Headquarters. In
all cases the approved exception payment standard should equal the adjusted gross rent. An
example of the calculation process is attached.
4. Documentation for Exception Payment Standard Requests. To facilitate the review for
an exception payment standard as a reasonable accommodation, the PHA should include the
following documentation in its request:
A. Note whether the family is an applicant or participant family.
B. The number of household members including a live-in aide/s.
C. The voucher size the family is issued under the PHA’s subsidy standards or any
exception to those standards granted through a reasonable accommodation request;
e.g., as a reasonable accommodation, a single-person family may be issued a two-
bedroom voucher due to a need to store medical equipment.
D. The FMR for the voucher size or unit size whichever is smaller.
E. When either the disability or the need for the requested accommodation is not known
or readily apparent, a statement from a health care provider regarding the need for the
reasonable accommodation and the features of the unit (which may include its
location) which meet that person’s needs.
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F. The contract rent and utility allowance for the unit.
G. A statement from the PHA that it has determined the rent for the unit is reasonable,
and that the unit has the feature/s required to meet the needs of the person with
disabilities as noted in the statement from the health care provider where such a
statement is necessary (see E. above).
H. The household’s monthly adjusted income.
I. Proposed effective date of the new lease or actual effective date of the lease renewal.
5. Application of Approved Exception Payment Standard. Exception payment standards
must remain in effect until or unless a higher exception payment standard is warranted,
requested, and subsequently approved.
6. Headquarters Review. The regulatory waiver process in Public and Indian Housing requires
PHAs to first send their request to the appropriate field office; the field office then forwards the
waiver request to the appropriate program office at HUD Headquarters along with a field office
recommendation (See PIH Notice 2009-41). This process should be expedited through the
various offices so that units are not lost when owners are not willing to hold them beyond a
certain date. PHAs may fax or scan a copy to Headquarters for advanced review (see below).
7. Information Contact. Inquiries about this notice should also be directed to Ms. Smelkinson,
Housing Voucher Management and Operations Division, Office of Public Housing and Voucher
Programs, at (202) 402-4138 or by email at Phyllis.A.Smelkinson@hud.gov; the office fax
number is 202-401-3963.
8. Paperwork Reduction Act. The information collection requirements contained in this notice
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C 3520). In accordance with the PRA, HUD may not
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless
the collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. The following active information
collections contained in this notice have been approved under the PRA - OMB Control Number
2577-0169.
/s/
Sandra B. Henriquez, Assistant Secretary
for Public and Indian Housing
Attachment
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EXAMPLE CALCULATION PROCESS
Fair Market Rent for Unit Size $1,041
Family’s monthly adjusted income: 823
30% of monthly adjusted income: 247
40% of monthly adjusted income 329
Difference between 30% and 40%: 82
Contract Rent 1,505
Utility Allowance 40
Gross Rent 1,545
Adjusted Gross Rent (1,545 – 82) 1,463
Percentage of FMR (1,463/1,041) 141%
PIH Notice § 2013-18 governs how Housing Choice Voucher program participants with disabilities may request exception payment standards that exceed the normal fair market rent (FMR) limits. Under this notice, a public housing agency (PHA) may approve a payment standard up to 110 percent of the FMR on its own authority, while amounts between 110 and 120 percent require HUD Field Office approval, and anything above 120 percent must be waived by HUD Headquarters. Once an exception payment standard is approved, it must remain in effect unless a higher standard is later warranted, requested, and approved. The notice also establishes a specific calculation method—using the family's adjusted gross rent relative to the FMR—to determine which level of review applies.
Plain English — not legal advice.
PIH Notice § 2013-18 primarily governs the relationship between PHAs and HUD, but property owners participating in the Housing Choice Voucher program should be aware that a family with a member who has a disability may present an approved exception payment standard that exceeds the standard FMR limit. Compliant operators generally cooperate with the PHA's documentation process, including providing contract rent and utility allowance figures needed for the exception payment standard request. Because the notice instructs PHAs to expedite the review process to avoid losing available units, owners who are willing to hold a unit during the review period facilitate the accommodation process contemplated by § 2013-18.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
PIH Notice § 2013-18 establishes that families with a member who has a disability have the right to request an exception payment standard as a reasonable accommodation under the Housing Choice Voucher program, potentially allowing the voucher to cover rents above the standard FMR limit. Tenants or applicants who believe they need a higher payment standard to access a unit that meets their disability-related needs can initiate a request through their PHA, which may require documentation from a health care provider when the disability or need is not readily apparent. Those who encounter difficulty with this process may find it helpful to contact their local PHA's reasonable accommodation coordinator, reach out to a tenant-rights or disability-rights organization, or direct inquiries to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as described in Section 7 of § 2013-18.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
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