§8.25. Public housing and multi-family Indian housing. — Inbound Citations

Except as otherwise provided in §§ 8.21(c)(1), 8.24(a), 8.25, and 8.31, no qualified individual with handicaps shall, because a recipient's facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by individuals with handicaps, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.

(a) New multifamily housing projects (including public housing and Indian housing projects as required by § 8.25) shall be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with handicaps.

Accessible dwelling units required by § 8.22, 8.23, 8.24 or 8.25 shall, to the maximum extent feasible and subject to reasonable health and safety requirements, be distributed throughout projects and sites and shall be available in a sufficient range of sizes and amenities so that a qualified individual with handicaps' choice of living arrangements is, as a whole, comparable to that of other persons eligible for housing assistance under the same program. This provision shall not be construed to require provision of an elevator in any multifamily housing project solely for the purpose of permitting location of accessible units above or below the accessible grade level.

(a) Effective as of July 11, 1988, design, construction, or alteration of buildings in conformance with sections 3-8 of the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of §§ 8.21, 8.22, 8.23, and 8.25 with respect to those buildings. Departures from particular technical and scoping requirements of the UFAS by the use of other methods are permitted where substantially equivalent or greater access to and usability of the building is provided. The alteration of housing facilities shall also be in conformance with additional scoping requirements contained in this part. Persons interested in obtaining a copy of the UFAS are directed to § 40.7 of this title.

(1) The plan must describe and identify the public housing developments and the number of public housing units in the jurisdiction, the physical condition of such units, the restoration and revitalization needs, results from the Section 504 needs assessment (i.e., assessment of needs of tenants and applicants on waiting list for accessible units, as required by 24 CFR 8.25), and the public housing agency's strategy for improving the management and operation of such public housing and for improving the living environment of low- and moderate-income families residing in public housing. The consolidated plan must identify the public housing developments in the jurisdictions that are participating in an approved PHA Plan.

(A) The needs assessment prepared in accordance with 24 CFR 8.25, and

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the provisions of §§ 8.21 (a) and (b), 8.22 (a) and (b), 8.23, 8.25(a) (1) and (2), and 8.29 shall apply to facilities that are designed, constructed or altered after July 11, 1988. If the design of a facility was commenced before July 11, 1988, the provisions shall be followed to the maximum extent practicable, as determined by the Department. For purposes of this paragraph, the date a facility is constructed or altered shall be deemed to be the date bids for the construction or alteration of the facility are solicited. For purposes of the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program, the provisions shall apply to the construction or alteration of facilities that are funded under applications submitted after July 11, 1988. If the UDAG application was submitted before July 11, 1988, the provisions shall apply, to the maximum extent practicable, as determined by the Department.

(a) If alterations are undertaken to a project (including a public housing project as required by § 8.25(a)(2)) that has 15 or more units and the cost of the alterations is 75 percent or more of the replacement cost of the completed facility, then the provisions of § 8.22 shall apply.

(1) In a public housing program where structural changes in facilities are undertaken, such changes shall be made within the timeframes established in § 8.25(c).