Financial Tools to Modernize or Construct Elderly Public Housing - Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons With Disabilities

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Section 811 Supportive Housing For Persons With Disabilities

The supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program (Section 811) provides financial assistance in the form of capital advances and project rental assistance to nonprofit sponsors to expand the supply of housing for very low income persons with disabilties. The provider must demonstrate that an applicant can live more independently if housed in Section 811 project.

If a PHA creates a subsidiary with a 501(c)(3) classification, the subsidiary is still a public body, therefore, it cannot apply for the HUD 202 program, but it can for 811. However, if it is newly formed with no experience, it must submit an 811 application with a co-sponsor, otherwise it has little chance of being selected in the competitive process. For purposes of developing a mixed finance project with additional units over and above the 811 units, the owner can be a for-profit limited partnership with the nonprofit entity as the sole general partner.

Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG)

Under 24 CFR 570.200(f)(1)(iii), a public housing authority or agency (PHA) can be designated by an entitlement grantee as an entity to carry out eligible activities using CDBG funds, although they are subject to the same requirements as subrecipients (see 570.501(a) and 570.502). Therefore, a PHA can use the CDBG funds to rehabilitate elderly public housing under 24 CFR 570.202(a)(2) of the CDBG regulations. However, new construction of housing is prohibited by the CDBG regulations at 570.207(b)(3) unless it is carried out by a Community Based Development Organization that meets the requirements at 570.204(c) and the activity meets the criteria at 570.204(a).

CDBG funds can also be used to provide services to the elderly such as healthcare, meals, and transportation. These activities would be classified as public services under 570.201(e) of the CDBG regualtions.

All activities assisted with CDBG must be eligible and meet one of three national objectives: benefit persons of low and moderate income; aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; or meet other community development needs of a particular urgency that the grantee is unable to finance on it own. The elderly are considered a presumptive group under the national objective of benefit to low and moderate income persons for limited clientele activities such as public services (see 570.208(a)(2)). However, activities that provide or improve permanent residential structures must meet the low and moderate housing national objective (see 570.208(a)(3)); they cannot meet the limited clientele national objective.

Since CDBG funds are not provided directly to individuals and organizations by HUD, but to units of government, communities that would like to use CDBG assistance for housing or public services for elderly must contact the grantee in the city, county, or state where they are located to obtain more information on the CDBG program for that community and how to apply for assistance.
List of CDBG program participants.

Other HUD Multifamily Housing Programs

DesHUD Housing Multifamily Programs for the Elderly

HUD 202 Program

HUD Housing Assisted Living Conversion Program (ALCP):

State-By-State Multifamily Housing Inventory of Units for the Elderly and Persons With Disabilities