DESIGNATED HOUSING PLAN Section 7 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437e) provides public housing agencies with the option to designate housing for elderly families, disabled families, or elderly and disabled families. The designated housing can consist of part of a building, an entire building, multiple buildings, or a percentage of units in a specific building. The designation may be “elderly only,” “disabled only” or “mixed” (elderly and disabled). PREPARING THE DESIGNATED HOUSING PLAN All Designated Housing Plan (DHP) submissions must include elements outlined by Section 7 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 to be considered for approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The DHP must include information and/or statements of acknowledgements for the following: A. Justification for Designation. Establish that the designation of the project is necessary to achieve the housing goals for the jurisdiction under the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy, part of a jurisdiction’s Consolidated Plan, and to meet the housing needs of the low-income population of the jurisdiction. B. Project Description. Include a description of a project (or portion of a project) to be designated, the types of tenants for which the project is to be designated, any supportive services to be provided to tenants of the designated project, and how the design and related facilities of the project accommodate the special environmental needs of the intended occupants. C. Alternative Resources. Include a description of any plans to secure additional resources or housing assistance to provide assistance to families that may have been housed if occupancy in the project were not restricted pursuant to the designation. D. No Eviction or Lease Termination Due to Designation Include a statement prohibiting the eviction or termination of the lease of any tenant lawfully residing in a dwelling unit in public housing because of the designation. E. Voluntary Relocation Due to the Designation. Provide persons and families who agree to be relocated in connection with a new housing designation with a notice of the designation and an explanation of available relocation benefits; access to comparable housing (including appropriate services and design features); and payment of actual, reasonable moving expenses. F. Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970. Tenants may not be considered to be displaced for purposes of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970 because of the designation of any existing project or building, or portion thereof, of public housing. G. Eligibility of Near-Elderly Families. If the housing agency determines there are insufficient numbers of elderly families to fill all the designated units, the housing agency may provide in the Plan that it will admit near-elderly families to the project (or portion of a project) designated for occupancy by only elderly families. A near-elderly family is a family whose head, spouse, or sole member is between 50 and 61 years old.
