[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 24, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 24CFR8.3]



[Page 135-139]

 

                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

PART 8_NONDISCRIMINATION BASED ON HANDICAP IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS 

AND ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT--Table 

of Contents

 

                      Subpart A_General Provisions

 

Sec.  8.3  Definitions.



    As used in this part:

    Accessible, when used with respect to the design, construction, or 

alteration of a facility or a portion of a facility other than an 

individual dwelling unit, means that the facility or portion of



[[Page 136]]



the facility when designed, constructed or altered, can be approached, 

entered, and used by individuals with physical handicaps. The phrase 

accessible to and usable by is synonomous with accessible.

    Accessible, when used with respect to the design, construction, or 

alteration of an individual dwelling unit, means that the unit is 

located on an accessible route and when designed, constructed, altered 

or adapted can be approached, entered, and used by individuals with 

physical handicaps. A unit that is on an accessible route and is 

adaptable and otherwise in compliance with the standards set forth in 

Sec.  8.32 is accessible within the meaning of this paragraph. When a 

unit in an existing facility which is being made accessible as a result 

of alterations is intended for use by a specific qualified individual 

with handicaps (e.g., a current occupant of such unit or of another unit 

under the control of the same recipient, or an applicant on a waiting 

list), the unit will be deemed accessible if it meets the requirements 

of applicable standards that address the particular disability or 

impairment of such person.

    Accessible route means a continuous unobstructed path connecting 

accessible elements and spaces in a building or facility that complies 

with the space and reach requirements of applicable standards prescribed 

by Sec.  8.32. An accessible route that serves only accessible units 

occupied by persons with hearing or vision impairments need not comply 

with those requirements intended to effect accessibility for persons 

with mobility impairments.

    Adaptability means the ability of certain elements of a dwelling 

unit, such as kitchen counters, sinks, and grab bars, to be added to, 

raised, lowered, or otherwise altered, to accommodate the needs of 

persons with or without handicaps, or to accommodate the needs of 

persons with different types or degrees of disability. For example, in a 

unit adaptable for a hearing-impaired person, the wiring for visible 

emergency alarms may be installed but the alarms need not be installed 

until such time as the unit is made ready for occupancy by a hearing-

impaired person.

    Alteration means any change in a facility or its permanent fixtures 

or equipment. It includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, 

renovation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, changes or rearrangements in 

structural parts and extraordinary repairs. It does not include normal 

maintenance or repairs, reroofing, interior decoration, or changes to 

mechanical systems.

    Applicant for assistance means one who submits an application, 

request, plan, or statement required to be approved by a Department 

official or by a primary recipient as a condition of eligibility for 

Federal financial assistance. An application means such a request, plan 

or statement.

    Auxiliary aids means services or devices that enable persons with 

impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills to have an equal 

opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, programs or 

activities receiving Federal financial assistance. For example, 

auxiliary aids for persons with impaired vision may include readers, 

Brailled materials, audio recordings, and other similar services and 

devices. Auxiliary aids for persons with impaired hearing may include 

telephone handset amplifiers, telephones compatible with hearing aids, 

telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TDD's), interpreters, 

notetakers, written materials, and other similar services and devices.

    Department or HUD means the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development.

    Facility means all or any portion of buildings, structures, 

equipment, roads, walks, parking lots, rolling stock or other real or 

personal property or interest in the property.

    Federal financial assistance means any assistance provided or 

otherwise made available by the Department through any grant, loan, 

contract or any other arrangement, in the form of:

    (a) Funds;

    (b) Services of Federal personnel; or

    (c) Real or personal property or any interest in or use of such 

property, including:

    (1) Transfers or leases of the property for less than fair market 

value or for reduced consideration; and



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    (2) Proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of the property if 

the Federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the 

Federal Government.

    Federal financial assistance includes community development funds in 

the form of proceeds from loans guaranteed under section 108 of the 

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, but does not 

include assistance made available through direct Federal procurement 

contracts or payments made under these contracts or any other contract 

of insurance or guaranty.

    Handicap means any condition or characteristic that renders a person 

an individual with handicaps.

    Historic preservation programs or activities means programs or 

activities receiving Federal financial assistance that have preservation 

of historic properties as a primary purpose.

    Historic properties means those properties that are listed or are 

eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, or 

such properties designated as historic under a statute of the 

appropriate State or local government body.

    Individual with handicaps means any person who has a physical or 

mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life 

activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having 

such an impairment. For purposes of employment, this term does not 

include: Any individual who is an alcoholic or drug abuser whose current 

use of alcohol or drugs prevents the individual from performing the 

duties of the job in question, or whose employment, by reason of current 

alcohol or drug abuse, would constitute a direct threat to property or 

the safety of others; or any individual who has a currently contagious 

disease or infection and who, by reason of such disease or infection, 

would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other 

individuals or who, by reason of the currently contagious disease or 

infection, is unable to perform the duties of the job. For purposes of 

other programs and activities, the term does not include any individual 

who is an alcoholic or drug abuser whose current use of alcohol or drugs 

prevents the individual from participating in the program or activity in 

question, or whose participation, by reason of such current alcohol or 

drug abuse, would constitute a direct threat to property or the safety 

of others. As used in this definition, the phrase:

    (a) Physical or mental impairment includes:

    (1) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, 

or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: 

Neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, 

including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; 

genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or

    (2) Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental 

retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and 

specific learning disabilities. The term physical or mental impairment 

includes, but is not limited to, such diseases and conditions as 

orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, 

autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart 

disease, diabetes, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction 

and alcoholism.

    (b) Major life activities means functions such as caring for one's 

self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, 

breathing, learning and working.

    (c) Has a record of such an impairment means has a history of, or 

has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that 

substantially limits one or more major life activities.

    (d) Is regarded as having an impairment means:

    (1) Has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially 

limit one or more major life activities but that is treated by a 

recipient as constituting such a limitation;

    (2) Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits 

one or more major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of 

others toward such impairment; or

    (3) Has none of the impairments defined in paragraph (a) of this 

section but is treated by a recipient as having such an impairment.



[[Page 138]]



    Multifamily housing project means a project containing five or more 

dwelling units.

    Primary recipient means a person, group, organization, State or 

local unit of government that is authorized or required to extend 

Federal financial assistance to another recipient for the purpose of 

carrying out a program or activity.

    Program or activity means all of the operations of:

    (a)(1) A department, agency, special purpose district, or other 

instrumentality of a State or of a local government; or

    (2) The entity of such State or local government that distributes 

such assistance and each such department or agency (and each other State 

or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the 

case of assistance to a State or local government;

    (b)(1) A college, university, or other post-secondary institution, 

or a public system of higher education; or

    (2) A local educational agency (as defined in section 198(a)(10) of 

the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), system of 

vocational education, or other school system;

    (c)(1) An entire corporation, partnership, or other private 

organization, or an entire sole proprietorship--

    (i) If assistance is extended to such corporation, partnership, 

private organization, or sole proprietorship as a whole; or

    (ii) Which is principally engaged in the business of providing 

education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and 

recreation; or

    (2) The entire plant or other comparable, geographically separate 

facility to which Federal financial assistance is extended, in the case 

of any other corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole 

proprietorship; or

    (d) Any other entity which is established by two or more of the 

entities described in paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) of this section;



any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance.

    Project means the whole of one or more residential structures and 

appurtenant structures, equipment, roads, walks, and parking lots which 

are covered by a single contract for Federal financial assistance or 

application for assistance, or are treated as a whole for processing 

purposes, whether or not located on a common site.

    Qualified individual with handicaps means:

    (a) With respect to employment, an individual with handicaps who, 

with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of 

the job in question; and

    (b) With respect to any non-employment program or activity which 

requires a person to perform services or to achieve a level of 

accomplishment, an individual with handicaps who meets the essential 

eligibility requirements and who can achieve the purpose of the program 

or activity without modifications in the program or activity that the 

recipient can demonstrate would result in a fundamental alteration in 

its nature; or

    (c) With respect to any other non-employment program or activity, an 

individual with handicaps who meets the essential eligibility 

requirements for participation in, or receipt of benefits from, that 

program or activity. Essential eligibility requirements include stated 

eligibility requirements such as income as well as other explicit or 

implicit requirements inherent in the nature of the program or activity, 

such as requirements that an occupant of multifamily housing be capable 

of meeting the recipient's selection criteria and be capable of 

complying with all obligations of occupancy with or without supportive 

services provided by persons other than the recipient. For example, a 

chronically mentally ill person whose particular condition poses a 

significant risk of substantial interference with the safety or 

enjoyment of others or with his or her own health or safety in the 

absence of necessary supportive services may be qualified for occupancy 

in a project where such supportive services are provided by the 

recipient as part of the assisted program. The person may not be 

qualified for a project lacking such services.

    Recipient means any State or its political subdivision, any 

instrumentality of a State or its political subdivision, any public or 

private agency,



[[Page 139]]



institution, organization, or other entity, or any person to which 

Federal financial assistance is extended for any program or activity 

directly or through another recipient, including any successor, 

assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate 

beneficiary of the assistance. An entity or person receiving housing 

assistance payments from a recipient on behalf of eligible families 

under a housing assistance payments program or a voucher program is not 

a recipient or subrecipient merely by virtue of receipt of such 

payments.

    Replacement cost of the completed facility means the current cost of 

construction and equipment for a newly constructed housing facility of 

the size and type being altered. Construction and equipment costs do not 

include the cost of land, demolition, site improvements, non-dwelling 

facilities and administrative costs for project development activities.

    Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

    Section 504 means section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as 

amended, 29 U.S.C. 794, as it applies to programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance.

    Substantial impairment means a significant loss of the integrity of 

finished materials, design quality, or special character resulting from 

a permanent alteration.



[53 FR 20233, June 2, 1988; 54 FR 8188, Feb. 27, 1989]