HUD Handbook 4350.3 § 3-28

A.        Overview

                    Eligibility for certain projects (as identified in Section 2 of this chapter), certain
                    income deductions, and preferences are based upon whether the family is
                    identified as elderly or disabled, or whether a family has any individual members
                    who are elderly or disabled. Therefore, verifications of age and disability status
                    are very important issues in determining eligibility and rent.

B.        Disability

                    An owner may verify disability to determine whether a family or person meets the
                    definition of disability used to determine eligibility for a project, preferences, or an
                    allowance, or to identify applicant needs for features of accessible units or
                    reasonable accommodations. The owner may not specifically ask for or verify
                    the nature and extent of the disability. There are ways to verify disability status
                    without obtaining detailed information or information that must not be collected.
                    Verification of disability may be obtained through the following methods:

                    1.        A third-party verification form may be sent by the owner to an appropriate
                              source of information, including but not limited to *a physician,
                              psychologist, clinical social worker, other licensed health care*, or the
                              Veterans Administration.

                              a.      If a third-party form is used, it must be signed by the applicant
                                      authorizing the release of such information to the owner.

                              b.      The form should provide the definitions of disability used to
                                      determine eligibility and rent and should request that the source
                                      completing the form identify whether the applicant meets the
                                      definition. In this way the owner is not required to make any
                                      judgments about whether a condition is considered a disability,
                                      and will not have prohibited information.

                    2.        Receipt of social security disability payments is adequate verification of
                              an individual’s disability status for programs listed in Figure 3-5 that use
                              definition E for person with disabilities. Such information is obtained
                              through verification of the social security disability payments. See the
                              discussion in Chapter 5, Section 3.

                              NOTE: Applicants who meet the Social Security's definition of disabled
                              are eligible even if they do not receive social security benefits. The
                              Section 202 and Section 811 programs do not use this definition of
                              disability, *therefore*, this note does not apply to applicants for units in
                              Section 202 or 811 projects. *Because the Disability Status in EIV is not
                              always accurate, owners must not use this status for determining an
                              applicant’s or tenant’s eligibility as disabled for a HUD program or for
                              receiving the elderly/disabled household allowance. Owners must obtain
                              current tenant-provided documentation, or verification directly from the
                              Social Security office to determine whether an applicant or tenant meets
                              their definition as disabled for programs listed in Figure 3-5 that use
                              definition E for person with disabilities.*

                    3.        Receipt of a veteran's disability benefits does not automatically qualify a
                              person as disabled, because the Veteran's Administration and Social
                              Security Administration define disabled differently.

C.        Age

                    Owners may need to verify age for several reasons: to determine eligibility for a
                    property restricted to elderly persons or families or to determine whether a
                    person is old enough to sign a legally binding contract. Owners may also need to
                    verify age to determine whether a family is entitled to certain allowances based
                    upon the age of the head, spouse, co-head, or minor. Verification of age may be
                    obtained using any of the documents listed in Appendix 3.