HUD HCV Guidebook § 2.5

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 197320 prohibits, because of disability, exclusion from participation in,
denial of the benefits of, and discrimination under any programs or activities receiving Federal financial

12 See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 3608(e)(5); 24 CFR § 5.150 et. seq.; 24 CFR 903.7(b)(2)(iv) and (v)(D), (o), 903.15(c), and 903.23(f).
13 See 24 CFR 903.7(o).
14 See 24 CFR 903.7(o) (requiring certification of compliance pursuant to 24 CFR 5.151 and 5.152).
15 See 88 Fed, Reg, 8516 (Feb. 9, 2023).
16 See 80 Fed. Reg. 42272 (July 15, 2015).
17 See 24 CFR part 146.
18 For e.g., designated public housing for elderly persons established in Section 7 of the United States Housing Act of 1937
19 24 CFR part 146.

20 29 U.S.C. § 794   .

Fair Housing and Nondiscrimination Requirements                                                                             7
US Department of Housing and Urban Development                                                                      April 2025

assistance. This law applies to PHAs as recipients of Federal financial assistance, as well as to the PHA’s
contractors, subcontractors, subrecipients, transferees, successors, and assignees. For example, when a
PHA’s public housing development is converted under the Rental Assistance Development (RAD) program, the
new owner and operator assumes Section 504 responsibilities as a recipient of Federal financial assistance.
In addition, PHAs must enter into HUD-approved contracts with owners participating in housing choice voucher
programs, which shall include necessary assurances of nondiscrimination

Section 504 obligates PHAs to ensure nondiscrimination and make their programs and activities accessible to
persons with disabilities, including:
    •    Making and paying for structural changes, modifications to units and/or common areas as a
         reasonable accommodation that may be necessary for applicants and tenants with disabilities;
    •    Providing for reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices and procedures in order to
         enable an applicant or resident with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their
         housing unit, the common areas of a dwelling, housing related services and amenities, maintenance
         and administrative operations, and programs and activities conducted or sponsored by the PHA
         and/or recipient;
    •    Operating housing that is not limited to persons with disabilities or persons with a specific type of
         disabilities unless authorized by Federal law;
    •    Taking appropriate steps to ensure effective communication with persons with disabilities, including
         by providing auxiliary aids and services where necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal
         opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of a program or activity of the PHA;21
    •    Administering programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance in the most integrated
         setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities;22
    •    Complying with program accessibility requirements, including accessibility requirements for individuals
         with mobility, hearing, and vision impairments for new construction, substantial alterations, other
         alterations, and other program access requirements, meaning, among other obligations, that the PHA
         maintains the designated accessible units for individuals with mobility impairments and designated
         accessible units for individuals with sensory impairments that are dispersed pursuant to regulatory
         requirements;23
    •    If the PHA did not develop a “needs assessment” for accessible units for applicants and tenants, and
         a transition plan to achieve program accessibility, in accordance with the timeframes set out in HUD’s
         Section 504 regulation (i.e., by July 11, 1990), the PHA must conduct a needs assessment and
         implement a transition plan;24
    •    If the PHA has not performed a self-evaluation of the PHA’s programs and policies to ensure that they
         do not discriminate based on disability by the date specified in HUD’s Section 504 regulation (i.e., by
         July 11, 1989), the PHA must conduct a self-evaluation in accordance with regulatory requirements;25
         and
    •    Ensuring that the PHA is operating the program in compliance with Section 504.

21 See 24 CFR 8.6.
22 See 24 CFR 8.4(d).
23 See 24 CFR 8.20-23; 8.26.
24 See 24 CFR 8.25(c) and (d).
25 See 24 CFR 8.51.

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US Department of Housing and Urban Development                                                 April 2025

Section 504 requires PHAs to affirmatively ensure that persons with disabilities are given an equal opportunity
to participate fully in a PHA’s HUD-assisted housing programs and receive the full benefit of these programs.
Section 504 requires PHAs to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to obtain the same result or
to gain the same benefit as those afforded to persons without disabilities.

PHAs must adopt suitable means to ensure that information regarding the availability of accessible units
reaches eligible individuals with disabilities and must take reasonable nondiscriminatory steps to maximize
the utilization of accessible units by eligible individuals with disabilities whose disability requires the
accessibility features of the unit.26 A PHA may require a tenant who does not need a unit’s accessible features
to move to another unit without such features.

A more detailed discussion of PHA responsibilities as it relates to the HCV program, physical accessibility
requirements, and reasonable accommodations is covered in Section 3 of this chapter.