Exhibit J to Subpart C of Part 1930 - Management of Congregate Housing and Group Homes

IPurpose: This exhibit prescribes additional requirements for the management of congregate housing and group homes. It applies in addition to other requirements in this subpart.

IIObjective: The objective in the management of congregate and group home housing is to provide shelter and predetermined services as separate components, based on a market study identification of need, that are affordable to the housing's tenant base. It is further the objective to permit resident tenants to cover their individual medical and discretionary needs, and/or service needs or preferences not provided or arranged by the housing provider, within their own financial, familial and social resources.

IIIDefinitions:

Congregate housing. Residential housing for persons or families who are elderly, or have handicaps, or disabilities, consisting of private apartments and central dining facilities in which a number of preestablished services are provided to tenants (short of those services provided by a health care facility that provides health related care and services recognized by the medicaid program). Tenants requiring additional services not provided by the facility will acquire them or provide for them within their own financial, familial, or social resources.

Group home. Housing that is occupied by individuals who are elderly or have handicaps or disabilities, sharing living space within a rental unit in which a group home resident assistant may be required.

Service agreement. A written agreement between the borrower and the congregate or group home service provider detailing the specific service to be provided, the cost of the service, and the length of time the service will be provided.

Service contract. A written contract between the borrower and the tenant listing the package of services selected by the tenant that will be provided or arranged by the borrower, the fee or fees to be charged, and applicable conditions and agreements pertaining thereto.

Service plan. A written plan describing how services will be provided to congregate housing or group home projects. At a minimum, the plan must specify the services to be provided, the frequency of the services, who will provide the services, how tenants will be advised of the availability of services, and the staff needed to provide the services.

Tenant base. The demographic and economic profile of eligible people in a housing market area who would benefit, whether by need or preference, from the housing and supportive services provided by a congregate housing or group home facility located in the market area.

IVRent Subsidy Opportunities: Congregate housing and group homes are subject to the provisions of paragraph IV of exhibit B of this subpart. Subsidy discussed in that paragraph cannot be used to pay for services in congregate housing or group homes.

VManagement Operations: Borrowers must comply with paragraph V of exhibit B of this subpart in managing congregate housing and group homes. In addition, borrowers must submit a service plan that explains how services will be provided.

ABorrower's experience. Borrowers and management agents must outline their experience and plans for providing congregate and group home services when completing the management outline in either exhibit B-4 or B-5 of this subpart. Borrowers who are not experienced with congregate housing/group homes must obtain assistance from organizations or individuals experienced with congregate issues in developing management and servicing plans. The service provider's experience and ability to furnish the services must be documented.

BManagement plan. In addition to the general requirements for a management plan described at paragraph V A of exhibit B of this subpart, the management plan should describe the plan for management of features unique and essential to congregate/group home housing. This portion of an overall management plan may either be incorporated within the framework of the management plan or as an addendum to the plan. The following areas should be described:

1Tenant mix. For congregate housing, describe the mix of tenants who will have a greater number of services and tenants who will have a lesser number of services that the project is designed to accommodate. For group home housing, describe the “group(s)” of tenants the group home is intending to serve such as elderly tenants, developmentally disabled, or mentally impaired persons.

2Marketing plan. Describe the strategies, ways and means that marketing and advertising will be focused to attract and retain tenants from the market area (tenant base) that would benefit by the congregate/group home housing project.

3Service package. Describe the basic and any alternative “package” of service(s), or combination of service packages, that a tenant may acquire at the project. Describe any deviations to a service package that can be accommodated on an individual tenant basis by the project in a reasonable and practical manner.

4Referral service. Describe the plan for identifying other services available to tenants and for establishing liaison between the project and the other services. Describe the plan to make the information of such services available and known to tenants. Describe what arrangements the project can provide as part of a service package to help tenants use referral services.

5Tenant consultation. Describe how the project management staff will use tenant consultation to assist tenants with information, modification of service package, referral to medical, clinical, family or other services, and identifying what, if any, reasonable accommodations or assistance are needed and whether they are feasible and practical to provide.

6Emergency evacuation plan. Describe what the project will do to inform and train tenants on safe evacuation of an apartment and building. Describe which community/public services will be informed about and incorporated into the project evacuation plan.

C Service plan. Congregate housing/group home borrowers must submit a service plan as defined in paragraph III of this exhibit. See exhibit E of subpart E of part 1944 of this chapter for guidance on the issues that should be included in the plan. The service plan will be an addendum to the management plan when appropriate, or subject to the signature and authorization requirements of the management plan when the service provider is not the borrower or management agent.

DService agreements. Borrowers must submit a service agreement for each service they do not provide directly. The agreement must stipulate the specific service to be provided, the cost of the service and the length of time the service will be provided. The service agreement will be an addendum to the management agreement when appropriate, or subject to the signature and authorization requirements of the management agreement when the service provider is not the borrower or management agent.

Initial service agreements must be effective for at least 1 year after the project becomes operational. Subsequent agreements must be effective for at least 1 year.

EService contract. Borrowers must submit a sample of the service contract for Agency review for compliance with Fair Housing Act requirements/restrictions and Agency requirements in or referenced by this subpart. The service contract may not be a requirement for occupancy in the congregate housing project and it must be made separate and apart from the occupancy lease agreement.

VIRenting Procedure: In addition to meeting the conditions of paragraph VI of exhibit B of this subpart, borrowers must meet the following conditions.

AEligible tenants. Tenants must meet the general provisions of paragraph VI D of exhibit B of this subpart and be eligible to occupy congregate or group home housing as defined in paragraph III of this exhibit. Borrowers must be careful to follow the condition described in paragraph VI D 1 i of exhibit B of this subpart when inquiring about the applicant's or tenant's request for congregate/group home housing and the service it provides.

BTenant selection. Borrowers must meet the provisions of paragraph VI H of exhibit B of this subpart. Borrowers should be further guided by the following in selecting tenants for congregate housing and group homes:

1 Congregate housing.

aTenant mix. It is the primary intent of a congregate housing project to provide or arrange for service packages made up of various component services to serve the needs of tenants needing such services. If it is not feasible to provide service packages to all tenants, the borrower may serve tenants needing services and tenants not needing services. The number of tenants that can be served with service package(s) will be described in the project management plan. Project management should be consulted when establishing the tenant mix. The plan should establish a percentage of tenants who will use a service package with a greater number of component services as differentiated from tenants whose service package will contain fewer services. As existing tenants age and new tenants move in, the percentage may fluctuate. Farmers Home Association must concur with the proposed plan.

bSelecting services needed or wanted by tenants in congregate housing.

(1) It is the borrower's responsibility to inform applicants or tenants about the supportive services provided at or by the congregate project. Such services or service packages need to be identified on the project's application form as part of an application package.

(2) It is the applicant's or tenant's responsibility to identify and request the services or service package provided by the project which that person desires or needs.

(3) The borrower may have the applicant/tenant provide only such essential information about the person's desire for provided service(s) to determine whether the project provides the services desired by the applicant/tenant and/or to determine how to best serve the applicant's/tenant's request for services with reasonable accommodation, referral services, etc. The essential information may include an explanation by the applicant/tenant. In the case of a group home, it may also include an assessment by a professional medical examiner or practitioner, social service caseworker, representative of an advocacy group, member of the clergy, etc. that the tenant/applicant provides to support the application for housing and services.

cWaiting lists. To sustain the number of tenants requesting services, management may maintain waiting lists for tenants requesting large component service packages, small component service packages, and those wanting a service package at a later time. Management may choose tenants from the lists in such manner to maintain the feasibility in providing services, however, priority in tenant selection should go to an applicant requesting a service package over one requesting a service package at some later date. The other provisions contained in paragraph VI H of exhibit B of this subpart concerning waiting lists are applicable.

2Group home. A group home may limit occupancy to a specific group of tenants. For example, a group home may limit occupancy to eligible elderly tenants, developmentally disabled people, or mentally impaired tenants. This limitation will be outlined in the borrower's management plan. The following will apply to group homes.

aApplicants for group home housing must demonstrate their need for such housing.

bTenants of group homes cannot be required to be a part of an ongoing training or rehabilitation program sponsored by the applicant or other organization.

cTenants should be selected from the local area before considering other areas.

CDetermining per unit rental rates for group living arrangements. A “unit” in a group home consists of the space occupied by a specific tenant household. It may be a traditional apartment unit, a bedroom, or a portion of a bedroom. Rents are determined as follows:

1When all units are of equal size, divide operational costs equally.

2 When all units are not of equal size, determine the size of each unit and divide operational costs accordingly.

aThe size of traditional units is their square footage.

bThe size of nontraditional units is the bedroom or portion of bedroom occupied by the household and portion of the common area to be used by all potential units in nontraditional units.

3A unit occupied by a resident assistant is not considered a revenue producing unit and would be excluded from the rent determination.

VIIVerification and Certification of Tenant Income, and/or Employment and Review of Support Services: The provisions of paragraph VII of exhibit B of this subpart apply. In addition to recertifying income, management should consult with each tenant to explain the available support services and determine if the tenant desires any available services not presently used and/or if any other practical and feasible accommodations can be provided to the tenant.

VIIILease Agreements: In addition to the conditions contained in paragraph VIII of exhibit B of this subpart, the following should be addressed:

ATenants who request services in congregate housing. If a tenant requests services, the lease must contain the following clauses:

1“I understand that use of the service package I have selected is not mandatory, and if I later choose to modify or not renew my service contract, such action on my part will not cause default under the terms of this lease agreement. I further understand and agree that I may not use any aspect of dissatisfaction with my service contract as grounds to withhold rents due under the terms of this lease agreement.”

2“The lessor warrants that the following basic services will be made available to all tenants for a fee separate and apart from any rent described in the terms of this lease. The basic services are: __________.

If these services cannot later be provided, such failure or inability to provide the services will not constitute a breach of this lease agreement and the lessor will hold the tenant harmless should the tenant elect to terminate this lease on the grounds that provision of these services was cause for the tenant to apply for and accept occupancy in this congregate housing project.”

BServices provided to people other than tenants of FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 financed congregate housing. If the meal facility serves people other than the tenants of the project, the borrower must obtain a lease from the service provider and require payment sufficient to cover the annual operating expenses, debt services and reserve account attributable to the portion of increased space that is in excess of the needs of the tenants in the project. Tenants of the congregate housing must have priority in receiving the services. When the facilities are provided with loan funds, the following conditions must be met:

1The services to be provided and the fees to be charged (if any) must be fully documented in the service plan, if provided by the applicant, or in the service plan and lease agreement if the services will be provided by others.

2 Any lease agreement must be approved by the State Director or the loan approving official and contain the following statement: “This agreement will not be effective until approved by the State Director of the Farmers Home Administration or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354, U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the State Director's delegated representative.”

IXRent Collection: The provisions of paragraph IX of exhibit B of this subpart will apply for services as well as rent. Tenants must pay charges for the services as documented in their lease. The payment for rent or services may be made separately or combined; however, payments for rent and services must be accounted for separately.

XBorrower Project Budgets: Borrowers must separate the revenue and expenses of project operations from the service component. Form FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 1930-7, “Multiple Family Housing Project Budget,” must reflect project operations only. Also, if project employees provide any part of the services, the project operation budget and the services budget must reflect the proration of employee compensation between the respective budgets as further described in exhibit E of subpart E of part 1944 of this chapter.

XIAccounting and Reporting Requirements and Financial Management Analysis: Borrowers must maintain separate financial records for the operation and maintenance of the project and the service component. Funds allocated to the operation and maintenance of the project may not be used to supplement the cost of services, nor may service component funds be used to supplement the project operation and maintenance. Detailed financial reports on the service component will not be required unless specifically requested by FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354, and then only to the extent necessary for FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 and the borrower to discuss the affordability (and competitiveness) of the service component by the tenant base in keeping with the objective stated in paragraph II of this exhibit. The project audit, or verification of accounts on Form FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103-354 1930-8, “Multiple Family Housing Balance Sheet,” together with an accompanying Form 1930-7 showing actuals, must allocate revenue and expense between project operations and the service component.

XIITermination of Tenancy and Eviction. In keeping with the spirit and provisions of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, a tenant living in congregate or group home housing project may remain as long as they are eligible to occupy and the tenant expresses or otherwise maintains they can care for themself with or without services provided by the project, or by familial or social services from outside the project. Tenants are otherwise bound by the terms of their lease and their occupancy may be terminated only according to the provisions contained in paragraph XIV of exhibit B of this subpart.