Is Your Active Adult Community Old Enough to Qualify as Senior Living?
With older adults working, traveling, and staying active longer than in generations past, today’s active adult communities may not feel like the senior living facilities of old, but many still qualify for certain exemptions under the law.
What You Should Know About the Fair Housing Act and Age Discrimination
If you are operating an Active Adult Community, there are a lot of laws to think about, from safety to zoning. But you may not have considered whether your community be accidentally violating the federal Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Act, first established in 1968, makes it illegal for community management companies (among others) to discriminate against potential homebuyers or renters based on their race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, or familial status. Many state civil rights laws add protections based on marital status, sexual orientation, and ancestry. Some states do protect against old-age discrimination, but not against excluding someone who is too young.
It may seem like active adult communities are in the clear, since community managers don’t make residents move out when they get too old. However, the protection against familial status protects households that include pregnant women or children under the age of 18. Most senior living facilities don’t want young families moving in next door, and that can cause problems.
Why Community Managers Should Care About the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA)
In 1995, congress passed the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) creating an exception for familial status discrimination in senior communities if:
- 100% of the community is over age 62 or
- 80% of occupied units have at least 1 person who is verified to be over age 55.
How to Qualify as an 80/20 Community
To qualify for this familial status exemption, it’s not enough to promise your residents are older. Active adult communities must have policies and processes in place showing they intend to provide housing for ages 55 and up. Most age-restricted communities require each household to have one resident over age 55 and all other members must be at least a certain age (possibly 40).
As an active adult community, you may want to take advantage of the 20% allowance for younger residents. But remember it only applies to occupied units. Don’t get so close to the line that a sudden vacancy disqualifies the whole community. Keep younger households to 10-15% of your space.
Seniors may seem younger and more able-bodied than ever before, but many are also looking for the maturity that comes from an age-restricted community. Be sure your active adult community passes the test to keep you out of hot water with the Fair Housing Act.
LifestyleLink is an online community management software available to active adult communities across the country. With three tiers of features, you can customize the software to fit your needs, and your facility. To automate your community management process, contact a LifestyleLink representative for a tour of the software.