Anyone can buy into a senior community but not everyone can reside in one. The age restriction applies to residents. By statute, senior communities engage in permissible age discrimination. To maintain the right to exclude people on the basis of their age, HUD requires that senior communities meet the following criteria: At least 80% of the occupied units must be occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older, please review our CC&R’s for additional restrictions. The association must publish and follow policies that demonstrate an intent by the association to provide housing for persons 55 years of age or older, and The association must comply with age verification procedures designed to ensure compliance with 55+ requirements. Verify Age. HOPA requires that a housing facility/community re-survey its lists of residents every two years to ensure that the 80% requirement is met.
To meet age verification requirements, the following documents are deemed “reliable” by HUD: birth certificate, driver’s license, passport, immigration card, military ID, and any other local, state, federal or international documentation so long as the document contains information regarding the age of the person.
To protect against identity theft members can either (i) send a photocopy of their driver’s license, passport, etc. with license and social security numbers redacted or (ii) take the document to a board meeting where it will be examined but not copied.
HUD also considers self-certification through an affidavit as a reliable form of verification. An affidavit is a sworn statement under penalty of perjury by an adult member of the household that at least one occupant is 55 years of age or older. Uncooperative Occupants. If some occupants fail or refuse to cooperate with age verification surveys, the association can have a knowledgeable third party (a board member, manager, neighbor, etc.) sign a verification that at least one of the occupants is 55 years or older. You can also use statements indicating age in prior applications or government documents such as census data, i.e., household censuses conducted by cities or towns, to satisfy the requirement.
Senior communities that fail to strictly enforce age restrictions can lose their status as a senior community.
IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY, PENALTIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: YOUR FIRST OFFENCE $1,000 First Month, Second offense $1,500 Second Month, Third offense $2,000 Third month and increases $500 each month after that.
We ask that you please comply and submit age verification forms every 2 years along with supporting documentation. Thank you!
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