75A - PUBLIC HEARING 5 YR CONSOLITATED PLAN

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of federal financial assistance is present, units assisted with Housing Choice Vouchers are not subject to Section 504 although participating landlords remain subject to the Fair Housing Act's duty to provide reasonable accommodations and to allow tenants to make reasonable modifications at their own expense. Fair Housing Amendments Act Units The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA) covers all multifamily buildings of four or more units that were first occupied on or after March 13, 1991 — not just affordable housing developments. The FHAA added protections for people with disabilities and prescribed certain basic accessibility standards, such as one building entrance must be accessible; there must be an accessible route throughout the development, and public rooms and common rooms must be accessible to people with disabilities. Although these accessibility requirements are not as intensive as those of Section 504, they were a first step in opening many apartment developments to people with disabilities regardless of income level. The FHAA was also very helpful for middle - income and upper -income people with disabilities also need accessible housing. It is important to note that FHAA units are not the same as accessible units under Section 504 or ADA Title II. Therefore, utilizing FHAA units as a proxy for the number of accessible housing units available or required under Section 504 or ADA Title H does not produce an accurate count. Although they are not fully accessible, these units are an important source of housing for people with disabilities who do not need a mobility or hearing/vision unit. In Orange County, 39,047 units in structures with 5 or more units have been built from 2000 to the present. Additionally, 81,362 units in structures with 5 or more units were built from 1980 through 1999. If it is assumed that 45% of such units were constructed from 1991 through 1999, then there would be an additional 36,613 units in multifamily housing that was subject to the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act at the time of its construction. Combined with the total built from 2000 to the present, that totals a potential 75,660 units in structures covered by the Fair Housing Act's design and construction standards. Affordable, Accessible Units in a Range of Sizes Data breaking down affordable, accessible units by number of bedrooms is not available for private housing. For Publicly Supported Housing, a supermajority (74.67%) of Project -Based Section 8 units are 0-1 bedroom units, as are Other Multifamily units (84.54%, the other 15% having 2 bedrooms). A plurality of Housing Choice Vouchers are also limited to 0-1 bedroom units (43.97%). 5,561 households or 26.20% of Housing Choice Voucher occupants are also households with children, the highest of any category of publicly supported housing (followed by Project - Based Section 8, with 9.62%). It appears that affordable, accessible units that can accommodate families with children or individuals with live-in aides are extremely limited in Orange County. Although data reflecting the percentage of families with children that include children with disabilities is not available, about 2.9% of all children in the County have a disability. If children with disabilities are evenly distributed across families with children, about 9,500 families in the County include a child with a disability. 2 75A-532