HUD Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Program

The Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program provides project-based rental assistance for extremely low-income persons with disabilities linked with long-term services. The program is made possible through a partnership between Virginia Housing, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

The Section 811 PRA program creates the opportunity for persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible through the coordination of voluntary services and providing a choice of subsidized, integrated rental housing options.

The program is available only in specific metropolitan areas.

Tenant Participation Eligibility

The program is limited to individuals who are part of the Target Population and receiving services through one of the Health & Human Service Agencies participating in the program. Each eligible household must have a qualified member of the Target Population that will be at least 18 years of age and under the age of 62 at the time of admission.

All three Target populations are eligible for community-based, long-term care services as provided through Medicaid waivers, Medicaid state plan options, or state funded services and have been referred to Virginia Housing through their service provider or coordinator. The State of Virginia has committed to making these voluntary services available based on the needs of individual members of each Target Population.

Individuals must be referred to the program by a Qualified Referral Agent.
Target Populations
Eligible PRA participants must meet all program eligibility criteria including:

Virginia residency;

Household income that does not exceed 30% of the applicable area median income adjusted for family size;

Household composition that includes at least one person with a disability that meets the definition within the Agreement; who is within the target population; and who is older than 18 years of age and less than 62 years of age at the time of admission to the property; and

Eligible under the rules of the property.

The PRA target populations consist of (1) individuals with intellectual disabilities or other developmental disabilities, and (2) individuals with serious mental illnesses who are recipients of, or are eligible to receive, Medicaid long-term care services and supports or services certified as equivalent by Virginia. The specific disability populations covered under this program are further defined as follows:

Individuals with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability (DD)

Priority 1: Individuals transitioning from congregate settings, including skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, state training centers, and group homes, or;

Priority 2: Individuals who are either homeless, at risk of homelessness, severely rent-burdened, or experiencing an imminent threat to health or safety in their current residential setting, or

Priority 3: Individuals who, at the time of referral, live with their families of origin.

Individuals with a Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

Specifically, individuals with SMI as defined in the Code of Virginia who are identified in Virginia’s Olmstead Strategic Plan as requiring affirmative strategies to address long-term or repeated institutional stays or risks of institutionalization, including those who are:

Priority 1: patients in state psychiatric facilities

Priority 2:

individuals experiencing chronic homelessness or who are literally homeless and at risk of becoming chronically homeless, or;

unstably housed and frequently using hospital inpatient or emergency departments; mental health crisis services; or criminal justice interventions, or;

residing in a supervised residential setting such as an Assisted Living Facility or group home.
Property Participation Eligibility
Only properties located in locations with participating Referring Agents are eligible to participate in the program.

Properties eligible for the Section 811 PRA Program may be new construction, rehabilitation, or existing properties and owned by a nonprofit, public, or a private entity. Properties must also meet the following requirements:

Have a minimum of five housing units

Have financing or capital investment from a federal, state, or local program such as the LIHTC, HOME Program, National Housing Trust Fund (HTF), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Rural Housing, state bond funds, or other capital funding sources

Eligible units in the property cannot already have project-based operating housing subsidy, or had a long-term subsidy attached

Properties with existing use restrictions for people with disabilities may not be eligible

Projects restricted to persons 62 years and older are not eligible
Interagency Agreement

Virginia Housing has entered into an Interagency Agreement with DBHDS to make services available to participants.

The Interagency Agreement outlines the structure of the partnership for the Section 811 PRA Program. The agreement contains a detailed description of the target populations to be served, methods for outreach and referral and a commitment to make appropriate services available for residents in assisted units. Virginia Housing will identify the available state services, describe how such services will be made available to eligible tenants and how the referral process works.
Background
The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-374) amended Section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013). The most significant change to Section 811 was the establishment of a new Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program that provides funding to state housing and other appropriate agencies for project-based rental operating assistance for extremely low-income persons with disabilities. The primary purpose of the Section 811 PRA Program is to identify, stimulate, and support innovative state-level strategies that will transform and increase housing for extremely low-income persons with disabilities while also making available appropriate support and services.

HUD is seeking to support collaborations between State Housing and Health and Human Service/Medicaid Agencies that have resulted or will result in increased access to affordable permanent supportive housing units – new and existing – with access to appropriate services. This program provides states with the flexibility to award and administer these funds to address the shortage of affordable and integrated housing for persons with disabilities.

The desired outcomes of the program include:

Facilitating and sustaining effective and successful partnerships between State Housing or other appropriate housing agencies and State Health and Human Service/Medicaid agencies to provide permanent housing with the availability of supportive services for extremely low-income persons with disabilities

Discovering replicable approaches to providing housing with access to appropriate services for persons with disabilities

Identifying innovative ways of using and leveraging Section 811 PRA funds

Substantially increasing integrated affordable rental housing units for persons with disabilities within existing, new, or rehabilitated multifamily properties with a mix of incomes and disability status

Creating more efficient and effective uses of housing and health care resources.
Resources and Background Information
Resources

HUD 811 Guides

811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Information Session Presentation

Program Guidelines

Systems Owner Guide

Project-based Rental Assistance (PRA) Program Start Up Guide

HUD 811 Fact Sheet

Tenant Selection Program

Notice: Office of Housing - CFR on Dun and Bradstreet Replacement by Unique Identifier

HUD Handbook 4350.3: Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized Multifamily Housing Programs

HUD 811 Forms

Virginia Housing HUD 811 Application

Agreement to Enter RAC - Form HUD-92240-PRA

Use Agreement - Form HUD-92238-PRA

Rental Assistance Contract Part 1 - Form HUD-92235-PRA

Rental Assistance Contract Part 2 - Form HUD-92237-PRA

Rent Schedule Low Rent Housing - Form HUD-92458

PRA Model Lease - Form HUD-92336-PRA

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