Academy/Fair Housing & Owner Rights
Age-restricted communities
Calling your community "55 and older" in a brochure does not make it one under federal law.
The Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) lets a community lawfully exclude households with children, but only if it earns the exemption: at least 80 percent of occupied units have a resident 55 or older, and the community publishes and follows policies proving that intent. Calling it "55 and older" in marketing is not enough.
The exemption must be earned, not claimed
Every community is covered by familial status protections by default, meaning it cannot turn away a household because a child lives there. HOPA is the one carve-out, and it does not activate on its own just because a board decides the community is age restricted.
"Intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older, and (i) at least 80 percent of the occupied units are occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of age or older."
Source: Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2)(C), Cornell Legal Information Institute
Two things have to be true at once: the 80 percent occupancy figure, and published policies and procedures that demonstrate the community's 55-and-older intent. A community that only markets itself that way, without meeting the occupancy threshold or publishing the policy, has not qualified for the exemption. See HOPA basics for the full picture.
Verifying age is not optional, and it has a clock
A community claiming HOPA status has to check, and keep checking. The regulation lists a specific set of acceptable proof.
| Acceptable proof | Examples |
|---|---|
| Government-issued ID | Driver's license, passport, military identification, immigration card |
| Other government document | Any government-issued document containing a birth date of comparable reliability |
| Signed certification | A certification in a lease, application, affidavit, or other document signed by an adult household member |
Collecting proof once is not enough either. The community must reverify occupancy at least once every two years to keep the exemption current. A board that verified ages when the policy was adopted and never checked again is not meeting this requirement.
What HOPA doesn't touch
HOPA exempts a qualifying community from familial-status rules. It does not touch any other protected class. Race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and disability protections apply in a 55-and-older community exactly as they do everywhere else. A board cannot cite age-restricted status as a reason to deny a disability accommodation request.
How HOPA status interacts with a specific disability situation, such as an under-55 live-in caregiver for a qualifying resident, is not a settled question and depends on the facts. Bring cases like that to counsel rather than guessing.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A board tells a prospective buyer with young kids the community is age restricted because the sales brochure says "55 and older." What else has to be true for the exemption to apply?
A community verified residents' ages when it adopted HOPA status five years ago and has not checked since. What's the problem?
A 55-and-older community denies a resident's reasonable accommodation request, citing its age-restricted status as the reason. Is that a valid defense?
Sources
- Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2)(C), U.S. Congress (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
- Fair Housing regulations, 24 CFR § 100.307, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Fair Housing & Owner Rights
Not sure your community actually qualifies for HOPA status? Start with HOPA basics.
Whether your community currently meets the 80 percent occupancy threshold, and what your state adds on top of federal familial-status rules, varies by community and by state. Confirm your occupancy count, your published policies, and your state law before relying on age-restricted status.