PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
PARTICIPANT, TENANT PORTAL, AND REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
Your Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance is administered by the Aurora Housing Authority (AHA). The voucher is provided through funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This voucher allows you to live in affordable, safe and decent housing for as long as you qualify under the rules of the program. There are currently many more applicants for vouchers than there are vouchers available, and we hope that you understand and appreciate its value to you and your family.
Tenant Portal
We try our best to provide exceptional customer service however, we recognize that serving over 2,000 program participants and over 1,000 landlords can result in delays. We invite you to register for our online tenant portal that will allow access to information 24/7.
The portal can be used to:
• Report Changes in income and household composition
• Complete your annual recertification
• Communicate with a Housing Specialist
The portal is secure and provides the added security of protection your personally identifiable information (PII).
Reasonable Accommodations
A person with a disability may require special accommodations in order to have equal access to the programs or housing offered by AHA. Federal law requires that housing providers make reasonable accommodations and modifications for persons with disabilities.
AHA asks all applicants and participants, in writing, if they need any type of accommodations at the time of application, reexamination, and on notices of adverse action by AHA, by including the following language:
“If you or anyone in your family is a person with disabilities, and you require a specific accommodation in order to fully utilize our programs and services, please contact the housing authority.”
A person with a disability may require special accommodations in order to have equal access to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP). The types of reasonable accommodations AHA can provide include changes, exceptions, or adjustments to a rule, policy, practice, or service.
Request for an Accommodation
If an applicant or participant indicates that an exception, change, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service is needed because of a disability, AHA treats the information as a request for a reasonable accommodation, even if no formal request is made.
The family must explain what type of accommodation is needed to provide the person with the disability full access to AHA’s programs and services. If the need for the accommodation is not readily apparent or known to AHA, the family must explain the relationship between the requested accommodation and the disability. There must be an identifiable relationship, or nexus, between the requested accommodation and the individual’s disability.
AHA encourages applicants and participants to make their request in writing using a reasonable accommodation request form. However, AHA will consider the accommodation any time the family indicates that an accommodation is needed whether or not a formal written request is submitted.
Verification
Before providing an accommodation, AHA must determine that the person meets the definition of a person with a disability, and that the accommodation will enhance the family’s access to AHA’s programs and services.
If a person’s disability is obvious, or otherwise known to AHA, and if the need for the requested accommodation is also readily apparent or known, no further verification will be required.
If a family indicates that an accommodation is required for a disability that is not obvious or otherwise known to AHA, AHA must verify that the person meets the definition of a person with a disability, and that the limitations imposed by the disability require the requested accommodation. To do so, AHA must obtain third-party verification from an individual identified by the family who is competent to make the determination. A doctor or other medical professional, a peer support group, a non-medical service agency, or a reliable third party who is in a position to know about the individual’s disability may provide verification of a disability. AHA will request only information that is necessary to evaluate the disability-related need for the accommodation. AHA will not inquire about the nature or extent of any disability.
Approval or Denial of a Requested Accommodation
AHA will approve a request for an accommodation if the following three conditions are met:
- The request was made by or on behalf of a person with a disability
- There is a disability-related need for the accommodation.
- The requested accommodation is reasonable, meaning it would not impose an undue financial and administrative burden on AHA, or fundamentally alter the nature of AHA’s program operations.
Before making a determination whether to approve the request, AHA may enter into discussion and negotiation with the family, request more information from the family, or may require the family to sign a consent form so that AHA may verify the need for the requested accommodation.
If AHA denies a request for an accommodation because it is not reasonable (it would impose an undue financial and administrative burden or fundamentally alter the nature of AHA’s operations), AHA will discuss with the family whether an alternative accommodation could effectively address the family’s disability-related needs without a fundamental alteration to the HCV program and without imposing an undue financial and administrative burden.
Policy of Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability Status
AHA does not discriminate on the basis of disability status in violation of 24 CFR Part 8 (Section 504) in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its federally assisted programs or activities.
