The 55-or-older exemption also requires published policies demonstrating intent, and the phrase 'adult community' is evidence against it

xp.fair_housing.hopa_published_intent_to_operate_as_55_or_older_housing · v1.0.0

To qualify as housing designed for persons 55 or older, a facility must publish and adhere to policies and procedures that demonstrate its intent to operate as such. The regulation names seven relevant factors: how the facility is described to prospective residents; any advertising designed to attract them; lease provisions; written rules, regulations, covenants, deed or other restrictions; the maintenance and consistent application of relevant procedures; the actual practices of the facility; and public posting in common areas of statements describing it as housing for persons 55 or older. Two specifics carry weight beyond the list. Phrases such as 'adult living', 'adult community' or similar statements in any written advertisement or prospectus are NOT consistent with the intent to operate as 55-or-older housing -- so the marketing language a property has used for decades can itself defeat the exemption it relies on. And where deed or community documents contain language inconsistent with that intent, HUD will consider documented evidence of a good faith attempt to remove it, alongside other evidence, which makes the attempt worth documenting even where the removal fails.

Confidence

high

Effective from

1999-05-03

Last reviewed

2026-09-07