AYBR Program Administration

Lesson 6: Household and property eligibility

Module 2, Reaching and selecting households · 14 practice questions

0:00 / --:--

Reading

Intake gives you an applicant. Eligibility decides whether that applicant can receive a grant. There are two halves to the question, the household and the property, and both have to be documented in the Activity File before you request a reservation. This lesson walks through each test in the order most staff find easiest: disability, income, assets, state debt, citizenship, and then the home itself.

The household must include a person with a disability

10 TAC 26.25(a) requires at least one household member to meet the definition of a Person with Disabilities. The definition, in 10 TAC 20.3(47), is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one. You document it with the Department's disability form, together with an SSI award letter if the person receives SSI (Program Manual, May 2025, page 10).

The manual calls the form the "Certification of Disability" on page 10 and the "Certificate of Disability Form" on page 13. Use the exact title shown on the Department's forms page. The form must not be more than 12 months old on the date you submit to the Reservation System (manual, page 13). A form that was current at intake can expire while an application waits, so check the date again before you submit.

One open item: the manual does not say who may sign the form. Read the form itself for its signature block, and if you are unsure whether a particular professional may sign, ask the Department before you rely on it.

Income: the limit and how to count it

Under 10 TAC 26.21(4), a Low-Income household has income, calculated under the Program Manual, that does not exceed the greater of 80 percent of the Area Median Family Income or 80 percent of the State Median Family Income, adjusted for household size, using the current HOME limits as defined by HUD. The manual says the same thing (page 4), "whichever is greater." The Department published the 2026 limits effective June 1, 2026. Here are the 80 percent figures for the county row that includes Harris and Montgomery, beside the statewide row.

Household size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Harris and Montgomery	$58,250	$66,600	$74,900	$83,200	$89,900	$96,550	$103,200	$109,850
Statewide	$56,850	$65,000	$73,100	$81,200	$87,700	$94,200	$100,700	$107,200

The Department's table marks some counties with an asterisk, meaning the county may choose to use the statewide figure. Always read the row for the household's own county from the current table, and use the larger of the two figures the rule describes. Because the Department updates the table, never copy numbers from this lesson into a form. Pull the current limits each time.

The manual (pages 14 and 15) describes how to count income. The rule defers to the manual here, so follow the manual's method exactly.

Source	How to count it
Wages (household members 18 and older, and emancipated minors)	Pay stubs for the most recent 30-day pay period before the Household Income Certification date, or a Verification of Employment. Average all the gross amounts, then multiply by the pay periods per year (the manual lists 12, 24 or 26). Include bonus, overtime, shift differential and commissions.
Seasonal, self-employment or business income	Two previous years of signed tax returns or transcripts, averaged. For employment by a relative, a Verification of Employment plus the prior-year signed return.
Benefits (all household members of any age)	Pension or retirement statement, Social Security or VA award letter (or a Verification of Benefits), gross monthly amount times 12. TANF and other cash assistance need an award letter or a Verification of Public Assistance. Unemployment, workers' compensation, housing assistance and military housing allowance are included.
Other income	Child and spousal support (Attorney General confirmation, decree or statement of eligibility) and recurring cash support (Verification of Recurring Cash Contributions plus a letter).
Not counted	SNAP, Earned Income Tax Credit payments and monthly payments on a reverse mortgage.

Two more details. Support documents must be not more than 180 days old on the date you submit to the Reservation System. And for a household reporting no income, the manual calls for a Zero Income/Asset Certification, with the warning that a family of one with a Zero Income/Asset Certificate will not be accepted.

Why this matters

Income and assets are where most eligibility mistakes hide. A stub from the wrong period, a net figure used instead of gross, or a document that has aged past 180 days can make a correct decision look wrong. A monitor who finds an ineligible household after the home is built can disallow the costs, and disallowed costs are repaid to the Department immediately (Program Manual p30).

Liquid assets: the $25,000 limit

10 TAC 26.25(c) says a household's liquid assets shall not exceed $25,000. Liquid assets include checking, savings, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, brokerage accounts, the net value of stocks or bonds that are easy to convert, and the net cash value of real property that is not the principal residence, using the appraisal district market value. They do not include tax-deferred retirement or education accounts, such as IRAs, 401(k)s and 529 plans, or whole life insurance. The rule's exclusion list is open-ended ("including but not limited to"). The manual adds health savings accounts, 529A (ABLE) accounts and reverse mortgage proceeds as excluded, which fits the rule, so teach those as manual procedure.

For documents, the manual (page 13) calls for the two most recent months of checking statements and one month of savings statements before the Household Income Certification date. As alternatives it accepts the Optional Asset Verification Form completed by the institution, or the Zero Income/Asset Certification. Other real property is documented with an appraisal district screenshot.

Each household and each property passes a fixed set of documented checks before GCHS asks the Department to reserve funds.

Debt owed to the State of Texas

10 TAC 26.25(d) says a household may be ineligible if it owes a debt to the State of Texas. The rule names tax delinquency, child support delinquency, student loan default and other delinquent state debt. No step for checking this appears in the manual, which leaves you to design one. Write a short procedure that says how GCHS asks the question, how it checks, and where it records the result in the Activity File. Whether the Department expects a particular method is an open question for the Department.

A worked example

The Whitfield household is a made-up family of two in Montgomery County. Ms. Whitfield, 71, uses a wheelchair, and her grandson, 24, lives with her and works. Walk through the tests.

Disability. Her certification form is dated 14 months before the planned submission. That is past the 12-month limit, so GCHS asks for a new form before submitting.
Income. The grandson has two biweekly stubs in the most recent 30-day period with gross pay of $1,150 and $1,250. The average is $1,200, and $1,200 times 26 pay periods is $31,200. Ms. Whitfield's Social Security award letter shows a gross monthly benefit of $1,150, so $1,150 times 12 is $13,800. Her SNAP benefit does not count. Total income is $45,000, well under the $66,600 limit for two people.
Liquid assets. Checking and savings come to $4,800. A vacant lot the grandson owns has an appraisal district value of $9,000 and no debt, so it counts. Liquid assets total $13,800, under $25,000.
Property. The home is Ms. Whitfield's principal residence. She is on a tax installment plan under Tax Code section 33.02 and has been current for three consecutive months, which fits the first exception below.

The household passes once the new disability form is in hand. Each document is dated, and the file shows the arithmetic.

Property: owner-occupied homes

10 TAC 26.26(a) requires the owner of record to reside in the home as a permanent residence unless the Department approves otherwise. A family-owned home whose owner is deceased or does not live in the household may be treated as renter-occupied. The manual (pages 11 and 12) says the same. Your intake search already told you who the owner of record is.

Property: rentals

Renters can receive AYBR help, with extra conditions. Under 10 TAC 26.26(b) the owner of record gives a statement allowing the accessibility modifications. The manual (page 16) asks for proof of ownership or, for a renter, written permission from the owner on an owner permission form that the Administrator creates, plus a copy of the lease. Everyone who lives in the rental, including the person with a disability, must be named on the intake application and the household income certification (10 TAC 26.26(b)(1)).

10 TAC 26.26(c) then lists rentals that are ineligible.

Units developed, owned or managed by the Administrator or an Affiliate.
Units in properties financed with any federal funds, or subject to 10 TAC 1.206. Both parts are in the rule. The words "Section 504" appear only in the title of 1.206, which reaches certain multifamily developments. The manual states only the federal-funds part and points to the Department's clearinghouse list, so check that list and ask the Department when a property might be covered by 1.206 alone.
Units with substandard and unsafe conditions found at the initial inspection, unless the owner corrects them at the owner's own expense first. Accessibility work may then proceed after re-inspection.
Units whose owner is delinquent on property taxes.

Taxes, liens and loans

10 TAC 20.7(b) to (d) and the manual (page 12) require property taxes to be current. There are three exceptions: an installment agreement under Tax Code section 33.02 with the household current for three consecutive months, a deferral under section 33.06 or 33.065, or an agreement under section 31.031 or 31.032 with one payment made and the household current. The property must also have no title-impairing liens, and the owner must be current on any mortgage and home equity loans.

Timing is slightly different in the two sources. The rule measures before the effective date of the grant agreement, which is the Household Assistance Contract. The manual measures as of the date of the application. Teach the stricter, earlier date as the safe practice, since the manual also binds an Administrator: check at application, and check again before the contract. The right date is an open question for the Department.

Manufactured homes

10 TAC 26.27(b) says a manufactured home may be eligible if it was built on or after January 1, 1995, and the Department decides. Older units may receive only exterior accessibility work, such as ramps, handrails and concrete flatwork, and only if the unit itself will be free of hazards. The manual (pages 10, 16 and 21) adds the HUD Certification Label and requires a Statement of Ownership and Location, with a final statement before completion for a newly installed unit.

The manual (page 16) also lets AYBR funds be leveraged with other funds, as long as the housing meets requirements before the AYBR project is complete. An owner-occupied unit that cannot be made hazard-free within the budget, alone or with leveraged funds, is not eligible.

Citizenship verification and GCHS's SAVE election

Here the sources are thin, so the guidance is partly a reading. 10 TAC 1.410(d) treats Texas Housing Trust Fund money given to a Public Organization, or to someone acting for one, and paid directly to individuals as a state public benefit. Under 1.410(e), if no federal exemption applies, the recipient must verify U.S. citizen, national or qualified alien status through SAVE. Section 1.410(f)(1) exempts a nonprofit charitable organization where the federal program requires verification, and 1.410(h) says to use the documents the Department publishes on its website. The 2026 AYBR NOFA says Administrators "may also be required to verify." The manual and the RSP application contain no verification step at all. One reading is that 1.410(d) reaches only a Public Organization or someone acting for one, so a private nonprofit would not need SAVE unless the RSP Agreement says so (1.410(g)). That reading is not settled, and TDHCA or the GCHS attorney should confirm it.

GCHS procedure. GCHS chose to verify anyway. It elected SAVE Option 1 (GCHS's own election label), meaning GCHS verifies citizenship or qualified-alien status itself through SAVE, and the Executive Director serves as SAVE Supervisor. Follow that election for every household. Use the Department's published list of acceptable documents. Keep the documents only in the GCHS Restricted SharePoint library, never in the shared Working-Files folder (Lesson 7).

What to remember

One household member with a disability, documented on a form no more than 12 months old.
Income at or under the greater of 80 percent of area or state median, counted from gross amounts with papers no more than 180 days old.
Liquid assets of $25,000 or less, excluding retirement and education accounts.
Owners live in the home. Rentals need owner permission and a lease, and no hazards left for the owner to fix first.
Taxes current or on an approved plan, no impairing liens, and manufactured homes built in 1995 or later for full scope.

Practice questions

1. A household's certification of disability is dated 14 months before the day GCHS plans to submit to the Reservation System. What is the correct step?

Submit it as is, because the form only has to be dated before the application was signed.
Get a new form, because it must not be more than 12 months old on the submission date.
Submit it with a letter of explanation, because the Department sets no age limit on the form.
Submit it if an SSI award letter is attached, because the letter takes the place of the form.

2. A nurse practitioner offers to sign a household's disability form. Can GCHS accept it?

Yes, because any licensed medical professional may sign the form under the definition in 10 TAC 20.3(47).
No, because only a licensed physician may sign the form under the manual, and no other title is accepted.
Yes, because the Administrator's own inspector decides which professionals are allowed to sign the form.
The manual does not say who may sign, so staff should read the form's signature block and ask the Department if unsure.

3. Which statement matches the income limit in 10 TAC 26.21(4)?

Income may not exceed the greater of 80 percent of area or state median, adjusted for household size.
Income may not exceed 80 percent of the area median only, and the statewide figure is never used in any county.
Income may not exceed 50 percent of area median, adjusted for the age of the person with a disability.
Income may not exceed whichever of the two figures is lower, so the county row always controls the result.

4. A wage earner has two biweekly pay stubs in the most recent 30-day period, with gross pay of $1,040 and $1,160. What annual wage income does the manual method produce?

$57,200, the two stubs added together times 26 pay periods.
$26,400, the average gross of $1,100 times 24 pay periods.
$28,600, the average gross of $1,100 times 26 pay periods.
$13,200, the average gross of $1,100 times 12 pay periods.

5. Which payment is NOT counted as household income under the manual?

A Social Security award, counted as gross monthly times 12.
Unemployment benefits received by a member of the household of any age.
SNAP benefits, Earned Income Tax Credit payments and monthly reverse mortgage payments.
A recurring monthly cash gift documented with a Verification of Recurring Cash Contributions.

6. An owner is behind on property taxes but has an installment agreement under Tax Code section 33.02 and has been current for three consecutive months. What is the result?

The home is ineligible, because taxes must be fully paid with no plan of any kind.
That fits one of the three exceptions, so the taxes requirement can be met.
The home is eligible only if the Administrator pays the back taxes from the grant.
The home is eligible only if the household is renting instead of owning.

7. A letter supporting a household's income is dated 200 days before the planned submission date. What should GCHS do?

Submit it, because only the disability form has an age limit and income papers never expire in the system.
Submit it, because the 180 days run from the date the household first applied to GCHS, not from submission.
Submit it with the Zero Income/Asset Certification attached to cover the gap in the income records.
Obtain a current document, because support documents may be no more than 180 days old at submission.

8. A household has $6,000 in checking, a $60,000 401(k) and a vacant lot with an appraisal district value of $12,000 and no debt. What are its liquid assets under 10 TAC 26.25(c)?

$18,000, because the checking account and the lot count while the 401(k), a tax-deferred retirement account, is excluded.
$78,000, because every account and the lot count toward the limit, including the retirement account.
$66,000, because the retirement account counts but the vacant lot does not count as an asset.
$6,000, because only the bank accounts count as liquid assets and the lot is a separate matter.

9. GCHS learns an applicant owes a delinquent state debt. What does the rule say?

The household is always eligible, because state debt matters only for rentals and never for owner-occupied homes.
The household may be ineligible under 10 TAC 26.25(d), so GCHS should document how it checks.
The household is ineligible only if the debt is over $25,000, the same figure used for liquid assets.
The Department must be notified in writing before any denial, and may decide the case itself.

10. The owner of record of a home lives in another city, and the owner's niece lives in the home. How does 10 TAC 26.26(a) treat it?

As owner-occupied, because the niece is family and so counts as the owner for purposes of the program.
As ineligible in every case, because the niece is not the owner of record named in the tax records.
It may be deemed renter-occupied, because the owner of record does not live there.
As owner-occupied once the niece signs the intake application in the place of the owner of record.

11. What does GCHS need before modifying a rental unit?

Only the tenant's signature on the intake application, because the tenant is the person who lives in the unit.
A verbal agreement from the owner, written down in the intake notes by the staff member who took the call.
A letter from the contractor saying the owner agrees to the work and will not object to modifications.
The owner's written permission on an Administrator-created form, plus the lease, with all occupants named.

12. A tenant lives in an apartment complex financed with federal funds. Is the rental eligible under 10 TAC 26.26(c)?

No, because rentals in properties financed with any federal funds are ineligible.
Yes, if the tenant has a disability, because the owner signs a permission form that GCHS has prepared.
Yes, if the Administrator did not itself develop the complex, since only Administrator-built units are excluded.
No, but only if the complex is managed by the Administrator or by a company that it owns outright.

13. A manufactured home was built in 1992. What work can AYBR fund?

The full scope of accessibility and hazard work, the same as for any manufactured home built in any year at all.
No work at all, because manufactured homes built before 1995 are never eligible for any AYBR assistance.
Only exterior work such as ramps, handrails and concrete flatwork, if the unit itself will be hazard-free.
Interior work only, because exterior work is treated as a hazard repair under the hazard-cap rules.

14. Which statement about citizenship verification at GCHS is correct?

The manual requires every Administrator to verify through SAVE, so GCHS had no choice in the matter at all.
GCHS elected SAVE Option 1 and verifies status itself through SAVE, with the Executive Director as SAVE Supervisor.
GCHS does not verify anyone, because 10 TAC 1.410 never applies to a nonprofit under any circumstances.
Contractors verify status when they bid, and GCHS keeps the copies in the shared Working-Files folder.

Glossary

Person with Disabilities: A person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or with a record of or regarded as having one (10 TAC 20.3(47)).
Low-Income household: A household whose income does not exceed the greater of 80 percent of area or state median family income, adjusted for size.
Household Income Certification (HIC): The form that records a household's income, against whose date pay stubs and statements are measured.
Liquid assets: Cash and easily converted holdings, including non-primary real property at net cash value, capped at $25,000 (10 TAC 26.25(c)).
Principal residence: The home where the household permanently lives; it is not counted as a liquid asset.
Owner of record: The owner shown in tax assessor and appraisal district records, who must live in an owner-occupied home.
Affiliate: A related party of the Administrator; rentals developed, owned or managed by an Affiliate are ineligible.
Statement of Ownership and Location: The manufactured housing document required with an application for a manufactured home.
SAVE: The federal system used to verify citizenship or qualified-alien status, used under GCHS's election.

Back to course Mark lesson complete