AYBR Program Administration
Once the Department approves your reservation setup and issues the Household Assistance Contract, the project moves to Stage 2, the Work Write-Up and Cost Estimate. Everything that follows, from bids to the final inspection, depends on what you write here. The write-up decides what the grant buys, and a good one protects the household, the contractor and GCHS alike.
The Program Manual (May 2025), pages 19 and 20, says the Administrator must certify that the inspector has sufficient professional certifications, relevant education or experience in a field directly related to home inspection. The inspector may be Administrator staff or a contracted third party, and must know the codes, product safety notices, building systems and local rehabilitation costs. The RSP application asks for completed Qualified Inspector Certification forms. Keep those forms current in the Program File.
GCHS procedure. GCHS provides inspections, estimating and construction management, not hands-on repair labor. GCHS staff who inspect or estimate a job never bid on it. That separation lets GCHS give an honest scope.
10 TAC 26.27(a)(1) says the initial inspection must identify the accessibility modifications the person with a disability needs, document the condition of the property, and identify all deficiencies that are life-threatening hazards or unsafe conditions. The household's needs come first. Talk to the person with the disability about what they cannot do at home today, and watch them move through the house. A ramp that matches a drawing but does not fit how the person actually moves is a poor result, however well it is built.
The manual (page 20) calls for photographs of all four sides of the exterior and of every room inside, labeled "Before." On the exterior, look at the roof, doors and windows, porches and steps, gutters, foundation, drainage, the path of travel, the electrical service entry and the HVAC equipment. Inside, check outlets and the bedroom egress windows. The head of household signs the initial inspection (manual, page 10). Deficiencies that are neither accessibility needs nor hazards may not be eligible for the scope (manual, page 19), so keep the scope on what the grant is for.
10 TAC 20.9, the inspection section of Chapter 20, does not apply to AYBR. It says so in 20.9(a), and the manual (pages 22 and 23) agrees. AYBR inspection rules are in 26.27(a) and the manual. The manual does repeat some Chapter 20 wording as AYBR procedure, so follow the manual, but remember its source. Interim inspections are optional (manual, page 25), although the Department may make periodic construction site visits.
10 TAC 26.27(c)(2) says modifications are made with consideration to the 2010 ADA Standards and may vary from those standards to meet specific accessibility needs, as agreed with the household. The manual (page 22) refers to the 2010 ADA Accessibility Standards and Texas Government Code 2306.514. The rule governs, and its word is consideration. The ADA Standards are a guide you can adjust to the person, not a strict checklist, so record in the file why you adjusted a dimension or feature.
10 TAC 26.27(d)(2) lists the deficiencies that count as life-threatening hazards and unsafe conditions. They include, but are not limited to: electrical, gas-fueled, heating and cooling, plumbing and sewer systems; smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms; structures near collapse; mold, lead-based paint, asbestos or radon; serious pest infestation; missing emergency escape openings and fire egress; and missing GFCI and AFCI protection. The manual gives a similar but slightly different list. The rule governs.
Hazard repairs are limited. 10 TAC 26.27(d)(1) says no more than 25 percent of the Project Hard Costs budget may go to hazards, unless the Department approves a different ratio. Under 26.27(d)(3), a few items may exceed 25 percent by the amount of that line item's cost: escape and rescue openings, fire egress, GFCI, AFCI, and smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms. Even so, the combined total of all hazard and unsafe-condition repairs cannot exceed 40 percent of the Project Hard Costs budget.
What base do you use? The manual's wording on page 21 refers to "Program funds," but its sentence opens with "In a Household's construction contract," and page 22 repeats the 40 percent cap on the Project Hard Costs budget. Teach the rule's base: the Project Hard Costs budget. It is also the stricter base, because Hard Costs are about 91 percent of project funds. One point is open: when the final contract comes in below the reserved Hard Costs, the sources do not say which figure the caps use. Until the Department answers, size the caps on the lower figure.
| Hard Costs budget | 25 percent (ordinary hazards) | 40 percent (combined ceiling) |
|---|---|---|
| $20,455 (default at $22,500) | $5,113.75 | $8,182 |
| $18,000 | $4,500 | $7,200 |
| $15,000 | $3,750 | $6,000 |
Why this matters
Hazard repairs are real needs, but the grant exists for accessibility. The caps keep the money pointed at the household's disability while still forcing you to make the home safe. A write-up that spends too much on hazards without Department approval is exactly the kind of problem a monitor can flag.
The Okafor household, a made-up family, receives a reservation at the maximum, so the Hard Costs budget is $20,455. The initial inspection finds an electrical panel that needs repair ($3,100) and a leaking drain line ($1,400). Together these ordinary hazards cost $4,500, under the $5,113.75 line. The inspector also finds a bedroom with no egress window ($1,900), outlets in the bathroom that lack GFCI protection ($300), and missing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms ($200). Those three items cost $2,400 and are the kind the rule lets go past 25 percent.
Total hazard spending is $4,500 plus $2,400, or $6,900. That is above the 25 percent line but below the $8,182 ceiling, so the scope fits. The rest, $20,455 minus $6,900, leaves $13,555 for the roll-in shower, grab bars and ramp the household needs. Now change one fact. Suppose the ordinary hazards had come to $6,000 instead. That is over $5,113.75, and the exceptions do not cover plumbing and electrical repairs. The options are to ask the Department to approve a different ratio under 26.27(d)(1), to add leveraged funds (manual, page 16), or to walk away.
The manual (page 23) says hazard work may not be deleted from the scope because of budget limitations or because the applicant does not consent. That may force a walk-away. If the estimate exceeds the budget, the Administrator must commit supplemental funding or risk cancellation. The rule sets the standard at the end: the home must be free of life-threatening hazards and unsafe conditions at project completion (10 TAC 26.27(d)(4)). A home you cannot make safe is a home you should not start.
Rentals have an added rule. When the initial inspection finds substandard and unsafe conditions in a rental, the owner must correct them at the owner's own expense first, and the inspector must re-inspect and update the form before accessibility work proceeds (10 TAC 26.26(c)(3); manual, page 21).
10 TAC 26.27(c)(1) requires you to follow local codes, as Local Government Code 214.212 provides. Where local codes do not exist, the 2015 International Residential Code, including Appendix J, is the code. Administrators must also follow Chapter 21 of the Department's rules (26.27(c)(3)). The manual (page 22) names Rule 21.6 for housing rehabilitation. The draw needs an Administrator Certification of Energy Efficiency Rule Compliance (manual, page 27), so plan for it at the write-up stage. The text of Rule 21.6 was not reviewed for this course, so read it before you rely on a specific energy requirement.
Lead-based paint is on the rule's hazard list. In a pre-1978 home, the manual (page 23) says only an EPA-certified firm may rehabilitate, renovate or demolish, and only an EPA-certified Lead Renovator may oversee the work. Lead testing can be charged as a Soft Cost (manual, page 9). The sources reviewed do not state federal thresholds, so ask when a question comes up.
Septic systems have their own step. The manual (page 20) says all on-site sewage facilities must be inspected by an authorized agent of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before the write-up, unless the Department waives this case by case. The report is uploaded at Stage 2 (manual, page 10). The sources reviewed say nothing about NEPA or historic review, so do not tell a household that any such review is or is not needed.
The manual (page 23) says each specification in the write-up must state the materials, performance standards, quantity, method of installation, location and special conditions, along with a description of the accessibility modification. Vague items such as "repair bathroom" invite change orders later, and bidders cannot price them. Name the door width, the hinge type, the trim and the paint instead, using whatever your inspector has measured and verified.
The household, and the owner and tenant for a rental, must acknowledge agreement with the final Department-approved work write-up by signing and dating it (manual, page 23). The inspector and the Administrator sign the write-up and cost estimate for the Stage 2 submission.
The key sequence is this. Under 10 TAC 26.27(e), the Department reviews the work write-up and cost estimate before the Administrator solicits bids. The Department's target is 14 calendar days for Stage 2 (manual, page 19), and the 14-day cure period applies if the submission is incomplete. Do not send out requests for bids, or discuss prices with a contractor in a way that implies a decision, until the approval comes back. If the approval is late, check the Reservation System status, and do not guess.
1. Which of these must the initial inspection under 10 TAC 26.27(a)(1) do?
2. Who may serve as an AYBR inspector under the manual?
3. A household's Hard Costs budget is $18,000. What is the 25 percent limit on ordinary hazard repairs?
4. Which hazard item may go past the 25 percent line, up to the 40 percent combined ceiling?
5. A household's Hard Costs budget is $20,000. Ordinary hazard repairs are $4,000 and the exempt items (egress, GFCI and alarms) are $5,000. May the scope stand as written?
6. For the caps, what is the base?
7. The estimate for a home exceeds the available budget, and the largest item is a hazard repair. What does the manual say?
8. A county has no adopted local building codes. Which code applies to AYBR work?
9. How should the 2010 ADA Standards be used in an AYBR write-up?
10. A home was built in 1962 and has peeling paint. Which statement is correct?
11. A home has a septic system. What must happen before the work write-up?
12. When may GCHS ask contractors to bid on a job?
13. A rental unit has unsafe wiring found at the initial inspection. What comes first?
14. The AYBR draw needs which energy-related document, according to the manual?