Public Housing

GAO testified that nonelderly mentally disabled people occupied about nine percent of the public housing units for the elderly in 1990. Almost one-third of these households reportedly caused moderate or serious problems due to alcohol abuse or excessive noise and the presence of disruptive visitors. These situations result in problems for the public housing agency (PHA) management and in conflicts with elderly tenants. Under federal anti-discrimination laws, people with mental disabilities may not be lawfully excluded from or segregated in public housing for the elderly under the conventional public housing program. Various proposals have been put forth to address this situation, ranging from offering several housing options to mentally disabled persons to requiring that the Department of Housing and Urban Development provide more detailed guidance to PHAs on how to determine whether nonelderly mentally disabled applicants will make suitable tenants. As it weighs these proposals, Congress will have to consider the effect of antidiscrimination laws, the expected behavior of nonelderly mentally disabled people in different housing settings, and the availability of funds for providing alternative forms of subsidized housing and mental health services.