HOPA 80/20 Rule for 55+ Communities

The 55+ exemption is not a label you register once. It is a ratio you prove: 80 % of occupied units with at least one resident aged 55 or older, verified and re-verified at least every two years.

An active adult community can turn away families with children only because federal law exempts "housing for older persons" from the familial-status rules of the Fair Housing Act. The Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) sets the conditions for the 55+ version of that exemption. Here is what the statute and HUD's regulation require, with the citations.

Not legal advice. Confirm your community's status with counsel.

The 80/20 test

Under 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2)(C) and 24 CFR 100.305, housing qualifies as 55+ housing when at least 80 % of the occupied units have at least one occupant who is 55 or older. The remaining 20 % is room the law leaves; the 80 % is the floor.

The ratio counts occupied units, not residents, and not all units.

Verification: reliable surveys and affidavits

The community has to be able to show the ratio. 24 CFR 100.307 requires it to verify occupancy:

• by reliable surveys and affidavits (§ 100.307(a));
• updated at least once every two years (§ 100.307(c));
• using the reliable documents the regulation lists in § 100.307(d)(1)–(7) to establish an occupant's age;
• with the age-verification procedure allowed to be part of the normal leasing arrangement (§ 100.307(b));
• and a summary of the occupancy surveys available for inspection (§ 100.307(i)).

In practice: collect proof of age at move-in, keep it per occupant, watch the live ratio as residents come and go, and run the survey again before the two years are up.

Florida: no registration anymore

Florida used to ask 55+ communities to register with the Florida Commission on Human Relations. That registration was repealed by HB 255 (2020), ch. 2020-153, effective July 1, 2020 (Fla. Stat. § 760.29(4) as amended). Nothing registers a community anywhere now; the federal 80/20 test still applies.

Where Proprietio fits

55+ active adult community software keeps the HOPA register for you: age evidence per occupant, the live 80 % ratio as units turn over, and a reminder before each two-year re-verification is due. The same register is part of mobile home park software, for 55+ land-lease communities.

Sources

• 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(2)(C): govinfo.gov
• 24 CFR 100.305–100.307: ecfr.gov
• Fla. Stat. § 760.29: leg.state.fl.us

Read on 2026-10-20.