With little fanfare, community development districts in The Villages have been formalizing the process for disabled residents to file for exemptions when it comes to some modifications to their homes.
Though the process has always been there, the government units in The Villages have solidified language, making the Federal Housing Administration process clear. The language states:
“The purpose of this procedure is to provide a clear, systematic, and consistent process to establish an explanation and process for processing FHA requests from residents seeking an accommodation to their personal property, outside what is permitted through the Architectural Review Manual and Architectural Review process due to a personal disability.”
Driveways for Villagers with mobility needs have been a point of concern. Most notably, a Purple Heart recipient was forced to tear out his modified driveway and ask for forgiveness of fines which had been imposed.
A homeowner who successfully navigates the FHA process and wins permission for the disability-related modification cannot sell the home with the modification in place. The home will have to be reverted back to the way it was before the modification.