(a) A small house or household facility is a facility
that is designed to provide a non-institutional environment to promote
resident-centered care and that meets the requirements of this section.
New construction to a small house or household facility, including
a conversion, an addition, or remodeling, must meet the requirements
of this section.
(b) A small house or household facility must comply
with this chapter, except it is not required to comply with a requirement
in §§19.330 - 19.343 of this subchapter (relating to Construction
and Initial Survey of Completed Construction; Construction Standards
for Additions, Remodeling, and New Nursing Facilities; Location and
Site; General Considerations; Architectural Space Planning and Utilization;
Exit Provisions; Smoke Compartmentation (Subdivision of Building Spaces);
Fire Protection Systems; Hazardous Areas; Structural Requirements;
Mechanical Requirements; Electrical Requirements; Miscellaneous Details;
and Elevators) if DADS waives the requirement in accordance with subsection
(c) of this section or if the requirement is modified by subsection
(g) of this section.
(c) DADS may waive a requirement in §§19.330
- 19.343 of this subchapter if DADS determines a waiver of the requirement
would facilitate the implementation of resident-centered care. To
request a waiver of a requirement, a facility must submit plans to
DADS in accordance with §19.344 of this subchapter (relating
to Plans, Approvals, and Construction Procedures). The plans must
include a statement from an architect identifying which requirements
the facility is requesting to be waived and explaining how the waiver
would contribute to the goals of resident-centered care.
(d) A small house or a household facility must be designed
and equipped to provide a homelike environment that promotes resident-centered
care.
(e) A small house or a household within a facility
must:
  (1) have no more than 16 bedrooms as described in subsection
(g)(3) of this section;
  (2) have living, dining, social, and staffing areas
exclusively within and for the house or household; and
  (3) have a kitchen that meets the requirements in §19.334(g)(1)
of this subchapter or a food service area that meets the requirements
of an auxiliary serving kitchen in §19.334(g)(3) of this subchapter,
exclusively within and for the house or household.
(f) A small house or household facility must be:
  (1) a single small house model, which is a single licensed
building having no more than 16 residents that meets the licensing
requirements for architectural spaces provided within the same licensed
building;
  (2) a multiple small house model, which is a single
licensed group of two or more small houses located in close proximity
to each other on a single contiguous property that meets the licensing
requirements for architectural spaces in each house and that may include
a stand-alone central building that provides social-diversional space,
a treatment area, or an administrative area; or
  (3) a household model, which is a single licensed building
that contains multiple households having no more than 16 residents
each; that may include a central area that provides social-diversional
space, a treatment area, or an administrative area; and that must
be arranged to avoid travel through the household by persons who are
not residing in, visiting, or providing services for the household.
(g) A small house or household facility must comply
with the requirements in this section and is not required to request
a waiver for an exception described in this subsection.
  (1) The interior finish requirements in §19.333(e)
of this subchapter must be met, except combustible decorations on
walls, doors, and ceilings may be installed as permitted by the 2012
edition of the Life Safety Code.
  (2) The outdoor activity, recreational, and sitting
spaces required in §19.332(f) of this subchapter must include
a porch area under a roof with suitable furniture for sitting and
space for wheelchairs.
  (3) The resident bedroom requirements in §19.334(a)
of this subchapter must be met, except:
    (A) a bedroom must be occupied:
      (i) by only one resident; or
      (ii) by two residents, if they are members of the same
family and the bedroom size, furniture, and headboard wall requirements
for double occupancy are met;
    (B) the toilet requirements in §19.334(a)(8) of
this subchapter must be met, except a bathroom must serve no more
than one resident room and must include a lavatory, toilet, and a
shower or bathing unit;