Hilchot Tefilah 13:5-6 (Who wrote the last eight verses of the Torah? What’s their halachic status?)

The Rambam asserts that the last eight verses of the Torah – which describe Moshe’s death and its aftermath – were written by Moshe as was the rest of the Torah. Yet the Rambam also says that they have a special halachic status. How can we explain this discrepancy?