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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
It is a violation of the Fair Housing Act for any person to refuse to
make a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or
services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a
handicapped person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit,
including public and common use areas.107 This means that the manager of
an apartment complex must allow an exception to a rule or policy if it
would afford a disabled tenant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy an
apartment at the complex. An accommodation that permits disabled
tenants to experience the full benefit of tenancy must be
made unless the accommodation imposes an undue financial or
administrative burden on a housing provider or requires a fundamental
alteration in the nature of its program.108
With regard to a disabled tenant or disabled applicant’s reasonable
accommodation request, the owner or manager of the apartment complex
can request verification that the tenant or applicant is disabled and
needs the requested accommodation to use and enjoy the apartment or
community. However, the owner or manager cannot request information
about the nature, extent, or severity of a person’s disability.
Furthermore, if after a disabled tenant makes a reasonable
accommodation request, the housing provider delays responding to the
request, after a reasonable amount of time, that delay may be construed
as a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation.
EXAMPLE# 1:
A blind person who utilizes a guide dog applies to rent a one bedroom
unit at an apartment complex. The apartment complex has a “no pets”
policy, but the blind applicant qualifies for the one bedroom unit.
Without the guide dog, the blind person would not have an equal
opportunity to use and enjoy an apartment at the complex. Therefore,
the owner or manager of the apartment complex must make an exception to
the “no pets” policy and allow the blind person to live in the
apartment with the guide dog.
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The owner or manager of the apartment complex would
also have to waive the “no pets” policy for a disabled applicant
that has a different type of service animal or support animal.
Service animal means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal
individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of
an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to,
guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with
impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal
protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching
dropped items.109 A support animal means any animal that provides a
therapeutic or psychological aid to a person, due to their
disability. |
EXAMPLE# 2:
A disabled tenant with a mobility impairment has difficulty walking
more than short distances. The apartment complex where the disabled
tenant lives has a “first come, first served” parking policy for its
tenants. Therefore, in order to prevent problems getting from his car
to his apartment, the tenant requests that management grant a
reasonable accommodation in its parking policy and reserve a parking
space for him near his apartment, due to his disability. This
accommodation is necessary to afford the disabled tenant an equal
opportunity to use and enjoy a unit at the complex. Therefore, the
manager must grant the accommodation and reserve a parking space for
the disabled tenant.
EXAMPLE# 3:
A disabled tenant has difficulty performing her laundry, due to her
disability. The apartment complex where she lives has a community rule
that prohibits non-tenants from using the laundry rooms. If requested
by the disabled tenant, the owner or manager of the apartment complex
must waive the rule and allow a friend, family member, or personal care
attendant of the disabled tenant to do the tenant’s laundry in the
complex’s laundry rooms.
EXAMPLE# 4:
A tenant needs a live-in aide to help care for him. Thus, the tenant
requests that management of the apartment complex reasonably
accommodate him by allowing his live-in aid to move in to assist him
with his daily activities. If the tenant is disabled and needs the
live-in aide to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy his unit,
then management must grant the accommodation.
EXAMPLE# 5:
A local association for the hearing impaired informs the manager of an
apartment complex that a prospective renter with a hearing impairment
needs a sign language interpreter during the application process.
Providing a sign language interpreter is a reasonable accommodation
because it allows the prospective renter who is hearing impaired to
have equal access to the complex and an equal opportunity to use and
enjoy a dwelling unit. Unless it imposes an undue burden or fundamental
alteration in the nature of its program, the owner of the apartment
complex must pay for this service because (1) it would be a reasonable
accommodation under the Fair Housing Act and (2) a public accommodation
may not impose a surcharge on a disabled person to cover the costs of
auxiliary aids or services.
EXAMPLE# 6:
A tenant who suffers from chemical sensitivity requests that the
manager remove the carpeting in her apartment and stop using certain
paints and pesticides. In addition, the tenant provides the manager
with a doctor’s note stating that she is disabled and listing the
chemicals that she is sensitive to. Since people who suffer from
chemical sensitivity are disabled because their impairment may
substantially limit one or more major life activities, the manager must
accommodate the disabled tenant unless the manager can prove that the
accommodation is unreasonable because it would create an undue
financial or administrative burden.
EXAMPLE# 7:
A tenant who lives in a one bedroom apartment on the second floor in a
non-elevator, apartment building becomes disabled. Due to his
disability, the tenant now requires the use of a wheelchair and is
faced with accessibility problems with his unit. Therefore, the tenant
requests that management release him from his lease, without incurring
any financial penalties, so that he can move to a more accessible
unit. If there are no accessible, one bedroom apartments available
at the complex, the manager should grant the disabled tenant an early
release from his lease without incurring any financial penalties,
unless the manager can prove that the accommodation would create an
undue financial or administrative burden.
EXAMPLE# 8:
A tenant who suffers from a mental disability receives an eviction
notice for disturbing other residents and violating community rules.
The disabled tenant requests that the manager reasonably accommodate
her, due to her disability, by not proceeding with the proposed
eviction action and allowing her time to get medical treatment and/or
psychological counseling. The manager must grant the accommodation
unless he/she can demonstrate that no reasonable accommodation will
eliminate or acceptably minimize any risk the tenant poses to other
residents.110
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This means that the Fair Housing Act can serve as
an affirmative defense in evictions against persons with mental
disabilities, depending on the circumstances. In addition, even if
the landlord does not know of the tenant’s disability on the date
the notice to vacate is sent, or even when trial begins, a Fair
Housing Act defense can be raised. The critical date by which the
landlord must have knowledge of the tenant’s disability is the date
the tenant is actually evicted.111 |
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