Disability

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This month, Fair Housing Coach reviews the fair housing implications of how owners and managers handle environmental concerns in the maintenance and upkeep of the community.

Rental housing providers are subject to various laws, health and safety codes, and other regulations that require them to maintain communities in a safe and healthy manner. In general, these rules address noxious substances known to be harmful to human health, such as lead-based paint, mold, radon, carbon monoxide, and other contaminants.

This month, we're going to review the fair housing rules requiring communities to address the disability-related needs of individuals with mobility impairments.

Communities should expect increased demand to meet those requirements. Currently, veterans are returning from active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other war-ravaged parts of the world. Up to a quarter of them have some type of service-related disability—including loss of lower limbs and other serious mobility impairments.

This month, we're going to discuss the fair housing implications of a significant problem: hoarding. Many of us collect or keep objects—perhaps more than we should—because they have sentimental value or we may “need them someday.” But compulsive hoarding is more than simply having too much clutter.

This month, we're going to discuss federal laws about when—and under what circumstances—communities must allow people to bring animals onto the property.

This month Fair Housing Coach focuses on reasonable accommodation requests by individuals with disabilities. It can be a confusing topic, so we're going to go over the fair housing rules and dispel common misconceptions about how to handle these requests properly.

The 1967 Beatles song “When I'm 64” was written by Paul McCartney—some say when he was only 16 years old. No doubt 64 seemed old to the teenaged songwriter, but millions of “baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—probably would disagree, as the first of that generation turns 64 this year.

When it comes to fair housing compliance, the watchword is consistency. In most cases, consistency in how you treat everyone—starting from anyone who calls or visits your community to applicants, residents, and their guests—is the best way to ward off claims of discrimination based on race, color, sex, or other characteristics protected under federal, state, or local law.

This month's issue of Fair Housing Coach focuses on how to handle requests for assistance animals. Although communities generally are free to set rules restricting the presence or type of animals allowed on their property, fair housing law may require you to make an exception to those rules to allow an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation for an individual with a disability.

This month, we are going to look at fair housing compliance related to the operation and management of the leasing office, common areas, and amenities, such as pools and fitness centers, within your community.