We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Nearly 61 million people in the U.S., roughly one in four of the adult population, have disabilities. Mobility impairment is the most common disability, particularly among those age 65 and older. Leasing to people with disabilities poses fair housing compliance challenges. Simply refraining from adverse treatment in rental and leasing isn’t good enough; landlords are also legally required to take active steps to accommodate the special needs of applicants and tenants with disabilities. One of the most crucial of these needs is an accessible parking space.
In this month’s lesson, the Coach aims to raise your awareness about “drive-by” accessibility testing. Even if you’ve never heard of it, drive-by accessibility testing could uncover a potentially expensive source of liability lurking in plain sight at your community.
In this month’s lesson, Fair Housing Coach focuses on reasonable accommodation requests by individuals with disabilities. Fair housing rules governing reasonable accommodation requests are often difficult to apply in the real world. The law requires communities to consider each request on a case-by-case basis, so requests for disability-related accommodations frequently lead to fair housing trouble.
Three recent cases offer keys to avoiding complaints and court losses.
In this lesson, Fair Housing Coach highlights recent court rulings to show how communities successfully defend themselves from disability discrimination claims in court. Though the law has been on the books for decades, disputes over requests for disability-related accommodations and modifications frequently lead to fair housing trouble.
In this lesson, Fair Housing Coach tackles a challenging problem: resident hoarding. In multifamily housing communities, extreme cases of hoarding can pose serious health and safety hazards—not only to anyone living in the affected unit, but also to neighbors who may share walls, ceilings, floors, hallways, and even HVAC systems. Potential problems include fire hazards, mold and other environmental dangers, pests and vermin, foul odors, and even structural damage.
In the November lesson, the Coach marks Veterans Day by reviewing the federal, state, and local laws protecting military servicemembers, veterans, and their families from discrimination.
Federal fair housing law doesn’t ban discrimination based on military or veteran status, but many state and local governments have gone beyond what’s required under federal law to ban discrimination based on veteran and military status.
This month, the Coach shepherds in the dog days of summer with a lesson on disability-related requests for assistance animals focusing on the most common type—dogs. The law generally allows communities to set their own pet policies, but housing providers must grant reasonable accommodation requests to allow individuals with disabilities to keep assistance animals when necessary to allow them full use and enjoyment of their homes.
In this lesson, the Coach highlights several recent court decisions that show how communities can fight court battles to defend themselves against disability discrimination claims under fair housing law.
More than half of all fair housing complaints are for disability discrimination, many involving disputes over reasonable accommodation requests. The FHA requires communities to make reasonable accommodations in policies or services when needed by an individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy his or her home.
RSS