Disability

A reasonable accommodation is a change in a rule, policy, practice, or service that allows a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

Examples include:

• Allowing a service or assistance animal, despite a no-pet policy
• Allowing a tenant to have a live-in aide who is not on the lease to assist with daily care
• Assigning a reserved parking space to a tenant with a mobility impairment, even if parking is typically “first come/first served”

Under the FHA, an assistance animal (also called an “emotional support animal,” “ESA,” “support animal,” or “therapy animal”) is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. This is broader than “service animals” permitted in places of public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

While landlords may have restrictions on pets in their properties – including prohibiting them completely – those rules may have to be modified if a person needs an assistance animal to accommodate their disability.

To learn more about assistance animals, click here.

To watch an educational video about reasonable accommodations and assistance animals, click here.

A reasonable modification is a physical change to a unit or common area that allows a person with a disability to fully use and enjoy the premises. In situations involving a private landlord, the person making the request generally must pay the cost of the modifications.

Examples include:

• Installing a ramp
• Installing grab bars in the bathroom
• Widening doorways
• Installing lever door handles

The Fair Housing Act requires multi-family housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to have certain accessibility features. Some housing may be subject to accessibility requirements of other laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and local building codes. In addition, people with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations and modifications. If you have questions about accessibility, contact the Fair Housing Project.

Inquiries into the nature or existence of someone’s disability are generally prohibited by the Fair Housing Act.

Exceptions include:

• If someone requests a reasonable accommodation or modification and his/her disability is not obvious or otherwise known, the provider may ask for verification.
• If the housing is designed for people with disabilities and the question is to determine program eligibility.

“Sorry, but after we spoke on the phone we rented the last unit.”

“You look fine to me. Why are you getting disability payments?”

“We don’t rent to people with AIDS.”

“You must obtain liability insurance because of your service animal.”

“We don’t allow tenants to install accessibility features because we have ‘ADA’ units.”

“Can you live independently?”

“I have to charge you a pet deposit for your assistance animal.”

What you should do if you believe you have experienced housing discrimination:

• Contact the Fair Housing Project and report the discrimination to us.
• Keep a journal of incidents of discrimination.
• Write down what you experienced, including names, dates, addresses, rental terms, and any other details about your interaction.
• Keep any documents related to the discrimination, including all emails and text communications.
• Following the incident, you have one year to file an administrative complaint or two years to file a lawsuit in court.