Housing - Fair Housing Act and Amendments

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) and amendments thereto prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in the sale or rental of housing.   Housing built after March of 1991 has to meet certain accessibility standards for people who use wheelchairs and have other physical disabilities. 

The FHA also requires landlords to permit a person who uses a wheelchair to make architectural modifications to their dwelling unit at their own expense to make the unit accessible for individual.  This includes the widening of doorframes so that a wheelchair can pass through the door or installing grab bars in a shower unit.   The law also requires landlords to make "reasonable accommodations in all rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodation may be necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including in public and common use areas."  This includes, in some cases, making architectural changes to common areas of the dwelling unit such as the lobby or parking lot, or revising certain policies, such as parking policy in order to provide an assigned parking space to a person with a disability closer to the entrance to her apartment.

In addition to the accessibility requirements of the FHA, areas of a dwelling unit, such as a rental office that is on site, must be accessible pursuant to Title III of the ADA.

Like the other anti-discrimination laws, most states and local governmental entities have enacted local laws to protect the rights of people with disabilities. 

If you feel that your rights have been violated on the basis of your disability, please e-mail or telephone us for a complimentary case evaluation.