Meeting the needs of property owners nationwide, Contemporary Information Corp provides reliable, accurate information that helps ensure efficient tenant screening and compliance with rental laws. Contemporary Information Corp helps streamline the application and rental decision process, including when seeking compliance with disabilities’ law.
Relevant laws start with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and include Fair Housing Act (FHA) and state-level statutes, such as California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The ADA is a landmark civil rights law that came into force in 1990. Its aim is to erase the barriers that individuals with disabilities face and ensure equal opportunities for all. Its mandates span cornerstones of public life such as transportation, employment, and housing.
The definition of disability under ADA statutes is a physical or mental impairment that places substantial limitation on at least one major life activity. It extends to those with a record or past history of such impairment, and to those that others perceive as having such an impairment. There is no definitive list of which impairments the ADA covers. In addition, ADA protection applies not only to those with disabilities, but also those with association or relationships with those with disabilities.
The ADA is divided into five Titles, with Title III Public Accommodations requirements most directly affecting landlords who handle rental properties open to the public. Its mandates center on steps that must be taken to accommodate tenants with disabilities. According to ADA statutes, landlords have a duty to consider and approve requests for disability accommodation, as long as they are reasonable and don’t impose an undue administrative or financial burden.
Examples of accommodations include honoring a request by a tenant to allow a service dog in an otherwise no-pets building, or assigning a reserved parking place in unreserved parkin near the tenant’s unit. They can also include reasonable interior modifications such as widening doorways, lowering counters, or installing grab bars in the shower.
FHA law intersects with and modifies ADA law here, with 1988 FHA amendments stipulating that landlords may require tenants to pay for modifications. In addition, where reasonable, landlords may require that tenants restore the modified unit to its original condition (this does not apply to “Universal Design elements” such as ramps, which are considered beneficial to all tenants and must remain part of the apartment, if added). Tenants must also comply with local housing codes in making any interior changes.
It’s worth noting that policy modifications are not allowed to impact the landlord’s ability to collect rent (though one Michigan ruling found that paying rent late was permissible as a “reasonable accommodation,” due to the delayed timing of Social Security income distributions). Similarly, modified lease terms may be permissible under ADA law, as with someone going through medical treatment requesting a no-penalty early lease termination.
When it comes to avoiding discriminatory practices, the ADA prohibits the refusal of rental to a tenant because of their disability. Landlords may not impose different conditions, privileges, or terms within rental contracts on those with disabilities and those without. The FHA further defines many of these foundational responsibilities under the ADA, and often serves as the primary federal law when resolving residential rental disputes.
