As an Arcadia landlord for a single-family residence, you have to follow the Federal Fair Housing Act’s requirement to allow ‘reasonable accommodations’ to both residents with disabilities and residents living with or are associated with disabled persons. However, what is ‘reasonable accommodation’ and what would be ‘unreasonable’?
To begin with, ‘reasonable accommodation’ may be for the rental property’s physical components and might include basic changes, like lowering towel rods and light switches or a smoke detector that has flashing lights in addition to an audible alarm. Furthermore, the resident would shoulder the payment for both the installation and removal of these accommodations.
Besides these accommodations to the physical elements of the residence, your resident may request for ‘reasonable accommodation’ on administrative matters. For example, you might have a resident with a memory-related mental disability. This resident may request that you call each month to remind them to pay rent. This would be regarded as reasonable.
Now, let’s look at an example of what might be considered ‘unreasonable.’ One of the key considerations in this respect is whether the accommodation would impose hardship on you as a housing provider. For example, what if you have a two-story single-family rental house and receive a request for you to install an elevator for someone with a physical disability? This could be denied as it can be very pricey and would need major construction.
An unreasonable accommodation request may appear on the administrative side too. Suppose you have a single-family property and receive a request from a potential tenant with a mental impairment to call them each morning and evening to remind them to switch the exterior lights on at night and off in the morning. You as a landlord could refuse this request as this could be considered unreasonable.
Real Property Management Fairmate is well versed in the Fair Housing Act requirements and how they affect you as an Arcadia landlord with a single-family property. We can help you deal with these requirements to ensure that you are in compliance when renting to individuals with disabilities. Would you like to find out more? Please contact us online or call us at 626-691-9749 for more information.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
