Anne Cory MHSA TA Operations Call Corporation for Supportive Housing June 1 2011 wwwcshorg 2 Fair Housing Overview The Federal Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of ID: 381111
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Reasonable Accommodation in MHSA Housing" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Reasonable Accommodation in MHSA Housing
Anne Cory
MHSA TA Operations Call
Corporation
for Supportive Housing
June 1, 2011
www.csh.orgSlide2
2
Fair Housing Overview
The Federal Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of:
Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Source of Income, Marital Status, Ancestry. Slide3
Fair Housing Overview
Targeting housing for homeless people, chronically homeless people, or people with disabilities does not violate any Fair Housing laws.
A housing provider can discriminate in favor of groups if the discrimination—
Is necessary to achieve a public policy purpose compelling enough to override the discriminatory effect and
Effectively carries out the intended purpose.
3Slide4
Fair Housing Overview
A policy/law/program that, on its face, discriminates against a “protected class” of people violates Fair Housing laws.
Example: a city limit on the number of people with disabilities who may benefit from a housing trust fund.
4Slide5
Fair Housing Overview
A policy/law/program that does not seem to discriminate and is outwardly neutral, but
has a disproportionately adverse impact on protected class of people (“disparate impact”) also violates Fair Housing laws
.
Example: limiting a program to residents of a geographic area may disproportionately impact a protected class underrepresented in that area.
5Slide6
Fair Housing in Practice
Many elements of housing operations are guided by Fair Housing laws:
Affirmative Fair Marketing Plan
Tenant Screening & Selection
Reasonable Accommodation is the process used to adapt housing to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
6Slide7
Fair Housing in Practice
HUD/DOJ Statement:
One type of disability discrimination prohibited by the (Fair Housing) Act is the refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
7Slide8
Reasonable Accommodation
A
"reasonable accommodation"
is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice or service that may be necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
Relationship must exist between disability and accommodation.
8Slide9
Reasonable Modification
A reasonable modification is a structural change made to existing premises occupied (or to be occupied) to a person with a disability in order to afford such a person full enjoyment of the premises.
9Slide10
Reasonable Modification
As with a reasonable accommodation, to show that a requested modification may be necessary, there must be an identifiable relationship – or nexus – between the requested modification and the individual’s disability.
The requested modification must be reasonable.
10Slide11
11
Reasonable Accommodations
Requests for changes to:
Rules
Policies
The way services are providedSlide12
Reasonable Accommodation
Reasonable accommodations are auxiliary services, aids, or barrier removals.
Undue burden is evaluated in light of the nature and cost of the accommodation, the financial resources of the facility, the financial resources of the entity, and type of operation.
12Slide13
Reasonable Accommodation
Aren’t we required to treat everyone the same?
No…..
However, you must offer everyone the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation or modification.
13Slide14
Reasonable Accommodation
What do the property manager and service provider need to do to ensure reasonable accommodations are available to applicants and tenants?
Language
Forms
Processes
14Slide15
Reasonable Accommodation
Most Frequent Request Areas:
Intake and Screening
Occupancy
Daily interactions with tenants
Property Management rules
Maintenance
15Slide16
Reasonable Accommodation
Verbal requests must be considered;
Watch for implicit requests;
Use standard forms for requests.
16Slide17
Reasonable Accommodation
Reasonable Accommodation Request Process
When can an applicant or tenant request a Reasonable Accommodation?
What process should be followed?
What factors should be considered?
17Slide18
Reasonable Accommodation
When considering a reasonable accommodation/modification request a Housing Provider can only take the following four factors into consideration:
Disability: Is the individual qualified?
Necessity: Is the request for an accommodation or modification necessary?
18Slide19
Reasonable Accommodation
When considering a reasonable accommodation or modification request a Housing Provider can only take the following four factors into consideration:
Cost: Would the requested accommodation impose an undue financial or administrative burden?
Would the requested accommodation or modification require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program?
19Slide20
Reasonable Accommodation
In rental housing:
Tenant is often required to make physical changes at their own cost; and
The landlord is allowed to require the renter to agree to restore the premises to their original condition.
20Slide21
Reasonable Accommodation
Forms and processes should aim to:
Determine that an individual (or the prospective tenants) are qualified under the law for a reasonable accommodation or modification, and
Verify that what is being requested is consistent with the needs associated with the individual(s) and their disability.
21Slide22
Reasonable Accommodation
What kinds of information, if any, may a housing provider request from a person with an obvious or known disability who is requesting a reasonable accommodation?
Only information that is necessary to evaluate the disability-related need for the accommodation.
22Slide23
Reasonable Accommodation
If a disability is not obvious, what kinds of information may a housing provider request from the person with a disability in support of a requested accommodation?
In response to a request for a reasonable accommodation, a housing provider may request disability-related information to:
Verify the disability
Describe the accommodation
Show the nexus
23Slide24
Reasonable Accommodation
Who Decides What Is Reasonable?
What amount of input, if any, does the housing provider have in deciding whether the requested accommodation is reasonable?
Does the housing provider need to follow exactly what has been requested of them?
Does the housing provider have a say in what accommodations are to be made?
24Slide25
Reasonable Accommodation
Courts are divided…
There exists much uncertainty about where the limits are drawn on how much voice each of the parties have in determining whether the requested accommodation is unduly burdensome or constitutes a fundamental alteration.
25Slide26
Reasonable Accommodation and Eviction
The reasonable accommodation mandate applies to the termination of a lease just as it does to the terms and conditions of a lease.
Even when a tenant could legitimately be subject to eviction, a landlord cannot necessarily evict a tenant with a disability solely because of behavior related to the tenant's disability.
26Slide27
Reasonable Accommodation and Eviction
Compliance with procedural protections is not a substitute for providing a reasonable accommodation when requested to do so.
Accommodations might take the form of a tenant agreeing to modify his or her own behavior, or might involve a landlord altering its policy or rules, and possibly even absorbing some cost.
27Slide28
Reasonable Accommodation and Eviction
In order to receive an accommodation as an alternative to eviction, the tenant must establish the link between the tenant's noncompliance with a lease and the tenant's disability.
Once a tenant shows that a disability is the reason for noncompliance with a lease, the tenant must show that an accommodation will allow the tenant to remain compliant with the lease.
28Slide29
Exemptions From Protection
The requirement that a landlord accommodate a tenant by not proceeding with an eviction does not mean that a tenant will be allowed to continue violating lease provisions.
If the lease violation is related to current illegal drug use, a landlord will not be required to keep a tenant even if the tenant commits to enrolling in a drug treatment program.
29Slide30
Exemptions From Protection
Courts are also unlikely to require landlords to make accommodations that are related to a tenant's lack of income and consequent inability to pay rent.
Despite showing a clear relationship between the lack of income and disability, the courts in certain cases refused to require accommodations that would allow the prospective tenants to overcome income-related barriers to housing.
30Slide31
Exemptions From Protection
Another explicit exemption from protection under the Fair Housing Act is any tenant "whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.“
Courts have held that landlords must show that "no reasonable accommodation will eliminate or acceptably minimize the risk [a tenant] poses to other residents" before proceeding with an eviction.
31Slide32
Conclusion
The bottom line is to work with your residents and engage in an interactive process.
If management cannot grant the request for an accommodation or modification, is there an alternative accommodation or modification that would effectively address the requester’s disability-related needs?
If there is, you should propose it. And you should document in writing your proposed solution.
32Slide33
33
Resources
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development:
www.hud.gov/fairhousingSlide34
Resources
34
BETWEEN THE LINES: A QUESTION AND ANSWER GUIDE ON LEGAL ISSUES IN SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
CALIFORNIA EDITION, 2010
www.csh.orgSlide35
For More Information
www.csh.org
Or call CSH for technical assistance