The Americans with Disabilities Act is a piece of landmark legislation signed into law in 1990. This law prohibits discrimination in employment and housing based on disability. Individuals with disabilities are also protected against discrimination in public spaces.
This applies to your rental property if it’s a multi-family building.
For the purposes of rental housing in Bellevue, Issaquah, and the surrounding areas, the ADA requires landlords and property owners to provide reasonable accommodations and modifications to rental properties as needed by tenants.
According to the ADA, any tenant who has a physical, intellectual, or emotional disability can request these accommodations.
This ensures that all people regardless of ability or disability have the opportunity to live in rental units with the same safety, accessibility, and comfort.
All accommodations must be “within reason.” While rental property owners are not legally allowed to deny any reasonable requests or discriminate against any tenant, an unreasonable request could be denied.
Of course, we don’t recommend that you’re quick to deny any accommodations. In fact, if you’re thinking about it, speak to an attorney first.
Here’s a brief guide to remaining in compliance with disability laws.
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
According to the language in fair housing laws and the ADA, a reasonable accommodation is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service.
The Fair Housing Act gets specific when it comes to accommodations that are required in multi-family buildings. It requires that seven design features be incorporated into buildings built after 1991. These design features have allowed for the quick adaptation of units to meet accessibility guidelines.
Fair Housing Act Requirements for Accommodation
These are the accommodation requirements included in the Fair Housing Act:
- Accessible entrances. Provide physical access to your building from public sidewalks, public transportation, or parking areas.
- Accessible public use areas. This would cover any common areas in your rental property, such as a lobby, clubhouse, or swimming pool area.
- Usable doors. They should be wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs.
- Reachable light switches, thermostats, and electrical outlets.
- Reinforcements for walls to allow for grab bars.
- Accessible kitchen and bathrooms with wider door frames, lower counter heights, or seats in the shower/tub.
- Access to and through a covered dwelling.
The Fair Housing Act requires all covered multifamily dwellings that were constructed and prepared for occupancy after 1991 to be ADA accessible and compliant.
According to ADA requirements, these features must be met in all buildings with four or more rental units and one elevator. In buildings with no elevator, the modifications are made to units on the ground floor. All public areas, such as the parking lot and leasing office, must also be made compliant.
Remember that a service animal or a companion animal might also be considered an accommodation. If you don’t allow pets in your building but a tenant needs a dog to help with a physical disability, you have to allow that dog, and you cannot charge a pet fee or pet rent.
This is an area that provides a lot of potential risk and liability for owners. For more information, please contact us at Real Estate Gladiators. We serve Monroe, Issaquah, Bellevue, Everett, Lake Stevens, Kirkland, and other cities in and around King and Snohomish counties in Washington State.
