[nagdu] Tenant Rights

Tue Mar 10 14:02:38 UTC 2009

Marian, 
Here you go; 
http://www.advocacyinc.org/HS1.cfm
Who Must Follow the Act?
The Act covers all apartments, condominiums, and other multi-family
buildings except owner-occupied complexes with a total of four (4) or
fewer families. 

The owner of a single-family house does not have to follow the Act when
renting or selling unless he owns more than three such houses, has sold
a house that was not his residence within the last 24 months, uses a
real estate broker or agent to sell or rent his property, or uses
discriminatory advertisement. 

Existing Housing
In housing occupied prior to March 13, 1991, a landlord is not required
to make physical modifications to accommodate a person with a
disability. However, the landlord must permit the tenant to make the
modification at the tenant's expense. 

Examples: A landlord must allow a tenant who uses a wheelchair to hire a
contractor to build a ramp to his doorway and to modify his kitchen for
accessibility; a landlord must allow a tenant to hire a contractor to
make a mail slot in his door for mail delivery if the complexes
mailboxes are inaccessible. 

The landlord may refuse to allow the tenant to make modifications unless
the tenant agrees to restore the premises to its original condition if
it is reasonable to require that the premises be restored. 

Example: It would be reasonable to require a tenant to replace a bathtub
he had removed to install a roll-in shower, but not to narrow doorways
he had widened for wheelchair access. 

Where necessary to ensure with reasonable certainty that funds will be
available to pay for the restorations, the landlord may require the
tenant to pay, over a reasonable period of time and into an interest
bearing escrow account, an amount not exceeding the cost of the
restorations. The landlord cannot require that the funds be paid in a
lump sum before the tenant can make the restorations. 

Although a landlord is not required by the Fair Housing Act to make
physical modifications to existing housing, a landlord is required by
Title III of the ADA, which applies to public accommodations, to make
physical modifications to the premises to assure the accessibility of
the rental office and also any clubhouse, meeting room, or other common
area which is rented to non-tenants. The parking lot must, therefore,
have a curb cut or ramp to an accessible pathway leading to these
locations. 

New Multi-Family Housing
New multi-family housing that was first occupied after March 13, 1991,
must have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless
the terrain makes an accessible route impractical. An accessible route
is a path that is free of obstructions, wide enough to allow wheelchair
passage, and safe for and usable by people with disabilities. The burden
of proving that an accessible route is impractical is on those who
design and construct the housing. Multi-family dwellings in a building
that has an entrance on an accessible route, must meet the following
requirements regarding physical accessibility: 

Public and common use areas must be accessible to and usable by persons
with disabilities; 
All doors must be wide enough (32 inches) to allow passage by people in
wheelchairs; 
The dwelling must have an accessible route into and through it; 
Light switches, thermostats, and electrical outlets must be in
accessible locations; 
Bathroom walls must be reinforced to allow later installation of grab
bars around the toilet, tub, and shower; and 
Kitchens and bathrooms must be designed to allow individuals in
wheelchairs to maneuver. 
If the building has four or more units and an elevator, all the units
must meet the requirements listed above. If the building does not have
an elevator, only the ground floor units must meet the listed
accessibility requirements. 

Example: A two-story apartment building doesn't have an elevator, but
does have an accessible entrance on the first floor. Those first-floor
apartments, but not the second-floor apartments, must meet the
requirements stated above. 

How To File a Complaint?
If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of
disability or wish to complain that multi-family housing constructed
after March 1991 is not accessible, you may file a complaint with the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within
one year after the discrimination occurred or within one year from the
date that you learned of the discrimination. 

Each complaint to HUD must contain: 

the name and address of the person making the complaint; 
the name and address of the landlord or seller; 
the description and address of the dwelling which is involved; and 
a concise statement of the facts.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Marion & Martin
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 4:08 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Tenant Rights

Rebecca,
    All of this is conjecture, as we do not know the laws that govern
fair housing in Canada or its provinces. My understanding of U.S. law,
however, is not what is being stated here. My understanding is that the
only conditions under which a landlord may refuse to rent to someone
with a service animal is if they are renting a room in their private
residence. Do you have the laws that reflect what you are stating?

Fraternally,
Marion

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (IT)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at ngc.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 11:38 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Tenant Rights

> Hi there.
> You've mixed up pet friendly v. guide dog.
> Figure out which yours is and act acordingly.
> Also, know that, and I'm thinking of U.S. law because I don't know
> Canadian, that depending on the type of unit, the landlord does not
have
> to accept guide dogs. If the unit is made up of four or less living
> spaces, the landlord does not have to rent to you.
> You may have a case though if the other dog you mention belongs to a
> tennant.
> What I'd suggest you do is talk to whoever governs landlords in your
> neck of the woods, and bring statuteswith you when you do. You should
be
> able to Google for this info.
> Lastly, thing long and hard if you want to rent from these people.
They
> have the potential to make your life miserable.
> You may have better luck if you tried apartments, which doesn't sound
> like this situation is.
> I'm sorry, it isn't fair for this to be happening
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Heather Hutchison
> Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 5:24 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Tenant Rights
>
> Hi all,
>
> My apologies if this isn't allowed because I live in British Columbia,
> Canada, but I was wondering if I could get some general input on what
to
> do about being discriminated against due to the presence of my guide
dog
> in applying for a rental unit.
>
> An acquaintance of my boyfriend was moving out of her apartment and we
> decided it would be a great area and a perfect place for us to live
in,
> so we contacted the landlords (a husband and wife) to set up a viewing
> (we've seen the place before, but to do it officially). She set up a
> time the next morning for us to come and view the suite. My boyfriend
> mentioned the fact that I have a guide dog (not as a question of if it
> would be alright, but simply to state a fact) and everything changed.
> She said she would have to check with her husband and quickly hung up.
> She called back and left a message specifically stating that because
> there was another dog on the premises (these are completely separate
> units though) that because of my dog, we would not be considered to
rent
> the suite. We have kept this message. We called her to try and explain
> the law (the guide animal act of British Columbia states that it is
> illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability because of
> their intent to keep a service animal in the rental unit unless
> sleeping, cooking or bathroom facilities are
> shared) but she would not listen. She put her husband on the phone and
> he proceeded to be incredibly rude, screaming that they did not have
to
> accept a guide dog, essentially that the law was wrong. He said they
> weren't even having viewings (which is incorrect because we had
> previously had an appointment for that same day until they found out
> about my dog). He then said we could come look at it if we really
wanted
> but that we wouldn't get it anyways. He said they were being
threatened
> when we said we would take legal action. One last time we tried to
read
> him the act, but he hung up in the middle of it.
>
> What should I do? I am having a very difficult time finding a place to
> live (I've heard every excuse in the book) and I'm tired of people
> blatantly ignoring the law. It is very difficult to find pet friendly
> suites in Vancouver and they are almost impossible to get into because
> they are in such high demand. I filled out a human rights complaint
but
> have not sent it yet. Anything else I should do? Should I pursue this?
>
> Thank you very much in advance for any input you might have.
>
> Heather with Bibby
>
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