[nagdu] issue with building

[Marion & Martin]

Jenine,
    Perhaps one of the legal eagles on this list will correct me if I am 
wrong, but the term "reasonable accomodation" is from Title I of the ADA and 
applies to employment issues. It is my understanding that the FHA and Titles 
II & III of the ADA refer to a "modification of policies, practices, and 
procedures". This is what Marsha is asking for, a modification of the 
policy, practice, or procedure of the HOA. HTH!

Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 5:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] issue with building


> Hi Marsha,
>
> This is probably one of the most common housing issues out there for 
> service
> animal handlers.
>
> What I'm about to say is a little complicated but it's what I've been told
> by folks at DOJ and HUD.
>
> When it comes to housing, there are two sets of regulations that apply, 
> the
> ADA, and the Fair Housing Act, depending on who owns your building.
>
> Though they cannot reject you or ban your service animal outright, any 
> other
> requests on your part, such as being able to relieve the dog in a certain
> place, are "reasonable accommodations."
>
> When you are challenged about such things, it is important to state what 
> you
> want and why you want it and that you are doing so as a "reasonable
> accommodation" because of your service animal.
>
> It sounds really, well, paternalistic that you have to state this as an
> accommodation when that should be obvious, but what DOJ and HUD have found
> is that since there are no laws that directly cover every situation 
> involved
> in housing, the concepts of reasonable accommodation come into play to 
> cover
> the basic uses of housing.
>
> In plain English, here's what I'd advise you to do.
>
> 1. Write a letter to the HOA stating that you have a service animal, a 
> guide
> dog trained by (name the school). You have been relieving your dog at
> (describe the area) , because (state reasons like proximity to your
> apartment, safety, etc.),for the past (state time frame). You are 
> requesting
> "a reasonable accommodation" to relieve your dog in this area as you have
> been doing.
>
> 2. You may want to locate the HUD Fair Housing office in your area and 
> talk
> with them about filing a complaint.
>
> One of the things that HUD states quite clearly in its documentation about
> reasonable accommodation is that you don't have to put it in writing and 
> you
> don't even have to say the phrase reasonable accommodation, but it does 
> help
> in the whole mediation process. You have already asked for such an
> accommodation indirectly with your actions. This imho is enough to go to 
> HUD
> and file a complaint.
>
> I would also cc any communication to someone at NAGDU and/or your school 
> so
> that the HOA can see how serious this can get. All of my citations are on 
> my
> other computer, but if you do a search of Fair Housing Act and Reasonable
> Accommodations, you'll find a lot of material.
>
> I'd wager that Seeing eye also has a lot of material on the advocacy 
> portion
> of its web site.
>
>
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