Federal and State Laws prohibit housing providers from discriminating against or treating less favorably disabled applicants, residents or disabled persons associated with applicants because of their disability.

Who is Protected: Individuals with visual, hearing and mobility impairments, mental or emotional illness, chronic alcoholism, AIDS, mental retardation, or any impairment or disease, addiction or illness that limits, in a significant or large degree, any central daily life activity such as seeing, hearing, walking, performing manual tasks, learning, or caring for one’s self.

Who is Not Protected: Current illegal drugs users, juvenile and sexual offenders are not considered disabled by these laws. Additionally, the Act does not protect an individual with a disability whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat (not only speculation or fear, but reliable objective evidence) to the health or safety of other individuals or result in substantial physical damage to the property of others, unless the threat can be eliminated or significantly reduced by reasonable accommodation.

Even if you do not feel comfortable with persons who have obvious disabilities, or you perceive that a person may have a disability, you may not screen them out based on your fears or hunches that they may become problem tenants. You may develop policies which prohibit current drug users, persons who have been convicted of drug sales, or persons who have been evicted for their past failures to meet the terms of the rental agreement. A disabled person should also be allowed to have a co-signer if needed because of a recent California court case which supported the disabled tenant’s request for a co-signer when his SSI income did not meet the income requirements of the owner.

If you discover during the tenancy that the disabled tenant is unable to meet the terms of the rental agreement and causes a direct threat to the other tenants, you may be able to go forward with an eviction action but ONLY after you have attempted to reasonably accommodate the individual. For instance, reminding a mentally disabled tenant that the rent is due by placing a phone call to him a few days in advance, or asking a family member to intervene with the person’s physician if behavior changes significantly and other tenants are complaining that they are uncomfortable around the tenant.

You have a duty to attempt to accommodate and you can not refuse to allow a reasonable modification

Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications: Because treating persons with disabilities exactly the same as others will sometimes deny them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, laws require you to make reasonable accommodations in your rules, services or to make reasonable modifications in the unit, if the request does not impose an undue financial and administrative burden upon you. Click here for a sample letter on how to request a reasonable accommodation.

A Reasonable Accommodation is a change, exception or adjustment to a rule or policy necessary to help a disabled person to avoid the barriers her/his disability causes in the use of her/him unit and/or common areas and to enjoy services offered in the property as other tenants. For example: Allow a guide or companion animal in a residence with a no- pet policy. A dog can be helpful for people with visual or hearing impairment (guide dog) but also for people with mental health issues (companion dog). In fact a service dog is not considered a pet and therefore you cannot charge a pet deposit.

A Reasonable Modification can be any alteration, change or repair needed to make the space safe and comfortable to the disabled person. For example: Widening doors to allow a wheelchair, installing carpeting to reduce noise made by a person whose disability causes her/him to more noise than average tenant.

You are entitled to obtain information, such as a letter of verification from the doctor, to evaluate if a requested reasonable accommodation may be necessary. A person is entitled to a reasonable accommodation regardless of when they inform you of the need during the tenancy.

Who Pays for Such Modifications? Modifications are made at the ten- ant’s expense but you can require her/him to escrow the cost of return- ing property to its original condition if future tenants will not be able to use them. If you receive federal financial assistance, then you are re- quired to provide and pay for reasonable accommodation that involve structural modifications to units or common and public areas.

You cannot charge a different rent, extra fees or deposit to a disabled person, or ask the specific nature of their disability. All the information about a disability of any tenant or prospective tenant is confidential.

Sentinel fair housing provides assistance in reasonable accommodation issues. You can call for help to (510) 836-2687