Need info on ADA laws regarding housing (see inside)?
My granddaughter (who is in high school) has just started using a wheelchair, and they live in a 3rd floor walk up apartment. My daughter is concerned that if they try to push the issue and break the lease so they can move into a ground floor apartment, the apartment managers will charge them the $500 “lease break fee”. My daughter tells me they do have people who run the office and help run the day-to-day, but that the management is off site and generally is pretty grasping and insensitive.
I know I could wade through all the legal mumbo-jumbo in the ADA, or maybe I could just ask you guys!
I would really like to get a link to the law (if there is one) that would address this issue so if they need to, my daughter could print it off, hand it to the apartment management, and thus avoid a lot of hassle.
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6 Answers
I found this article that might be helpful. It sounds like you are entitled to “reasonable” accommodations, but can’t demand expensive structural changes to the property (e.g. build me an elevator).
Also it looks like this might be a valid reason to break the lease according to this article.
I have no idea if it’s correct, I’m not a lawyer.
Great question, and best wishes to your family.
Man, they are between that ever present rock and a hard spot when it comes to renting. Unless they’re willing to hire an attorney I would hesitate to throw the smack down on the housing authority. They have SO much power.
Is she in a wheel chair permanently or temporarily?
Thanks everybody for the information. This is encouraging
@Dutchess_III It’s a structural defect. She will have good days and bad days for a long time, but she should avoid climbing stairs to prevent worsening the condition. Her mom is working on the wheelchair permit now. I told her to be sure to ask the doctor if he could write a letter to the management of the apartment regarding her physical needs.
Many landlords are actually afraid of ADA issues and as such are willing to do what they can to avoid confrontations that might bring the authorities around prying. I would first try approaching mgmt and explaining the situation. And it might not hurt to make comments about getting the ‘authorities’ to come by and review the issue and “make suggestions”. If nothing else, it might give them incentive to speed up the process or let you out of the lease if they have no other options available.
I know with my MIL we asked for a different apartment for “x” reason and none were available at that time but lo, when we said we would have to look into moving her to a different location it was less than a week that what she needed on the ground floor became available (rather than lose a tenant and the rental income). Funny how that works sometimes.
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