Fair Housing Month 2020 Reasonable Accommodations and Accessibility Training 1
Fair Housing Webinar Series • April 2 from 10:00 to 11:30 AM: Fair Housing Overview • April 8 from 10:00 to 11:30 AM: Reasonable Accommodations and Accessibility • April 14 from 10:00 to 11:30 AM: Assistance Animals Webinar information located at https://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/fair- housing/announcements.htm or the calendar portion of TDHCA’s website. For further information, please contact Cate Tracz, TDHCA Fair Housing, Data Management, and Reporting Manager at Cate.Tracz@tdhca.state.tx.us 2
Presenters Texas Department of Housing & Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Community Affairs (“TDHCA”) Rights Division (“CRD”) Nathan Darus Marilyn Diaz Fair Housing Research Specialist Training and Outreach Nathan.Darus@tdhca.state.tx.us Marilyn.Diaz@twc.state.tx.us 512-475-0306 512-463-4650 3
Note on COVID-19 This webinar will not cover TDHCA’s or TWC’s COVID-19 policies or provide any guidance on reasonable accommodations related to COVID-19. For TDHCA’s current guidance on the topic please visit the TDHCA website: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/covid19.htm 4
Mission and Vision of CRD Our mission is to reduce discrimination in employment and housing through education and enforcement of state and federal laws. Our vision is to help create an environment in which citizens of the State of Texas may pursue and enjoy the benefits of employment and housing that are free from discrimination. 5
Agenda Objectives Case Scenarios Purpose of the Fair Other Accessibility Housing Act and the Issues Mediation Texas Fair Housing Act Reasonable Accommodations 6
Objectives Identify the Purpose of the Acts Reasonable Accommodations Define Disability Recognize a Request for Reasonable Accommodations Recognize Appropriate Responses to a Request for Reasonable Accommodations Identify Resources Identify Other Accessibility Issues 7
Purpose The purpose of the Fair Housing Act is to, within constitutional limitations, provide for fair housing throughout the United States. The purpose of the Texas Fair Housing Act is to: Provide for fair housing practices in the state Create a procedure for investigation and settling complaints Provide rights and remedies substantially equivalent to federal law 8
Protected Classes Race Color National Origin Familial Status Religion Sex Disability 9
Purpose of the Disability Protected Class Give people with disabilities greater freedom to choose where they will live and greater freedom to visit friends and relatives. Proactively address the needs of an evolving population. Look ahead at future needs. Allow people to remain in and safely use their dwellings longer. 10
Disability How Is Disability Defined? Under the Acts Any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; Or has a record of such an impairment; Or is regarded as having an impairment. Note: 504 and ADA have slightly different definitions. 11
Disability What are some major life activities? Seeing Hearing Breathing Walking Performing manual tasks Caring for one's self Learning Speaking Working 12
Disability What are some examples of impairments which may result in a disability? Visual, speech, and hearing impairments Cerebral palsy Autism Epilepsy Muscular dystrophy Multiple sclerosis Cancer Heart disease Diabetes Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection Drug addiction (other than addiction caused by current, illegal use of a controlled substance) Alcoholism 13
What is a Reasonable Accommodation? A change, exception, or adjustment in rules, policies, practices, or services necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. 14
Why grant a reasonable accommodation? Because policies, practices, and services may have a different effect on persons with disabilities than on other persons Treating persons with disabilities exactly the same as others will sometimes deny them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. 15
What do state and federal laws require? Housing providers to make reasonable accommodations to the rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. 16
Scenario 1 A housing provider has a policy of requiring tenants to come to the rental office in person to pay their rent. A tenant has a disability that makes her afraid to leave her unit. Because of her disability, she requests that she be permitted to have a friend mail her rent payment to the rental office as a reasonable accommodation. 17
Scenario 1 The provider must make an exception to its payment policy to accommodate this tenant. 18
Scenario 2 A tenant with a disability made a request for a reasonable accommodation to the apartment manager for an early termination of her lease because she was going to be hospitalized for treatment due to her disability. How should the manager respond? Is this a reasonable request? 19
Scenario 2 The manager denied the reasonable accommodation. Settlement terms: • Property agreed to refund the tenant’s rent for three months • Tenant agreed to vacate the unit • Property agreed to take fair housing training 20
Reasonable Accommodation Request Guidelines The requester must make the request in a manner that a reasonable person would understand to be a request for an exception, change, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service because of a disability. The request does not have to be made in writing or on a certain form. An individual making a reasonable accommodation request does not need to mention the Acts or use the words "reasonable accommodation” or use any magic words. The request can be made by a family member or someone else who is acting on the person’s behalf. 21
What inquiries can I make if a resident asks for a Reasonable Accommodation? A housing provider may ask for information relevant to determining if a requested reasonable accommodation is necessary because of a disability. For a disability that is not obvious or the need is not obvious, a housing provider may request reliable disability-related information that (1) is necessary to verify that the person meets the Acts’ definition of disability; (2) describes the needed accommodation; and (3) shows the relationship (or nexus) between the person’s disability and the need for the requested accommodation. A doctor or other medical professional, a peer support group, a non-medical service agency, or a reliable third party who is in a position to know about the individual's disability may also provide verification of a disability. 22
Scenario 3 Sample letter for Companion Animal A rental applicant who uses a DATE wheelchair advises a housing NAME OF PROFESSIONAL (therapist, physician, psychiatrist, rehabilitation counselor) provider that she wishes to keep an ADDRESS Dear [HOUSING AUTHROITY/LANDLORD]: assistance dog in her unit even [NAME OF TENANT] is my patient, and has been under my care since [DATE]. I am intimately familiar with his/her history and with the functional though the provider has a "no pets" limitations imposed by his/her disability. He/She meets the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. policy. The applicant’s disability is [FIRST NAME] has certain limitations regarding [SOCIAL readily apparent but the need for an INTERACTION/COPING WITH STRESS/ANXIETY, ETC]. In order to help alleviate these difficulties, and to enhance his/her ability to live independently and to fully use and enjoy the dwelling unit you own and/or administer, I am assistance animal is not obvious to prescribing an emotional support animal that will assist [FIRST NAME] in coping with his/her disability. the provider. The housing provider I am familiar with the voluminous professional literature concerning the therapeutic benefits of assistance animals for people with disabilities such as that experienced by [FIRST NAME]. Upon request, I will share citations to may ask the applicant to provide relevant studies, and would be happy to answer other questions you may have concerning my recommendation that [FULL NAME OF TENANT] have an emotional support animal. Should you have additional question, please do not information about the disability- hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, related need for the dog. Signature [NAME OF PROFESSIONAL] 23
What can’t I ask? Reasonable Accommodations A housing provider may not ordinarily ask the following: The nature and severity of an individual's disability. If an applicant has a disability or if a person intending to reside in a dwelling or anyone associated with an applicant has a disability. Examples of exceptions: If the housing provider offers accessible units to persons with disabilities needing the features of these units on a priority basis. If the housing provider operates housing that is legally limited to persons with a specific diagnosis, such as chronic mental illness. 24
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