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Volume 18, No. 1 - Winter 2010

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Community Legal Aid Society Continues to Fight Fair Housing Discrimination Against People with Disabilities

Melissa R. Allman
Staff Attorney
Fair Housing Program

Image of the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. logo, which is a female figure holding a scale.Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) is a nonprofit agency that represents people with disabilities, low-income, and elderly clients throughout Delaware. For a number of years, CLASI has been persistently battling housing discrimination throughout Delaware in an effort to preserve the rights of applicants, tenants, and home buyers to decent and affordable housing. This article focuses on housing discrimination experienced by people with disabilities, particularly with respect to the denial of requests for reasonable accommodations.

Disability Discrimination in the Provision of Housing: An Ongoing Problem Nationwide

The Fair Housing Act was amended in 1988 to include protection for people with disabilities against housing discrimination. Under the Fair Housing Act, a person with a disability is defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Despite the remedies available to people with disabilities under the Fair Housing Act, discriminatory housing practices continue to be pervasive. According to a recent HUD report, a record 10,552 Fair Housing discrimination complaints were filed nationally in fiscal year 2008, and 44 percent of those complaints were filed by people with disabilities.

Reasonable Accommodations and Their Importance

Disability discrimination in housing can arise in a number of ways, but one of the most common problems is the failure of housing authorities and other landlords to make reasonable accommodations. A reasonable accommodation is a change or exception to existing rules, policies, practices, or services necessary for a person with a disability to have full use and enjoyment of their dwelling. While the existing practices and policies of a landlord may have a minimal effect on someone without a disability, those same practices and policies may be extremely detrimental when applied to someone who is disabled. Requests for reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to: waiving no pet policies; early lease termination because of medical conditions; creation of designated parking spots for people with mobility impairments; unit transfers as a reasonable accommodation; and repayment agreements for people who fall behind on their rent due to their disability.

CLASI has worked hard to educate housing authorities and landlords about the need to be flexible when applying their policies and practices to people with disabilities. In many cases, CLASI has successfully prevented evictions and termination from subsidized housing programs with reasonable accommodations that allow tenants with disabilities to remain and fully enjoy their homes. When necessary, we have filed Fair Housing discrimination complaints with the Division of Human Relations (DHR) and suits in state or federal court.

CLASI Success Stories

In a recent case, a woman living on the third floor of an apartment building was involved in a serious car accident resulting in the amputation of her leg below the knee. After extensive surgery, she had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility. Because the apartment building had only one elevator, which was frequently out of order, she found herself in situations where she could not leave her apartment or get back to her unit after she’d been out. Sometimes she even became trapped in the elevator. During a fire at the complex, she had to be carried down three flights of stairs by a police officer. She requested a transfer to a first-floor unit but was told there was a no-transfer policy. CLASI requested a transfer as a reasonable accommodation but the request was denied and a Fair Housing complaint was later filed with DHR. DHR investigated the complaint and made a finding that discrimination had occurred. CLASI filed suit in Superior Court, and settlement was reached four days before a jury trial. The settlement included an award for the client’s damages, attorney fees, and a civil penalty for the state.

In another recent case, a client with severe depression, for which he was receiving Social Security Disability benefits, moved into a public housing high-rise building with a German Shepherd whose weight exceeded the limitation of the housing authority’s rental agreement with regards to their pet policy. After allowing the client to live in the apartment with the dog for a year, the manager threatened to evict the client because of the size of the dog. After the client obtained a letter from his treating physician stating that the dog was an emotional support animal, the landlord allowed the dog to remain and permitted the client to take the dog to all parts of the building. Two years later, the client was notified that he could no longer bring his dog into the community room. When the landlord refused to reconsider its position, CLASI filed a Fair Housing discrimination complaint. Unable to reconcile the situation, the landlord refused to recognize the appropriateness of an emotional support animal as an accommodation for an individual with a mental impairment. After DHR issued a cause finding of discrimination, the parties eventually settled. The client received an award for his damages, was permitted to bring his dog into all areas of the building once more, and was transferred to a larger unit.

What To Do If You Have Experienced Fair Housing Discrimination

Although people with physical and mental disabilities in Delaware continue to face both blatant and subtle forms of housing discrimination, it is important for those individuals to pursue the remedies available to them under the federal and state Fair Housing Acts. This is the only way education and change will continue to occur. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against in the provision of housing in the state of Delaware, please contact our Fair Housing Unit, which is located in the Wilmington office and can be reached at 302-575-0660.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the view of the Federal Government.

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