Reasonable Accommodations
Reasonable Accommodations for People with Disabilities
An estimated 41% of federally subsidized households include people with disabilities. Affordable housing is especially critical for these families because many households with a disabled family member are dependent upon public benefits such as Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which do not provide enough income for people to afford market-rate housing. People with disabilities not only face significant barriers to obtaining housing, but a disability can create challenges to maintaining housing as well. Some of these barriers are physical, while others are created by policies, rules, and regulations.
One way in which federal law seeks to ensure equal access to the full use and enjoyment of federally assisted housing for people with disabilities is through requirements that housing providers must provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities. In the housing context, a reasonable accommodation is a change in a rule, policy, practice, or service that may be necessary to allow a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Failure to provide a reasonable accommodation may be construed as discrimination.