Managing your own property can be intriguing. You may have just about apprehended that there are express codes of conduct you must watch to accommodate persons with disabilities. Objection to accord reasonable accommodations can be deemed as negligence of the Fair Housing Act. Making that kind of violation, even unwittingly, can pan out into years spent in court, and dollars you would rather not part with spent on overpriced attorneys. Taking some time to prepare yourself on the matter can help you steer clear of all that pointless hassle.
What is a Reasonable Request?
Without a doubt, as a landlord with a single-family residence to rent out in Buford, you want to accommodate all of your renters, no matter their singled-out needs, in any way you can. But how do you know if your potential renter actually has a disability? Managing a situation like this can be like walking through a minefield; you must proceed with caution.
If the eventual renter does not have an overt disability but is making a call for reasonable accommodations, like having a ramp built onto a porch or having towel bars lowered, or even having the carpet replaced due to severe life-threatening allergies, you can request proof of the disability. Applicable treatment of a person with a disability is a far-ranging topic, and you don’t want to arrive on the wrong end of a lawsuit, so it is imperative to be informed both of your obligations and your rights.
What Information Can You Ask Your Tenants to Provide?
In the first place, be conscious that you cannot brush off granting reasonable accommodation requests made by a person with disabilities. The gray area is entered when the conversation opens up to what information you can request and what is considered reasonable. It is all-important to be aware for your own protection that you can, to be sure, request medical proof that a person suffers from a disability if the said disability is not directly obvious. A doctor’s note must be provided, and, in the result of a dispute, only the Department of Housing and Urban Development can determine whether the proof is sufficient or not. Likewise, you should be conscious that you are not indebted to serve any accommodation to anyone that would set down a financial care on you as a landlord. Because you are not a renting out apartments in a complex, you will not be expected to make major changes to your home if those changes would be detrimental to your financial situation.
Are Your Properties Exempt?
Single-family homes rented without the use of a real estate agent or advertising are exempt from the federal Fair Housing Act as long as the private landlord/owner doesn’t own more than three homes at the time. Apartments of four units or less are also exempt if the owner lives in one of the units. However, even if this multi-family exemption applies to you, your rental advertising must still comply with the Act. Other exemptions include the rental of a single room in a home, qualified senior housing, and housing operated by religious or private organizations if certain requirements are met.
We’re Here to Help
Likewise, know that you are not unaccompanied. At Real Property Management Executives Greater Atlanta, we have highly proficient and knowledgeable staff on hand to work with you on sensitive situations like these ones. While you may not essentially need property management to oversee all areas of your rental business, in the context of the federal government and adhering to regulations that can feel complex and rigid at the same time, get help. For more information, contact us online or call us directly at 678-765-8383.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.