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Have You Received a Reasonable Accommodation Request in Duchesne?

Duchesne Resident Calling the Property Manager with a Reasonable Accommodation RequestManaging your own property can be a challenge. You might have just found out that there are specific codes of conduct you need to observe to accommodate persons with disabilities. Refusal to give reasonable accommodations can be seen as a Fair Housing Act violation. Making that type of violation, even unintentionally, can lead to years spent in court and finances you’d rather spend on high-priced lawyers. Spending some time to educate yourself on the matter can help you escape all that unnecessary stress.

What is a Reasonable Request?

Naturally, as a landlord with a single-family rental property in Duchesne, you want to accommodate all of your renters in any way you can, regardless of their particular needs. But, how do you know if your potential tenant truly has a disability? Handling this kind of a situation can be like going through a minefield; you have to proceed with caution.

If the potential tenant does not have an easily identifiable disability but is requesting for reasonable accommodations, such as having a ramp built onto a porch or lowering towel rods, or even having the carpet changed due to severe life-threatening allergies, you can request proof of the disability. Appropriate treatment of a person with a disability is an extensive topic, and you don’t want to end up on the bad end of a lawsuit, so understanding both your obligations and your rights is crucial.

What Information Can You Ask Your Tenants to Provide?

To start with, recognize that you cannot deny reasonable accommodation requests made by people with disabilities. The gray area surfaces when the conversation opens up to what information you can ask for and what is deemed reasonable. For your own protection, it is vital to know that you can certainly request medical proof that a person suffers from a disability if that disability is not obvious straight away. A doctor’s note should be provided, and if there is a dispute, only the Department of Housing and Urban Development can decide whether the proof is sufficient or not. Moreover, you should be mindful that you are not responsible for setting up any accommodation that, as a landlord, would put a financial burden on you. As you are not a renting out apartments in a complex, you are not expected to perform major changes to your property if those changes would be harmful 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

Ultimately, know that you are not alone. At Real Property Management Uintah, we have highly trained and knowledgeable staff available to work with you on complicated situations like these. Though you might not necessarily require property management to deal with all aspects of your rental business, when it comes to the federal government and adhering to regulations that can be complex and rigid all at once, you should acquire help. For additional information, contact us or call us directly at 435-214-4686.

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.

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