The purpose of this toolkit is to offer you with the tools necessary to recognize the barriers that may prevent you from the full use and satisfaction of your home and what you can do to remove them.

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) needs residential or commercial property owners to allow affordable modifications and sensible accommodations to individuals with specials needs so that they can have full use and pleasure of the residential or commercial property where they live. The ease of access laws under the FHA ensure that, either through structural modifications to the structure (normally referred to as "reasonable adjustments") or changes in rules and policies (normally referred to as "affordable lodgings"), people with disabilities have equivalent access to and pleasure of their homes as do non-disabled persons.

If you are a person with an impairment, you have the legal right to get a modification or lodging to your dwelling, if it is a sensible request and it is necessary to manage you access to and equivalent satisfaction of the residential or commercial property. This demand can be made prior to moving into the unit or any time during your occupancy. This toolkit is created to assist you assert your civil liberties and request a reasonable adjustment or a sensible lodging from your housing supplier.

This toolkit consists of:

- Information about your legal rights.
- Steps that will help you ask for an affordable modification or accommodation.
- Templates for composing an ask for a sensible modification/accommodation.
- How and where to turn for aid.

Fair Housing for People with Disabilities

Everyone has a right to reasonable housing. The ability to live where one chooses with dignity and without worry of discrimination is a basic best guaranteed to all people. The Fairfax County Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs (OHREP) imposes the Fairfax County Human Rights Ordinance and the Fairfax County Fair Housing Act, which prohibit discrimination in housing. If you are an individual with a disability, you deserve to equal access to housing, including full pleasure of your housing. If you think that you, or someone you know, have actually experienced housing discrimination in Fairfax County, you deserve to submit a fair housing problem with OHREP, but you must do so within 365 days from the date the supposed prejudiced act occurred, or in the case of a continuing violation, from the date the supposed prejudiced act ended.

What is a Special needs?

The federal Fair Housing Act defines an impairment to consist of a physical or mental problems that substantially limits several major life activities. Major life activities are central activities to daily life, such as seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, performing manual jobs, taking care of oneself, and speaking. A special needs can include a hearing, visual, or mobility disability; a medical condition; or a psychological disease.

The Right to Fair Housing

Federal, state, and local laws all prohibit housing discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In specific, the federal Fair Housing Act forbids discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, nationwide origin, sex, disability, and familial status. In addition, the Fairfax County Fair Housing Act forbids housing discrimination on the basis of elderliness (age 55 and older), marital status, source of funds, sexual preference, gender identity, and status as a veteran. Under both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Fairfax County Fair Housing Act, individuals with specials needs are entitled to enjoy the same housing opportunities as other residents. For example, housing suppliers might not:

- Refuse to lease, offer, or work out housing.
- Set different terms, conditions, or benefits for sale or leasing of a home.
- Falsely deny that housing is readily available for assessment, sale, or rental.
- Discourage an individual from looking for housing in a specific community.
- Deny access to or subscription in a facility or service associated to the sale of housing.
- Refuse to permit a reasonable lodging or sensible modification (discussed below).
- Threaten or disrupt anybody making a reasonable housing complaint.
- Harass an occupant or housing candidate.
- Take any other action to otherwise make housing not available.

Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications

People with specials needs are entitled to sensible accommodations and sensible adjustments that are needed for them to take pleasure in complete usage of a home.

- A reasonable accommodation is a change in a rule, policy, practice, or service in order to offer an individual with an impairment equivalent option and opportunity. Examples include designating an accessible parking area to somebody with a movement impairment or permitting a service animal in a "no pets" structure. In addition, a housing provider can not need a family pet cost for a service animal.

- A reasonable adjustment is a structural modification that pays for a person with a special needs complete use and pleasure of the facility. Examples consist of installing a ramp to an entryway door, expanding entrances, lowering counter tops, and installing grab bars. Who pays? It depends. If the residential or commercial property is covered under brand-new building accessibility requirements, the housing provider may be accountable for any sensible modification costs incurred. If the residential or commercial property is not covered, the homeowner may be accountable for associated expenses.

Fair Housing Accessibility Requirements

Apartments and other multifamily housing initially occupied after March 13, 1991, need to also fulfill specific basic levels of ease of access. The availability requirements use to all systems in buildings with 4 or more systems that have an elevator. If a building with four or more units has no elevator and was initially inhabited after March 13, 1991, these standards apply to ground floor systems just.

What Can a Housing Provider Ask?

Housing suppliers might inquire into an applicant's capability to satisfy tenancy requirements. This means that a landlord may ask whether you have sufficient income to be able to pay the rent, whether you want to comply with the required guidelines (unless a sensible lodging is made), and other concerns relating straight to occupancy. A housing provider might also embrace and use consistent, objective, and nondiscriminatory criteria developed to assess a potential tenant's credit value, such as needing credit or criminal background checks.

If you have a disability, you can not be treated differently just due to the fact that you are an individual with a disability, nor can you have your housing choice limited since of a disability. Reasonable accommodations and affordable modifications need to be simply that-reasonable. When an individual makes an affordable accommodation or modification request, a property owner can analyze the relationship between the demand being made and the disability. However, the person making the demand stays entitled to privacy.

Even when a person makes a request for an affordable accommodation or modification, the landlord is only entitled to understand that a special needs exists which the demand belongs to that impairment. The private making the demand is not required to share the nature and complete extent of the special needs.

Questions like "Can you walk at all?"; "How did you lose your leg?"; or "For how long have you needed to utilize that wheelchair?" are all illegal. A landlord can not talk with other renters in the building about your disability. Your special needs is no one's business but your own.