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Resident Discrimination Concerns
Principles Regarding Discrimination:
·
When a family member
requires an accessible feature(s), policy modification, or other
reasonable accommodation to accommodate a disability, the owner
must provide the requested accommodation unless doing so would
result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program
or an undue financial and administrative burden. A fundamental
alteration is a modification that is so significant that it
alters the essential nature of the provider’s operations.
·
If providing such
accommodation(s) would result in an undue financial and
administrative burden, the owner must take any other action that
would not result in an undue burden. See Section 2-46 B.
·
If a provider
refuses a requested accommodation because it is not reasonable,
the provider should engage in an interactive dialogue with the
requester to determine if there is an alternative accommodation
that would adequately address the requester’s disability-related
needs. If an alternative accommodation would meet the
individual’s needs and is reasonable, the provider must grant
it.
·
Under both Section
504 and the Fair Housing Act, a tenant or applicant for housing
makes a reasonable accommodation request whenever he or she
makes it clear to the housing provider that a request is being
made for an exception, change, or adjustment to a rule, policy,
practice, service, or physical structure because of his or her
disability. A request can be made by the person with the
disability, a family member, or someone else acting on the
individual’s behalf.
·
Although a request
can be made orally or in writing, it is usually helpful for both
the individual with the disability and the housing provider if
the request is written. If the individual with a disability
requires assistance in providing a written reasonable
accommodation request, the housing provider should assist the
individual with a disability with this request.
·
Providers have an
obligation to provide prompt responses to reasonable
accommodation requests.
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