Reasonable Accommodation

Question No. 1. Our community recently had a rule that permitted street parking from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM). The rule was changed and now prohibits any street parking at any time. The reason for the new rule was due to the narrowness of the streets which prevented emergency vehicles clear access. The rule change passed with no objections. Since the adoption of the new rule we have had a handful of residents and their guests who refuse to follow the new policy and a few residents who have hinted that they need a reasonable accommodation.

The first reasonable accommodation request is from a resident who says it "inconvenient" for herself and her caretaker(s) to shuffle cars in the driveway. The driveway accommodates two vehicles. The resident has one car and the caretakers and they must park end-to-end. Since the caretakers alternate shifts, there are only two vehicles in the driveway at the same time.

One caretakers seems to abide by the rules but the other will not. The caretaker who refuses to follow the rule says she is handicapped and has a handicap parking permit. She says we must allow her to park on the street. Are we required to provide on-street parking spot for a nonresident, handicapped or not? If there are two spots available in the resident's driveway can they refuse to park in the driveway just because they don't want to move vehicles and say that's a reasonable accommodation?

Question No. 2. The other potential request for an accommodation is from a resident who only has room for one vehicle in her driveway because she installed a handicap ramp that took away her second parking spot. The resident parks in the driveway and the caretaker parks on the street in front of the house because it is more "convenient" than using the guest parking which is a little walk away.

If this resident requests a reasonable accommodation for her caretaker or herself to park on the street do we have to designate another street parking spot?

It seems like both these requests are for the benefit of the caretakers not the residents. Do we have to accommodate the non-resident caretakers, handicapped or not, because it's requested?

Question: We have an RV park with quite a few long-term tenants. Our problem tenant ("Kris") has been here for for what seems like ages. This time every year around the holidays, Kris has a whole group of elves stay with him for a couple of months and they never register as guests. He claims he needs a "reasonable accommodation" for them because he has a bad back and they help him do a lot of lifting. He also brings in a herd of reindeer (Kris doesn't have a pet agreement), and he parks a red sleigh on the street (where parking isn't allowed). What can we do?

Question: Our RV park allows pets, but we have a specific rule that prohibits dangerous breeds, including pit bulls. One of our tenants just brought us a doctor's note saying that she needs her pit bull as an "emotional support" animal. Do we have to let her keep a pit bull in the park?

On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (the “1991 Regulations") were shortly thereafter developed to guide new construction and alterations undertaken by covered entities and established the minimum requirements for "accessibility" for disabled persons in buildings and facilities and in transportation vehicles. After more than twenty years, the Department of Justice implemented new regulations, which became mandatory in 2012 (the “2012 Regulations.”) Your state may have passed parallel laws, which could increase the protection of individuals with disabilities, e.g., the Unruh Act in California. However, this article focuses on Federal ADA compliance. Keep in mind that the ADA is a civil rights law, which addresses a number of subjects, but this article focuses on ac- cessibility (no longer called “handicap”) issues only.

A well management community is essential to making life easier and more pleasant for management and residents. Here are 10 mistakes to avoid in the management of your community. Remember - a well managed community - good property management - results in happier residents, pride in the community, encourages resident referrals and discourages the need or desire for additional landlord-tenant legislation.

So - here are ten mistakes to avoid: