Understanding Reasonable Accommodation vs. Reasonable Modification

The Fair Housing Act requires that all rental property owners provide their residents with equal opportunities to rent and enjoy their home. This means you have to provide accommodations and modifications for any residents or applicants who have disabilities. 

What does this mean?

We’re talking today about your legal responsibilities as a landlord and rental property owner, and how we can help you stay compliant with all fair housing laws as a professional Sacramento property management company.

Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodations

An accommodation is a change in the rules, policies, practices, or services that are offered to help a resident with a disability fully enjoy and use their home. A disability, remember, can be physical, mental, emotional, or intellectual. An example of an accommodation would be providing a parking space close to the door if a resident lives in a condo complex. When you’re renting out a home to a resident who has a physical disability, an accessible parking space closer to their home will be an accommodation that you make as a landlord. 

Another example of an accommodation is a service animal or a companion animal. If you have a policy of not allowing pets into your rental home but a qualified resident has a Seeing Eye dog or an emotional support animal, you’ll need to make that accommodation and permit the animal in the house. It’s not a pet; it’s an accommodation. 

As a Sacramento property management company, we have found ourselves accommodating a resident with a disability by changing the way we communicate. Residents who have visual or hearing impairments might need an alternate way to communicate when rent is due or they have questions about the terms of their lease. We have to make sure those residents get all the necessary information. This is an accommodation they need, and you have to be prepared to meet it. 

Fair Housing and Reasonable Modifications

Modifications would be when you modify the property for a resident with a disability. You may have to change the structure of the home. For example, you may need to install ramps outside or grab bars in the bathroom. Perhaps you’ll need to lower the entrance threshold for someone who uses a wheelchair. 

The residents are responsible for paying to modify the home. You can share the expense as a property owner, especially if you want to keep that modification in place. But, it’s not legally required. Ultimately, it’s the resident’s financial responsibility when modifications need to be made. Your responsibility as the property owner is in permitting the modification and doing whatever you can to reasonably facilitate that process.

Hopefully, this helps you to understand the difference between a modification and an accommodation when it comes to renting out your Sacramento rental home. Keep in mind that if you rent to a resident with a disability, you need to do these things for fair housing purposes. 

Please contact us at Sacramento Delta Property Management if you have any questions about modifications and accommodations. We’d love to tell you more and be of any assistance.