Ask for a reasonable accommodation in housing: sample letter

A reasonable accommodation in housing is a change to a rule, policy or service that a person with a disability needs to use their home fully. Examples are an assigned parking space near your entrance or a live-in aide. To get one, send your landlord or housing office a short letter that names the change and how it relates to your disability.

What is a reasonable accommodation?

A reasonable accommodation is an exception or change to a rule, policy, practice or service. It lets a person with a disability use a home as fully as anyone else. That is how HUD, the federal housing department, and the Justice Department define it in their joint statement of May 17, 2004. The Fair Housing Act, the federal law against housing discrimination, requires most landlords to make one, and so does HUD's own rule.

The joint statement gives these examples, where the landlord or housing office must make an exception:

• A building gives out parking spaces first come, first served. A tenant who can't walk far asks for an assigned space near her entrance.
• A rule says rent is paid in person at the office. A tenant whose disability keeps her at home asks to mail it instead.
• A building allows no pets. A deaf tenant asks to keep a dog that alerts him to sounds.

In each one, the change is linked to the disability. Your request needs that link too.

Who has to provide one?

Most landlords must provide one. HUD and the Justice Department say the Fair Housing Act covers private housing and public housing, apartments where the housing office is your landlord. It also covers homes rented with a Section 8 voucher, which means the housing office pays part of your rent. There are narrow exceptions, such as a building with four or fewer apartments where the owner lives.

Housing offices and other landlords that get federal money must also follow Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. That is a federal law against disability discrimination in programs paid for with federal money. Under it, a housing office must make its programs usable by people with disabilities, and it can owe you more than the Fair Housing Act requires. For example, it usually has to pay for a physical change to your home, such as a ramp, which a private landlord usually doesn't, says HUD's voucher guidebook.

How do you ask?

1. Decide what you need. Name the exact change: a parking space, a live-in aide, a bigger home or more time to find an apartment with your voucher.
2. Say how it relates to your disability. One or two sentences are enough. You don't need to name your diagnosis.
3. Put it in writing, even if you also ask out loud. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.
4. Send it to whoever manages your home: the landlord, the property manager or the housing office.
5. Add proof only if they ask, and only what they need (see below).
6. Follow up if you hear nothing.

A family member or someone else can ask for you. You don't have to use the landlord's form, and it can't refuse you because you didn't.

What should the letter say?

Fill in the brackets and keep it short.

[Your name]
[Your address and apartment number]
[Phone and email]
[Date]

To: [Landlord, property manager or housing office name and address]

Re: Request for reasonable accommodation

Dear [name],

I am requesting a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act. If you receive federal funds, I also ask under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

[I / a member of my household, name] has a disability that limits [a daily activity, for example walking, seeing, or leaving the home].

I am asking for: [the exact change, for example "an assigned parking space near my entrance," or "approval of a live-in aide and a voucher size that includes a room for the aide"].

This is needed because [one or two sentences linking the change to the disability]. Without it, [what is hard or impossible].

[A letter from my doctor or other reliable professional is attached. / I can provide a letter if you need one.]

Please reply in writing by [a date, for example two weeks from today]. If you can't grant this exact request, please contact me so we can talk about other options.

Sincerely,
[Name]

Naming the laws tells the reader this is a legal request, but you can leave them out. HUD says the request still counts without them.

What can the landlord ask for?

Less than many people expect. HUD and the Justice Department say:

• If your disability and your need are both obvious, the landlord may not ask for more information.
• If the disability isn't obvious, it may ask for reliable information that you have a disability and how the change you want relates to it.
• Proof can often come from you, such as your own credible statement or proof that you get disability benefits. A doctor, social worker, peer support group or other reliable person can also vouch for you.
• Medical records or details about your condition usually aren't needed.
• What you share stays private. The landlord must keep it confidential.
• No fees. The landlord can't charge a fee or an extra deposit for an accommodation.

A landlord can say no in only three cases:

• there is no disability-related need for the change;
• the change would cost too much or be too hard to carry out;
• it would change the basic way the landlord runs its housing.

If it says no, HUD says it should talk with you about another change that would work. You don't have to accept one that doesn't meet your needs if your original request was reasonable.

What do people ask a housing office for?

Three requests come up often with Section 8 and public housing. The rules below are federal; your housing office's written policy fills in the details, so ask for it.

A live-in aide. A voucher household with a person with a disability may ask the housing office to approve a live-in aide. The office must say yes if the aide is needed because of the disability. A live-in aide is someone who lives with you to give care that is essential to your well-being, who isn't paying your bills and wouldn't live there otherwise. The office can turn down a particular person, for example for fraud, drug-related or violent crime, or owing money to a housing office.

A bigger home. The housing office decides how many bedrooms your voucher covers, and a live-in aide counts toward it. HUD's guidebook gives an extra bedroom for an aide or for medical equipment as an example of a reasonable accommodation. Say in your letter which of these you need the room for.

A move to another apartment. HUD's guidebook says a housing office's plan should explain how it handles a request to move because of a disability, and some may count as emergency moves. Ask your housing office for its process, and say in your letter why your current home doesn't work because of your disability.

You can make as many requests as you need, and an office can't deny one because you made earlier ones, the guidebook says.

What if you get a no, or no answer?

Ask for the reason in writing, and offer to talk about other options. HUD describes that back-and-forth as the usual way to reach a solution. A very long delay can count as a no.

A housing office with more than 50 employees must have a complaint process for people turned down for an accommodation, says HUD's voucher guidebook. Ask it how to start one.

You can also report the denial to HUD online or by calling 1-800-669-9777. Do it within one year of the denial. HUD investigates for free and may pass your complaint to a state or local fair housing agency it works with, says its page on how complaints are handled. You can also sue in court within two years.

Who can help with your request?

For free legal help, find a legal aid office near you through the Legal Services Corporation. Our guide to housing for people with disabilities covers accessible apartments and programs only for people with disabilities, and our guide to what Section 8 is explains how vouchers work. To see which open listings fit your household, use our qualify check, or check our waitlists page for housing office lists taking names today.