Assigning a Parking Space Can Be Considered a Reasonable Accommodation under the Fair Housing Act

If someone disabled asks a housing provider to create or designate a parking space for them, generally the law is going to require the housing provider to create or designate the space if three conditions are met: (1) the resident must ask for a designated space; (2) creating or designating the parking space would allow the disabled resident to live in and fully enjoy the premises; and (3) creating or designating the parking space would not create an undue financial or administrative burden for the housing provider.

In processing a parking space request from someone who is disabled, the housing provider is entitled to ask for medical evidence that proves the resident has a disability. This does not give a housing provider the right to ask about the nature of the resident’s disability, but it does give them the right to ask for proof of their disability. Acceptable proof would be handicapped vehicle identification plates or tags or a letter from the resident’s doctor, chiropractor or social worker. Once the resident provides proof, the housing provider has a duty to provide the parking space. And if more than one disabled resident asks for a parking space, the housing provider will have a duty to accommodate each request.

Here is an example. Oakwood Estates is a 300 unit apartment complex with 450 parking spaces, which are available to tenants and guests of Oakwood Estates on a “first come first served” basis (the complex does not provide assigned/reserved parking spaces). John Smith applies for housing in Oakwood Estates. Mr. Smith is mobility impaired and is unable to walk more than a short distance and therefore requests that a parking space near his unit be reserved for him so that he will not have to walk very far to get to his apartment. It is a violation of the law for the owner or manager of Oakwood Estates to refuse to make this accommodation. Without a reserved space, Mr. Smith might be unable to live in Oakwood Estates at all or, when he has to park in a space far from his unit, might have great difficulty getting from his car to his apartment unit. The accommodation therefore is necessary to afford Mr. Smith an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling. The accommodation is feasible and practical under the circumstances, and it would be a required "reasonable accommodation" under the Fair Housing Act.

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