What is a “fundamental alteration” of a housing provider’s operations with regard to Fair Housing Act reasonable accommodation requests?
A “fundamental alteration” is a modification that alters the essential nature of a housing provider’s operations.
Example: A tenant has a severe mobility impairment that substantially limits his ability to walk. He asks his housing provider to transport him to the grocery store and assist him with his grocery shopping as a reasonable accommodation to his disability. The provider does not provide any transportation or shopping services for its tenants, so granting this request would require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the provider’s operations. The request can be denied, but the provider should discuss with the requester whether there is any alternative accommodation that would effectively meet the requester’s disability-related needs without fundamentally altering the nature of its operations, such as reducing the tenant’s need to walk long distances by altering its parking policy to allow a volunteer from a local community service organization to park her car close to the tenant’s unit so she can transport the tenant to the grocery store and assist him with his shopping.
For more information about reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act, please see What is a “Reasonable Accommodation” for Purposes of the Fair Housing Act.
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