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t was in my second year as a community manager when I received the first letter from an owner requesting special accommodations for a disability. I still remember my initial feelings of intimidation, as I didn’t have experience handling such a matter. My first thought was to forward the letter directly to the Board, knowing they would instruct me to then usher it on to legal counsel. However, I opted to seek advice internally first. I asked what I thought was a simple question only to find that ADA was much more involved than I was equipped for at the time. I was able to navigate through a majority of the back-and-forth, but ultimately legal guidance was engaged and, after several months of discussions, the owner was accommodated and the HOA went about their regular business.
Community managers are facing ADA issues more and more frequently in our industry. It’s important to remember that when it comes to questions pertaining to ADA, associations have no clear answers because there are many variables and it is rarely black-and-white. I attribute the successful resolution of that matter to the fact that I was honest with myself about what I knew and what was an area of growth for me. Laying out steps to take to facilitate proper handling can ease anxiety and ensure success. In general an HOA doesn’t have to update its handicap accessibility until it remodels something else in the development, which would trigger having to update handicap accommodations. That said, if someone is handicapped, the HOA has a duty to provide a “reasonable accommodation” if one is available. What is considered “reasonable” will depend on the options, how expensive they are, practicality, etc. Installing a ramp might be considered a “modification” more than an “accommodation,” and they are different. Under the Disabilities Act, the HOA can be found to be discriminating if it doesn’t permit, “at the expense of the handicapped person, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises.” (42 U.S.C. §3604(f)(3)(A).) This means that the HOA might need to allow a ramp or make changes to the premises at the handicapped person’s expense.
By Angelique Madrigal
When an accommodation is requested, an itemized list should be prepared and options should be explored for each accommodation individually and not as a whole. Breaking it down will enable you and your board to focus on possible solutions or a possible compromise. Sometimes the accommodations are much easier to make than meets the eye. One example of an HOA finding a simple and low-cost solution was one that had laundry rooms on each floor. The hallways were on the narrow side, and the laundry rooms had two doors that opened outward to access the machines. The machines were top loaders and the owner could not easily operate and load them from a wheelchair. I worked with the supervisor at the laundry service company under contract with the HOA and explained that the Association’s needs had changed. In truth I
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www.cai-glac.org | March/April 2020
CAI-Greater Los Angeles Chapter
