My First Experience with ADA

from Focus Magazine - March/April 2020

An Ounce of Prevention

It 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.

 By Angelique Madrigal

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. 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

didn’t get anywhere with the first or second call. However, on my third time reaching out, they listened and were agreeable to help us out in this circumstance. They agreed to replace the machines on the floor the disabled owner’s unit was located without extending the contract out longer. With this in motion, we then called out a general contractor, and he was able to propose two options to change the configuration on the doors to either fold accordion-style or pull open on a track that fed back into the laundry room itself instead of outward. The last issue the owner had was that there was no wheelchair access in the front of the building and the HOA didn’t have the funds to modify the existing format nor were they eager to because the association had been “grandfathered in.” The compromise that was met was to allow this owner to use a utility access door on the side of the building that was level to the exterior walkways. She was assigned a key and agreed that this was acceptable as she herself didn’t want to go through the expense of modifying the entry. One important step that laid the groundwork for a successful outcome was relaying the owner’s grievance and request for accommodation to the board of directors as soon as the owner submitted their grievance. This allowed us to quickly respond to the owner, acknowledging receipt and informing them that the Board would be providing a more thorough response within 10 days if not sooner. Sending out a timely response is vital because fosters a sense of empathy. In addition, it allows sufficient time to discuss options and seek legal guidance when necessary.

SIMPLE STEPS: ● Acknowledge and document receipt of ADA requests. ● Inform the board of directors and legal counsel as soon as possible. ● Itemize the requests and meet to discuss each one individually. ● Come up with a workable solution for all.

ADA compliance requirements for existing buildings may be different than for new buildings. Therefore, subjective decision making is needed. The ultimate goal is to accommodate owner’s ADA requests whenever possible and to protect the association simultaneously, even if both parties must compromise to achieve this. One thing is for certain— when you think outside the box a lot of surprisingly creative solutions can present themselves.

Angelique Madrigal is the Director of Business Development and Client Relations at Ross Morgan & Company, Inc., AAMC, a full-service management company serving communities throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. She can be reached at angelique@rossmorganco.com.