Parking Spaces / Handicap

Is this Condo or Fee simple townhomes? When you say that all homes have 2 parking spaces (are these assigned to the resident as part of a parking plan?). Usually when each resident has two assigned parking spaces assigned, they are usually proximate to the residence. Need more info here.

Ok maybe a little more info is needed. When I said everyone has 2 spaces I should have said they have 2 spaces that are assigned to their address (1 space if you have a garage)We also have visitor spaces. We will just exchange one of his assigned spaces with a visitor space. It will also be stipulated that in the event he moves the spaces would revert back to the original configuration. I know this all seems petty but if you ever served on a board which I am sure you all have you know what I mean. Thanks for all your input.

That is exactly what I wanted to do. The reason we were talking about marking it as a handicap space was to eliminate other residents requesting to move their spaces also. Thanks

Mike, how is this different from any HOA. Any HOA must provide reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities.

Andrew, by making it a designated disabled space you'll have other owners requesting the same. This way you can make it clear that this is an accommodation and others with similar condition may request the same.

Mike, Condos and HOA are treated exactly the same for the purposes of Fair Housing. In fact Fair Housing apples to ANY housing provider including apartments, condominiums, associations of single family homes, etc. Commercial spaces are different because they are not housing providers but public access spaces and they fall under ADA, not Fair Housing.

Andrew,

The attached document (link below) issued by The Department of Housing and Urban Development and titled, "Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act," should answer all your questions. The document includes several questions and answers, with examples, that describe most situations.

In particular:

Question 2, "What is a reasonable modification under the Fair Housing Act?" states, in part, "Reasonable modifications can include structural changes to interiors and exteriors of dwellings and to common and public use areas."

Question 8,"Who must comply with the Fair Housing Act’s reasonable modification requirements?" states, in part, "Courts have applied the Act to individuals, corporations, associations and others involved in the provision of housing and residential lending, including property owners, housing managers, homeowners and condominium associations, lenders, real estate agents, and brokerage services."

Question 11 appears to apply to your question in particular:

"Is a request for a parking space because of a physical disability a reasonable accommodation or a reasonable modification?"

"Courts have treated requests for parking spaces as requests for a reasonable accommodation and have placed the responsibility for providing the parking space on the housing provider, even if provision of an accessible or assigned parking space results in some cost to the provider. For example, courts have required a housing provider to provide an assigned space even though the housing provider had a policy of not assigning parking spaces or had a waiting list for available parking. However, housing providers may not require persons with disabilities to pay extra fees as a condition of receiving accessible parking spaces."

"Providing a parking accommodation could include creating signage, repainting markings, redistributing spaces, or creating curb cuts. This list is not exhaustive."

However, I would say the individual should be allowed only one such space, and, if each unit has two assigned spaces, that individual would not be permitted two assigned spaces plus the handicapped accessible space. In other words, the individual would have to lose one of the two presently assigned spaces. Also, I don't believe there would be any requirement that the handicap space and the other assigned space be adjacent to each other, unless you choose to do so as a courtesy.

I would advise marking the space as a handicap space so that it is known that the space was created for a specific purpose and not merely to accommodate a request just to relocate an assigned parking space. You should also assign it to the unit so that handicapped visitors don't attempt to use the space.

"involved in the provision of housing and residential lending".