A request for an accessible parking space, an assistance animal, or bathroom grab bars can trigger important legal responsibilities. Housing providers need to recognize and respond appropriately to these requests. This resource explains how the Fair Housing Act applies to reasonable accommodations and modifications in housing. It also explains when the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to housing-related offices and facilities open to the public
andresr / E+ / Getty Images
andresr / E+ / Getty Images
Disability Access in Housing
Key Takeaways
Do
✓ Recognize and respond promptly to requests, even if they don’t use legal terms or a form.
✓ Ask only for information needed to evaluate the request.
✓ Approve a request when the person has a disability-related need for the accommodation or modification and no exception applies.
Don’t
✗ Require a diagnosis, medical records, or unnecessary information.
✗ End the discussion just because the request cannot be approved exactly as submitted; explain the concern and consider another effective option.
✗ Treat an assistance animal as a pet or charge a pet fee without evaluating any requested fee waiver under applicable law.
Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications
Evaluating a Request: A Five-Step Process
Recognize and respond promptly to the request.
A request may come from the person with a disability or someone acting on their behalf. It may be made at any time, to any employee or representative, without special words, a form, or a written submission.
Start with what is already known.
If the disability and the disability-related reason for the accommodation or modification are apparent or already known, do not ask for confirmation or documentation. Move directly to evaluating the request.
Ask only for missing information.
If something necessary to evaluate the request is unclear, explain what information is needed and give the requestor a reasonable opportunity to respond.
Evaluate whether the information supports the request.
Determine whether the available information shows that the accommodation or modification is needed because of the person’s disability. If no exception described below applies, approve the request.
Consider another effective option if needed.
If an exception prevents approval as requested, work with the requestor to identify another effective accommodation or modification before making a final decision. Document the decision and the reasons.
✓ No exception applies: APPROVE
Exception applies: go to Step 5 →
Requesting Documentation
When to ask
Ask for documentation only when the disability or need for the request is not obvious, known, or otherwise clear. Documentation should establish the disability-related need for the accommodation or modification.
Reliable sources
Health care professional • Social worker • Social service agency • Government disability determination • Proof of disability benefits
The source must be in a position to know about the disability-related need.
Address specific concerns
If documentation is vague, inconsistent, unrelated to the request, or from a source not in a position to know, explain what remains unclear. Allow the requestor to provide additional reliable information. Limit the request Do not ask for medical records, a specific diagnosis, or more information than needed.
When an Exception May Apply
When a disability-related need exists, a provider may still need to consider whether one of the exceptions below applies. The assessment should be based on the particular facts, not assumptions or stereotypes. If an exception applies, consider whether another accommodation or modification would meet the disability-related need.
Assistance Animals, Service Animals, and Emotional Support Animals
Applying the Five-Step Process to Animal Requests
Fees, Deposits, and Pet Rent
CAUTION
Evaluate the requested waiver under applicable law.
Federal courts and state or local laws may apply different standards to assistance animal-related fees and waivers. Consult counsel before charging an animal fee, deposit, or rent, or denying a requested fee waiver.
PERMITTED
Charge for actual damage consistently.
Providers may charge for damage caused by an animal if they charge other residents for comparable damage.
Shift in HUD’s Enforcement Posture on Emotional Support Animals
BEFORE
Previous approach
HUD previously treated emotional support animals as assistance animals that could qualify for reasonable accommodations in housing.
MAY 2026
HUD’s 2026 enforcement shift
In May 2026, HUD announced that it would no longer pursue Fair Housing Act complaints involving animals that provide only emotional support. HUD will pursue animal-related complaints only when the animal is a trained service animal under the ADA standard.
WHAT IT MEANS
Legal effect
The announcement directs HUD’s enforcement priorities; it does not settle how courts will interpret the Fair Housing Act. State and local agencies, private litigants, and state or local laws may continue to protect emotional support animals.
WHAT TO DO
Check applicable law
Housing providers should review federal, state, and local requirements and seek legal advice before concluding that an emotional-support-animal request cannot be approved or changing an assistance-animal policy.
The ADA and Housing-Related Operations ADA Coverage for Brokerage and Other Housing Operations
GENERALLY COVERED
Public-facing operations. Title III of the ADA generally applies to housing-related operations that serve clients, customers, or the public. Examples include brokerage, leasing, sales, and property-management offices. Covered areas may include public-facing entrances, routes, meeting spaces, parking, and restrooms.
At residential properties: A clubhouse, event space, retail business, or other facility open or offered to the public.
NOT A PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION
Residential properties. Resident-only dwellings and amenities are not places of public accommodation because only residents and their guests use them.