THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610170244
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: COMMON GROUND
SOURCE: G. ROBERT KIRKLAND and MICHAEL INMAN
LENGTH: 68 lines
Q. I am on the board of directors of a small condo complex. One of our owner's mother has moved in with her and her mother is handicapped. This owner has asked the board to designate a handicapped parking space for her mother's car.
They have a very extensive rule on vehicle parking but it does not anticipate this situation. What are our obligations to providing a parking space for this new resident?
A. The short answer is you will have to make reasonable modifications to your rules regarding parking in order to accommodate this handicapped person.
You are required to do so by the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988. This law created significant new rights for handicapped persons with respect to access to housing.
We have spoken in earlier columns concerning the right for a handicapped person to acquire an exterior modification of a unit in order to gain access to it.
This situation falls in the same category; however, it is easier to address this particular person's situation since she is apparently not in need of a wheel chair ramp.
One might question the fact that she is not an owner but rather a guest of an owner. But as long as a person is a resident, meaning that she lives in the unit on more than a temporary, part-time basis, then she is entitled to accommodation because of her handicap.
The next part of the analysis is to what extent do your rules need to be changed in order to accommodate her particular needs? If this resident has a severe disability that affects her ability to walk any significant distance, then she must be provided a parking space adjacent to and/or as close to the unit as possible.
If the unit owner has already been assigned one parking space immediately adjacent to the unit, then there would be no need to make any adjustment in your parking plans.
If the unit owner has not been assigned a space immediately adjacent to the unit or there is simply open parking for residents on a first come, first served basis, then this handicapped resident would be entitled to an assigned space, and it would probably help to have a handicapped sign at the space to make others aware of the designation.
Of course, at such time as the handicapped resident moves out of the complex, then the space should be returned to its prior condition. As with the exterior modifications, the cost of the modifications is to be borne by the unit owner requiring them.
The stated requirement and philosophy of the Fair Housing Act is to accord ``full enjoyment of the premises'' to all residents. We should all want to make special provisions for handicapped persons in any event, but now the law requires it and it is enforced by the Virginia Department of Housing in Richmond.
Violations are subject to severe penalties. If your association is currently undergoing a document revision, this would be a good time to review the issues and make the changes necessary to accommodate handicapped individuals.
This is certainly a developing area of the law and we will continue to write on this subject as new issues and answers present themselves. MEMO: G. Robert Kirkland, president of a Virginia Beach property
management consulting firm, and attorney Michael A. Inman specialize in
Virginia community association issues and are affiliated with the
Southeastern Virginia chapter of the Community Associations Institute.
Send comments and questions to them at 2622 Southern Blvd., Virginia
Beach, Va. 23452. To submit questions by phone, call 486-7265; by fax:
431-0410; by E-mail, grkirkland(AT)aol.com by CNB