Accessible parking

HUD wrote the parking example into the rule itself

The Fair Housing Act protects seven classes, including what the statute calls handicap: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one. Refusing to change a rule for a resident who qualifies is discrimination in itself, not a lesser issue.

"It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a handicapped person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit."

Source: Fair Housing regulations, 24 CFR Part 100, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD's own regulation gives two examples of what this looks like in practice. One is a no-pets policy that cannot exclude a resident's guide dog. The other is a first-come, first-served parking lot, where a board may have to carve out an exception for a resident who needs a space close to their door. A board that says "the rule is the same for everyone" is describing the exact situation the regulation was written to override.

What you can ask for, charge, and how fast you have to move

A request doesn't have to use the words "reasonable accommodation." If a resident, a family member, or their doctor tells the board a parking assignment isn't working because of a disability, that's a request. If the disability and the need for that specific space aren't already obvious, the board can ask for information that confirms the disability, describes what's needed, and connects the two. Complete medical records, a diagnosis, or a second doctor's opinion are not on that list.

No fee, deposit, or added charge may be attached to granting the accommodation, even if granting it means restriping a space or moving someone else's assignment.

A board also can't sit on the request. An unreasonably slow response can itself count as a denial. If the request as made doesn't work, say, the exact space is already assigned, the board should talk with the resident about an alternative rather than just saying no. Even then, the resident, not the board, has the final say on whether an alternative actually meets their need.

The only safety-based denial is narrow: an individualized, evidence-based risk to health or safety that a reasonable accommodation cannot fix. A general worry isn't enough, and neither is cost alone; cost has to be weighed against the accommodation's benefit and any cheaper alternative.

Built-in accessible spaces are a different question

Everything above is about accommodating one resident's request. Separately, federal design-and-construction rules require some HOA buildings, ones with an elevator and four or more units, or without an elevator where the units in question are on the ground floor, first occupied after March 13, 1991, to have been built accessible from the start. Detached single-family communities and smaller or older buildings usually fall outside that specific requirement.

Whether federal or state design law requires anything of your specific lot or garage, van-accessible dimensions, signage, the number of spaces, isn't settled by this lesson; check with an accessibility consultant or your association's counsel. Either way, the reasonable-accommodation duty from Section 2 applies to your existing parking regardless of when it was built or paved.