Reasonable modifications

A modification changes the building, not the rule

This lesson covers structural changes. A separate lesson covers reasonable accommodations, changes to a rule or policy instead of the physical space. The two get confused constantly, and a board that treats a modification request as if it were a policy request (or vice versa) usually gets the answer wrong.

"A structural change made to existing premises... in order to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises."

Source: Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act, HUD and U.S. Department of Justice

Ramps, grab bars, widened doorways, and lowered countertops are the examples the guidance itself repeats. Refusing to permit a needed modification sits in the same part of the Fair Housing Act as refusing to rent or sell to someone, it is not treated as a smaller problem.

Who pays

In the ordinary HOA situation, with no federal financial assistance involved, the resident pays for the modification. The association's obligation is to permit it, not to fund it. That is the single biggest difference from a reasonable accommodation, where the association absorbs the cost of the policy change itself.

Local building permits, code compliance, and whether your architectural review process applies to a modification like this vary by state and municipality. Confirm with your CC&Rs and local building department before treating a request as purely a fair housing question.

Common areas: the resident builds it, the association keeps it

A modification is not limited to inside the unit. A ramp to a clubhouse entrance or a widened sidewalk are common examples. Here is the part boards miss: if the association already maintains the area where the modification sits, it must keep maintaining the modified feature once it is installed, even though the resident paid to put it there.

Paying to install something does not make it the resident's ongoing responsibility if it sits on ground the association already maintains.

What has to come out when the resident moves

Very little, and only inside the unit. An interior modification may need to be restored, grab bars removed, a doorway returned to its original width, but only where it is reasonable to require that.

"Where it is reasonable to do so."

Source: Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act, HUD and U.S. Department of Justice

Exterior and common area modifications generally do not have to be undone at all when the resident leaves. The ramp to the clubhouse stays.