Do I have to pave driveway for disabled tenants?

[Admmiranda]

What is the name of your state? Washington


I have a property I rent out that has a gravel driveway. I was showing the house to potential renters. They like the house because it doesn’t have stairs and one of them was in a wheelchair. They however said I needed to have the gravel driveway paved over. They also did insinuate they would report (didn’t say to who) me if I refused.

I won’t be renting to this person either way since my sister needs help with housing. That’s said I just wanted to know in case this ever comes up in the future.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Washington


I have a property I rent out that has a gravel driveway. I was showing the house to potential renters. They like the house because it doesn’t have stairs and one of them was in a wheelchair. They however said I needed to have the gravel driveway paved over. They also did insinuate they would report (didn’t say to who) me if I refused.

I won’t be renting to this person either way since my sister needs help with housing. That’s said I just wanted to know in case this ever comes up in the future.

You would have to check with a local attorney, but I do not believe that you are required to make a rental property wheelchair accessible if it is not currently. You definitely cannot call it wheelchair accessible however. If someone asks, you have to specifically state that it is not wheelchair accessible.

 

[adjusterjack]

The law only requires a "reasonable accommodation" which is not one that results in an undue financial burden or significant alteration to your property.

Study up.

Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

housing reasonable accommodation at DuckDuckGo

housing reasonable accommodation washington state at DuckDuckGo

This could come up again and you'll want a proper response that includes a statutory citation.

 

[LdiJ]

The law only requires a "reasonable accommodation" which is not one that results in an undue financial burden or significant alteration to your property.

Study up.

Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

housing reasonable accommodation at DuckDuckGo

housing reasonable accommodation washington state at DuckDuckGo

This could come up again and you'll want a proper response that includes a statutory citation.

The first link does not apply here. To quote "Under the Fair Housing Act a reasonable accommodation is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service."

The OP is not talking about a rule, policy, practice or service. The OP is talking about an expensive physical modification to a property. So it would not fall under "reasonable accommodation". You might have been trying to indicate that, but it wasn't clear.

Many rental properties are not wheelchair accessible.

 

[adjusterjack]

The OP is not talking about a rule, policy, practice or service. The OP is talking about an expensive physical modification to a property. So it would not fall under "reasonable accommodation". You might have been trying to indicate that, but it wasn't clear.

Yes, that was my intent.

Removing gravel and paving a driveway is an expensive proposition and a significant alteration to property. Certainly not a "reasonable accommodation."

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Washington


I have a property I rent out that has a gravel driveway. I was showing the house to potential renters. They like the house because it doesn’t have stairs and one of them was in a wheelchair. They however said I needed to have the gravel driveway paved over. They also did insinuate they would report (didn’t say to who) me if I refused.

I won’t be renting to this person either way since my sister needs help with housing. That’s said I just wanted to know in case this ever comes up in the future.

Is this house your only rental property? Is it a single family rental?

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? Washington
That’s said I just wanted to know in case this ever comes up in the future.

Washington state law does not require you to pay for any alterations to the property for a disabled tenant. If the tenant asks for reasonable alterations to the property, will pay for it, and is willing to pay to return the property to its previous state upon leaving then generally you may not refuse the request. See Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 162-38-080. I suspect most tenants wouldn't want to pay to pave over a gravel driveway. The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) has a similar provision. See the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development page on federal housing laws. Note that the FHA distinguishes between a reasonable accomodation, which is a change in rules, practices and procedures that you use, and a reasonable modification, which refers to modifications to the structure itself. The former you may need to make at your cost (if any) unless it imposes an undue hardship on you. But the latter the disabled person must be willing to pay for the alteration to the property, much like Washington state law. If you receive federal housing funds to rent to low income persons, however, then you may indeed be on the hook to pay for the needed alterations. Before you rent again, see an attorney who practices in the area of landlord-tenant law to understand all of your rights and obligations as a landlord.

 

[quincy]

This ^^^ assumes that the rental property is not exempt under the law anyway. Admmiranda may not have to concern him/herself with any of this if the only rental property owned is a single property house and Admmiranda handles the rental of the house (and Admmiranda is not a broker).