Landlord will NOT let me view new handicapped shower to possibly be installed.

[dewcansam]

What is the name of your state? Florida

This is going to be tough to explain, but here goes. Due to an accident in 1994 I have what amounts to a 'dead' leg. I have NO control in it, from the knee down. I have to wear a AFO leg brace just to walk. I also have to wear a foot drop splint to sleep in. I have major trouble in a standard bathtub. I have fallen 3 times in the bathtub at this apartment. When I first moved in I was denied having a handicapped shower stall put in. As I placed my leg injury on my move in application and requested having a non-slip shower stall installed. Finally after a third request was placed and I had incurred an injury from my last fall in the tub (the second request mysteriously just disappeared). A request for a handicapped shower stall was approved. That was 9 months ago. However they blame the slow reaction time to the property plumber passing away. Fine.
So, finally they got a plumber to come into my apartment and decide what they were going to do. Even that was 3 months ago already. Thank god I was with them when the plumber stated that they would "just tile the floor" !!! Excuse me! You can't tile the shower floor and expect me to be able to stand up! I stated that I NEEDED a non-slip handicapped accessible shower stall. So the property manager and the plumber just left.
Last month I went in to check on the status of getting a "non-slip handicapped accessible shower stall".
The property manager replied with "they found something to suit" and that the bid was in the approval process.
I asked "Is it a non-slip handicapped accessible shower stall ?"
She replied "I can't tell you".
Huh. I then asked "Well can I see what they are going to install and what the `bid` is for." (for some reason I am using the wrong word here and can't think of the right one.)
She replied "No, and you will just have to deal with what ever they plan on installing."
Now wait up, these are the idiots that were going to "just tile the floor". How can I be sure that they are not going to screw this up?

So, my questions are these:
1) Do I have a right to see what they are going to install before they install it ? or do I "just have to deal with it" ?
2) Can I dictate what type of 'non-slip handicapped accessible shower stall' that is to be installed ? ( I don't want a cadillac but I surely can not have "just tile the floor")

 

[quincy]

You do not own the property - you are a tenant - so you cannot make decisions for the property owner.

 

[dewcansam]

Apparently I am not making myself clear enough. I know that I can not make decisions for the LL. What the issue is, is that there are thousands of options for shower stalls. However I am only asking for REASONABLE accommodations for my needs. There several items that they can install that I will not be able to use. If they install one of these items, such as a shower pan, I will NOT be able to use the shower. I am trying to save the LL money, because if the plumber installs something I can NOT use, they will have to rip it out.

 

[reenzz]

Since you are responsible for the costs of the new shower, simply ask if you can pick the design yourself.

 

[quincy]

Apparently I am not making myself clear enough. I know that I can not make decisions for the LL. What the issue is, is that there are thousands of options for shower stalls. However I am only asking for REASONABLE accommodations for my needs. There several items that they can install that I will not be able to use. If they install one of these items, such as a shower pan, I will NOT be able to use the shower. I am trying to save the LL money, because if the plumber installs something I can NOT use, they will have to rip it out.

You can discuss your specific needs with the landlord/property owner and let him know you are trying to prevent the installation of a stall that might need to be replaced as inadequate, but you cannot force him to buy and install the shower stall that you want/need.

With the mold issue and the water on the floor and this shower stall, the landlord is probably looking at having to spend a lot of money to accommodate your needs. A landlord does not have to make accommodations that place an unreasonable financial burden on him.

If repairs and replacements are not satisfactory, I suggest you speak to a landlord/tenant lawyer to see where you stand legally.

 

[xylene]

I'm amazed the landlord is doing anything other than suggesting you buy a shower chair.

 

[Just Blue]

Since you are responsible for the costs of the new shower, simply ask if you can pick the design yourself.

reenzz...Where did you read that OP was buying the stall? My understanding from his/her posts is the LL was paying the cost.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I'm amazed the landlord is doing anything other than suggesting you buy a shower chair.

And a tub mat.

I could see installing a safety grab bar or 2.

 

[quincy]

It appears to me that the landlord is going above and beyond to satisfy this tenant. I imagine the landlord is trying to prevent a lawsuit of some sort in the short term - and not renew of the lease of this tenant in the long term.

 

[Just Blue]

It appears to me that the landlord is going above and beyond to satisfy this tenant. I imagine the landlord is trying to prevent a lawsuit of some sort in the short term - and not renew of the lease of this tenant in the long term.

I agree. OP has a unrealistic expectation to what a LL is legally obligated to do.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I agree. OP has a unrealistic expectation to what a LL is legally obligated to do.

I have come to that conclusion as well, having seen OP's other thread and "likes".

Apparently, OP is under the misimpression that LLs are obligated to wait on tenants hand and foot, cheerfully tolerating tenants who are slobs, leave windows open in the dead of winter, etc.

 

[Stephen1]

I'm seeing this from a slightly different perspective. I agree that the LL doesn't have to incur any great financial burden to meet the reasonable accommodation request (we don't know the size of the LL so we don't know whether a new shower stall would be a financial burden). But what I'm hearing is that the tenant requested a reasonable accommodation, the LL agreed to an accommodation (perhaps even to the requested accommodation), and now things seem to be stalled. That is, the LL is saying all the right things but seems to be dragging his feet. To me that is not being in compliance with the Fair Housing Act.
OP needs to consult with either a disabilities lawyer or perhaps the state agency that enforces these things.

 

[DeenaCA]

If this is federally-assisted housing, then the housing provider is required to pay the costs for "reasonable" modifications. Otherwise the housing provider must permit reasonable disability-related modifications at the tenant's expense.

For more information see the HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications. Excerpt from Q&A #31:

Are the rules the same if a person with a disability lives in housing that receives federal financial assistance and the needed structural changes to the unit or common area are the result of the tenant having a disability?
Housing that receives federal financial assistance is covered by both the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under regulations implementing Section 504, structural changes needed by an applicant or resident with a disability in housing receiving federal financial assistance are considered reasonable accommodations. They must be paid for by the housing provider unless providing them would be an undue financial and administrative burden or a fundamental alteration of the program or unless the housing provider can accommodate the individual’s needs through other means. Housing that receives federal financial assistance and that is provided by state or local entities may also be covered by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Example 1: A tenant who uses a wheelchair and who lives in privately owned housing needs a roll-in shower in order to bathe independently. Under the Fair Housing Act the tenant would be responsible for the costs of installing the roll-in shower as a reasonable modification to his unit.
Example 2: A tenant who uses a wheelchair and who lives in housing that receives federal financial assistance needs a roll-in shower in order to bathe independently. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the housing provider would be obligated to pay for and install the roll-in shower as a reasonable accommodation to the tenant unless doing so was an undue financial and administrative burden or unless the housing provider could meet the tenant’s disability-related needs by transferring the tenant to another appropriate unit that contains a roll-in shower.

 

[Zigner]

I'm seeing this from a slightly different perspective. I agree that the LL doesn't have to incur any great financial burden to meet the reasonable accommodation request (we don't know the size of the LL so we don't know whether a new shower stall would be a financial burden). But what I'm hearing is that the tenant requested a reasonable accommodation, the LL agreed to an accommodation (perhaps even to the requested accommodation), and now things seem to be stalled. That is, the LL is saying all the right things but seems to be dragging his feet. To me that is not being in compliance with the Fair Housing Act.
OP needs to consult with either a disabilities lawyer or perhaps the state agency that enforces these things.

The OP is not concerned with the timeline - the OP is concerned that s/he doesn't get to pick it.

 

[xylene]

OP needs to consult with either a disabilities lawyer or perhaps the state agency that enforces these things.

I do agree that the OP's best course of action is to involve a lawyer. The landlord's passive/aggro conduct troubles me more than if they had just said "buy a shower seat"