Transcript Housing Self-Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Housing Self-Advocacy for
People with Disabilities
Disability and Employment Rights
Advocacy
Spring 2008
What is involved in self-advocacy?
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Learning your rights
Keeping a “case file” on yourself
Choosing your battles
Documenting your “business” relationships
Asserting your rights
Enlisting help with you need it
Self-Advocacy in Housing
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Finding housing
Having a good Landlord/Tenant relationship
Getting what you need from your housing
Leaving on good terms
Asserting your rights throughout the housing
relationship
Housing Options
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Emergency
Renting
Buying
Extra Help
Emergency Housing
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Public assistance programs can sometimes
help and are a good place to start
Social service agencies sometimes have
shelter space available
Renting
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First Steps
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Know what you want
Know what you can afford
Know your rental and credit history
Renting
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It is unlawful for landlords or public housing
agencies to discriminate on the basis of
disability status
If you are denied housing, you may make a
complaint with the Department of Fair
Employment and Housing or with the United
States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity office
Buying
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It is unlawful for sellers or lenders to
discriminate on the basis of disability status
If you have been refused as a buyer or been
denied a loan because of your disability, you
may file a complaint with the HUD Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity office
Extra Help
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If you need extra help to live independently, you may
qualify for In Home Supportive Services
If you have a helper, but your landlord or a home
seller does not want to permit your helper to stay in
your unit, you may file a discrimination complaint
If you need a service animal for help, your landlord
must permit it as a reasonable accommodation (but
he or she can charge a pet deposit)
A good landlord/tenant relationship
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Know your lease terms
Keep your landlord informed (if you need a
service animal in the unit, if you will have a
care giver visiting, etc.)
Put important information in writing
Be a responsible tenant
Reasonable accommodations during
tenancy
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Requesting Accommodation
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Explain what you need and why you need it
Educate your landlord about your rights as a
person with disabilities
Offer to discuss your request
Be prepared to offer documentation from a
medical provider
If you request is denied:
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Consider finding a professional advocate
Make a discrimination complaint
Types of reasonable accommodations
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Physical modifications
Exemptions from tenant rules or lease
provisions
Examples:
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Permission to wear special clothing in the
common swimming pool
Permission to pay rent in cash
Permission to widen doorways or lower
countertops in a unit
What is “reasonable”
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Must be necessary because of the tenant’s
disability
Cannot pose an undue financial hardship or
administrative cost on the housing provider
Cannot fundamentally change the housing
provider’s business
Leaving on good terms
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Notice
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Rental agreements usually include a notice provision and it
is usually 30 days
A notice from your landlord is not an “eviction”
Security deposit issues
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Leave the unit clean and repaired (if you caused any
damage)
Do a walk through with the landlord before you turn over
the keys
If you don’t get the amount of the deposit back you are
owed, you may sue in Small Claims court
Eviction
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Eviction means that an “unlawful detainer”
action is filed against you in court and:
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You did not answer and a default judgment was
entered against you, or
You filed an answer, went to trial and lost
Eviction process
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Your landlord must first give you a notice to vacate
the unit (3 days for non-payment of rent or 30-60
days for all other reasons depending on how long
you have lived in the unit.)
If you do not give up possession of the unit (vacate
and turn over your keys) before the time given in the
notice expires, your landlord can file an “unlawful
detainer” and serve you with the summons and
complaint
You cannot try to avoid being served!
Eviction process, cont.
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You have 5 days from the day you are served
to file an “answer” to the summons and
complaint (in the answer you state your
defenses)
Within approximately 20 days from the day
you file your answer, a trial will be scheduled
At your trial, you can bring witnesses,
evidence and argue your side of the dispute
The judge or commissioner will issue a
decision
Common eviction defenses
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Failure of the landlord to accommodate – if
you are being evicted because you failed to
comply with a provision of your rental
agreement and you requested a reasonable
accommodation
Habitability – if your rental unit was not
“habitable” or safe enough to occupy and you
withheld rent because of that
Bad notice – if your landlord didn’t serve the
unlawful detainer or the notice properly
After eviction
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If you are evicted, you may file a “Stay of Execution”
to get more time to move out. The judge does not
have to grant the stay, but being disabled and
needing extra time to pack and move is a valid
argument for granting the stay.
Within 60 days of the filing of the unlawful detainer,
your credit record will show that your landlord either
evicted or tried to evict you
The record of the eviction will stay on your credit
report for 7 years
Housing rights
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Fair housing
A habitable unit
Rights pursuant to the lease or rental
agreement
Notice to terminate tenancy without cause
(from 30-60 days for private housing, 90 days
for Section 8 units)
Hearing rights for Section 8 tenants
Unlawful Detainer process