Court Ruling Decides if HOA is in Violation of Fair Housing Amendments Act

This case involved a dispute between a homeowners association (“Association”) and a disabled condominium owner (“Owner”) over an accommodation due to disability that was requested by Owner. Owner, who suffers from pulmonary hypertension and other disabilities, established that she needed “ready access” to her rolling walker to get to and from her unit to the building lobby. Because she couldn’t lift or fold the walker, she used a cane to go to and from her car and insisted on leaving her walker in her building’s lobby when she left the building. When she left, building staff personnel would store the walker in a room behind the concierge desk until she returned. Owner disapproved of the walker being put in the storage room until she returned and contended that it had to be available for her to independently retrieve it when she returned to the building.