RE21RC01: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A Description of the Americans With Disabilities Act

1. Fair Housing Rights of Individuals with Disabilities
   1. Two essential concepts
      1. Definitions:
         1. 3-part definition of "Individual with a disability"
         2. "qualified individual With a disability"
      2. Reasonable Accommodation
   2. State Law - Chapter 151 B
      1. Who is protected?
      2. Who is covered?
      3. What property is covered?
      4. Substantive Provisions of Chapter 151 B
         1. unlawful to deny, withhold accommodations because of disability, or to discriminate in terms, conditions or privileges based upon disability, s. 4, para. 6:
         2. refusal to permit accommodations at person's expense, or at own expense if sufficiently large entity, s. 4, para. 7A(l);
         3. refusal to make accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, s. 4, para. 7A(2);
         4. failure to include "basic access" in multi-family dwellings built after March, 1991; five percent wheelchair accessible and two percent communication accessible, 804 C.M.R. s. 2.03 (5).
      5. Enforcement
         1. administratively through the MCAD, and/or
         2. civil action in Superior Court
         3. Scope of Relief before the MCAD
         4. Devita v. Ferlisi decision
   3. Federal Law - Title VIII, 42 U.S.C., s. 3604
      1. Who is protected?
      2. Substantive provisions
         1. unlawful for person or entity engaged in residential real estate transactions to discriminate on the basis of "handicap", 42 U.S.C., s. 3605 (a);
         2. unlawful to not permit reasonable accommodation at person's expense, 24 C.F.R, s. 100.20' );
         3. unlawful to fail to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies. or services, 24 C.F.R. 100.204 (a);
         4. multi-family dwellings designed for first occupancy after March, 1991, must be designed and constructed in manner that enhances accessibility for IWDs, 24 C. F.R., s. 100.205;
      3. Enforcement
         1. Administrative complaint with HUD
         2. Civil Suit. United States District Court
      4. Relief
      5. Shapiro v. Cadman Towers, Inc., 844 F.Supp. 116 (E.D. N.Y. 1994
   4. Scope of Permissible Inquiries as to the Existence or Nature of a Disability
2. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C., s. 12181.
   1. Coverage of "Public accommodations." and "Commercial Facilities"
   2. Substantive Provisions
      1. General non-discrimination requirements, 28 C.F.R., s. 36.201 (2)
      2. Physical Access, 28 C.F.R., ss. 36.304 and 36.401
         1. "new construction" -- ADAAG; compare and contrast: Access requirements under A-AB statute (see chart)
         2. "existing facilities"
         3. liability/obligations: landlord-tenant
      3. Communication Access. 28 C.F.R., s. 36.303
      4. Enforcement
      5. Relief
3. Practical Applications and Trends
   1. Examples of cases
      1. Shapiro v. Cadman Towers, 844 F. Supp. II 6 (E.D.N.Y. 1994)
      2. Devita v. Ferlisi, 15 MPLR 1444 (1993)
   2. Handling Problem Situations
      1. Broker's liability for actions of salesmen
      2. Agent's liability if working in office, with discriminatory listings
      3. Handling racial violence/intimidation
      4. Responding to information that client may have discriminatory preferences
      5. Lead paint law and discriminatory practices against families with children (duty to disclose all available units) G.L. c. III, ss. 189-199B

ADA RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

Non Discriminatory--Real Estate Practices: The Responsibilities of Real Estate Brokers and Property Owners Under The-Fair Housing Laws.
Massachusetts Association of Realtors' - Fair Housing Chart

Court decisions: Devita v. Ferlisi and Shapiro v. Cadman Towers
Fair Housing Rights of Individuals With Disabilities Physical Access - Chart