SECTION 1.204. Reasonable Accommodations

(a) Applicability. This policy relates to a request for Reasonable Accommodations made by an applicant or participant of a Department program to a Recipient, or made by an applicant or occupant to a property funded by the Department to the property. The policy regarding a request for Reasonable Accommodation by the Department is found at 10 TAC §1.1 of this chapter.

(b) General Considerations in Handling of Reasonable Accommodations. An applicant, participant, or occupant who has a disability may request an accommodation and, depending on the program funding the property or activity and whether the accommodation requested is a reasonable accommodation, their request must be timely addressed.

(1) When the Department monitors a property or activity for how reasonable accommodation requests have been handled, it will consider such things as whether the person working on behalf of the program or property which the Department is monitoring:

(A) Timely received the request and recorded it;

(B) Took into consideration how action on the request would impact the person making the request; and

(C) Engaged in communication with the requestor to understand the nature of their request and whether there was a reasonable way to make an accommodation.

(2) If the person responsible for responding to a request for an accommodation needs assistance or clarification as to how the requirement may apply to their program or property they should contact the Compliance Division immediately to discuss the matter. The Compliance Division cannot provide legal advice or direct the person to respond in any specific manner, but they can, in some instances, point to appropriate federal guidance or other resources such as the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. A person who contacts the Compliance Division or anyone else for such reasons should document such contact in their files because the process of obtaining guidance may impact the timeliness of their response.

(3) Unless there is a clear documented need for a lengthier process or there is a controlling federal statute or regulation specifying a different deadline, when a person requests an accommodation they should be given a response as soon as possible but not later than 14 calendar days.

(c) To show that a requested Reasonable Accommodation may be necessary, there must be an identifiable relationship between the requested accommodation and the individual's Disability.

(d) Responses to Reasonable Accommodation requests must be provided within a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed 14 calendar days. The response must either be to grant the request, deny the request, offer alternatives to the request, or request additional information to clarify the Reasonable Accommodation request. Examples when it would not be reasonable to wait 14 calendar days to provide a response include but are not limited to: moving the due date for rent to coincide with the date the requestor receives their social security disability check; allowing a service animal in an emergency shelter in spite of a no pets policy; or assisting an applicant with a Disability that prevents them from writing legibly when they request help filling out an program or project application. Should additional information be required and an interactive process be necessary, this process must also be completed within a reasonable amount of time. An undue delay in responding to a Reasonable Accommodation request may be deemed by the Department to be a failure to provide a Reasonable Accommodation.

(e) When a participant, applicant, or occupant requires an accessible unit, feature, space or element, or a policy modification, or other Reasonable Accommodation to accommodate a Disability, the Recipient must provide and pay for the requested accommodation, unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program or an undue financial and administrative burden. A fundamental alteration is an accommodation that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the Recipient's operations. A Recipient that owns a tax credit or Multifamily Bond Development with no federal or state funds awarded before September 1, 2001, must allow but may not need to pay for the Reasonable Accommodation, except if the accommodation requested should have been made as part of the original design and construction requirements under the Fair Housing Act, or is a Reasonable Accommodation identified by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with a de minimis cost (e.g., assigned existing parking spot and no deposit for service/assistance animals).

(f) A Recipient may not charge a fee, deposit, or place conditions on a participant, occupant, or applicant in exchange for making the accommodation.

(g) A Reasonable Accommodation request of an individual with a Disability that amounts to an Alteration should be made to meet the needs of the individual with a Disability, rather than being limited to compliance with a particular accessible code specification. However, the Recipient must still follow accessible code specifications, as identified in its Contract or LURA.

(1) Recipients are not required to make structural changes where other methods, which may not cost as much, are effective in making programs or activities readily accessible to and usable by persons with Disabilities.

(2) In choosing among available methods for meeting the requirements of this section, the Recipient must give priority to those methods that offer programs and activities to qualified individuals with Disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate.

(3) Undue burden.

(A) The determination of undue financial and administrative burden will be made by the Department on a case-by-case basis, involving various factors, such as the cost of the Reasonable Accommodation, the financial resources of the Development, the benefits the accommodation would provide to the requester, and the availability of alternative accommodations that would adequately meet the requester's Disability-related needs.

(B) In considering whether an expense would constitute an undue burden the Department may, as applicable, consider the following items (though it may consider factors not on this list):

(i) payment for Alteration from operating funds, residual receipts accounts, or reserve replacement accounts must be sought using appropriate approval procedures.

(ii) the approved amount must generally be able to be replenished through property rental income within one year without a corresponding raise in rental rates.

(iii) a projected inability to replenish an operating fund account or the reserve for replacement account within one year for funds spent in providing Alterations under this subsection is some evidence that the Alteration would be an undue financial and administrative burden.

(C) If providing accessibility would result in an undue financial and administrative burden, the Recipient must still take other reasonable steps to achieve accessibility.

(D) If a structural change would constitute an undue financial and administrative burden, and the tenant/requestor still wants that particular change to be made, the tenant/requestor must be allowed to make and pay for the accommodation.

(4) Recipients are not required to install an elevator solely for the purpose of making units accessible as a Reasonable Accommodation.

(5) Recipients do not have to make mechanical rooms and similar spaces accessible when, because of their intended use, they do not require accessibility by the public, by tenants, or by employees with physical disabilities.

(6) Recipients are not required to make building alterations that have little likelihood of being accomplished without removing or altering a load-bearing structural member, as a Reasonable Accommodation.

(h) If a Recipient refuses to provide a requested accommodation because it is either an undue financial and administrative burden or would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of the program, the Recipient must make a reasonable attempt to engage in an interactive dialogue with the requester to determine if there is an alternative accommodation that would adequately address the requester's Disability-related needs. If an alternative accommodation would meet the individual's needs and is reasonable, the Recipient must provide it.

(i) Examples of reasonable accommodations, while not exhaustive, include moving the due date for rent to coincide with the date the requestor receives their social security disability check; providing a designated accessible parking space from existing parking spaces; creating an accessible parking space to accommodate a wheelchair-equipped van; allowing a service or support animal or animals in spite of a no pets policy; modifying door knobs to levers; providing assistance in filling out a program application for the activity or unit; in the case of a service provider providing computer lab classes with laptops, providing a loan of the laptop computer with the training software; in the case of a weatherization provider serving a family with a child with asthma, seeing if an alternative sealant could be used when the sealant typically used may trigger an asthma attack; installing grab bars; providing an accessible entrance to a resident's current unit, unless it would be an undue financial and administrative hardship or a fundamental alteration of the program to do so; and providing a ramp in excess of usual specifications for such alternations to accommodate a scooter type wheelchair, unless it would be an undue financial and administrative hardship or a fundamental alteration of the program to do so.

(j) Recipients must follow federal and state regulations regarding service/assistance animals. A housing provider may not require an applicant, participant, or occupant to pay a pet deposit if the animal is a service/assistance animal.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.204 adopted to be effective March 30, 2023, 48 TexReg 1625