Articles

Housing providers such as cooperatives, wear many hats. They may be employers and have employees. They provide housing to their members. Their business offices may also be open to the general public to answer questions and receive applications. What happens when a disabled person asks for an accommodation? They may want a designated parking space for their disability. They may want an assistance animal for their disability. Is the person an employee, a member, or simply a member of the public? The answers to these questions will decide what laws apply and guide the cooperative along the way toward successful compliance.

Legal disputes over assistance animals continue to make inroads in the cooperative housing community. In a recent case, a cooperative Board apparently didn’t think a parrot qualified as an emotional support animal. It denied a member’s accommodation request to keep the parrot because of the member’s disability. The member filed a complaint with HUD. The cooperative retaliated. The U.S. Attorney got involved. As a result, the mistake cost the cooperative $750,000.

Attention employers. Do you have a written job description covering each position in your workplace? Are they compliant with the Americans Disability act? If you get sued for disability discrimination, will those job descriptions hold up in court? Let’s review why you need to know the answers to these questions.

As rents climb, a group of Detroiters seek unique form of housing ownership Louis Aguilar The Detroit News

Squatters are defined as individuals who illegally occupy a property without compensation and without documentation. It is becoming more common and, unfortunately, in many situations, dangerous. In a housing cooperative, squatting can occur under a couple of different scenarios. The first is they start off as an invited guest of a Member and then they just never leave thereby establishing legal residence. Legal residence occurs when the law recognizes your use of a particular address as your home where you receive mail. This is generally a 30-day window and is generally dealt with effectively through the use of appropriately drafted guest policies and enforcement of your governing documents. Typically, you want a registration process for planned stays that are longer than a week and shorter than a month. This assures the Cooperative that occupants are authorized occupants and visitors are just visitors.

It is common for housing cooperatives and management agents to oversee employees on a collective basis. In many instances, however, the management agreement states that all employees are either management employees or cooperative employees, but not both. It is assumed, since the management agreement specifically identifies the employer, that when litigation comes knocking, the parties merely look at their management contract and, in that way, identify the true employer. However, the law is no longer as simple as that.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Location, location, location.” But did you know it applies to not only where you live but where you park your vehicle? Where a person parks can have a significant impact on the person. In addition to the challenges of managing parking lots for members and their guests,, parking for housing providers can become a major headache if they don’t take the right steps when considering additional parking requirements when faced with disability accommodations requests. This doesn’t mean that every request requires a rubber stamp approval. Yet, each request should receive individual attention and housing providers have some leeway when considering requested accommodation. Knowing the “ins and outs” of the approval or denial process will help housing providers navigate this legally perilous subject.

What are the legal obligations a cooperative housing association owes to disabled members who seek changes in the policies or rules of the Cooperative because of the member’s medical condition?

A large number of cooperatives are contemplating refinancing their existing mortgages. Several reasons exist for this. First, interest rates are at an uncommonly low level which makes it rather advantageous to take out a loan. While the existing mortgages are typically low, the rates now are extremely attractive and may not last much longer. Thus, there is a window open now to get great interest rates. Second, many cooperatives have experienced HUD being more burdensome in its demands than in the past. They seek to either eliminate or reduce HUD oversight by eliminating the mortgage which HUD insured or subsidized. A third and most common reason is the need to amass a sufficient sum of money to undertake repairs, renovations and enhancements of the property. Many cooperatives would prefer to complete these tasks in the near future to properly maintain the property rather than make improvements over an extended number of years.