The title of this weekly email is a recent headline that ran in the Oregonian on January 12, 2016.  The link to that article can be found here.

The article explains that the parents of a severely disabled woman are suing their former homeowners association because the association denied the parents' request to park a motor home in their driveway that they purchased for taking their daughter to medical appointments.  According to the article, the association's governing documents prevented the parking of motor homes in the community.  However, the attorney representing the prior owners argued that the Association should have made an exception to its CC&Rs as a reasonable accommodation and the Association's failure to do so constituted a violation of the Federal and Oregon Fair Housing Acts.

Because it's a hot topic, we have covered the issue of reasonable accommodations before.  For your reference, those prior articles can be found here:

1. Accommodating Accommodations; and
2. Accommodating Accommodations, A Follow Up

This recent Oregonian article provides us with yet another example of the type of situation where the Fair Housing Act (FHA) may apply.  It also reminds us of the importance of keeping an eye out for reasonable accommodation requests even if they are not framed as such when an owner initially asks for an exception to a rule, policy, or association practice.  Once a Board determines a specific request is (or could be) a request for a reasonable accommodation, Boards often ask us what's reasonable in their specific circumstances, and we're happy to help with that fact-based inquiry. With the facts presented in the Oregonian article, you be the judge.  And when you review those facts, note the benefit of an objective view.  After a dispute begins, it can often be difficult to maintain an objective perspective, but we recommend it as a best practice.  If you need help along the way, feel free to give us a call.

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.