Fair Housing laws prohibit discrimination against people based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap (the “protected classes”). Two types of unlawful discrimination apply only to people who with disabilities. One, a Landlord may be required to make reasonable modifications to the premises for a person with a disability. Two, a Landlord may be required to make reasonable accommodations in their rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

If you are in a situation which requires you to make an accommodation or modification of your premises for a person with a disability, you will probably have extensive interaction with that individual. Do you ever find yourself nervous or uncomfortable when your around a person who is disabled? You don’t know exactly what to say or how to act? Do I offer to help the guy using a wheelchair get in his car? Do I offer to shake hands with the lady using crutches when introduced?

Many people without a disability are often uncomfortable in dealing with people having disabilities. They may not have had many friends, co-workers or family members with a disability. Because some people are afraid they will do or say the wrong thing around someone with a disability, they try to avoid the individual with the disability altogether. What is often perceived as discrimination by those in the protected classes is often a communication problem rather than true discrimination. A prospective tenant who is disabled may conclude that you were discriminating against them when the problem was really how you were communicating with them.

The U.S. Department of Labor promotes these “Ten Commandments of Etiquette for Communicating with People with Disabilities”:

1. When talking with a person with a disability, speak directly to that person rather than through a companion or sign language interpreter.

2. When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands. People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands. (Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting.)

3. When meeting a person who is visually impaired, always identify yourself and others who may be with you. When conversing in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking.

4. If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen to or ask for instructions.

5. Treat adults as adults. Address people who have disabilities by their first names only when extending the same familiarity to all others. (Never patronize people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head or shoulder.)

6. Leaning on or hanging on to a person’s wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on to a person and is generally considered annoying. The chair is part of the personal body space of the person who uses it.

7. Listen attentively when you’re talking with a person who has difficulty speaking. Be patient and wait for the person to finish, rather than correcting or speaking for the person. If necessary, ask short questions that require short answers, a nod or shake of the head. Never pretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so. Instead, repeat what you have understood and allow the person to respond. The response will clue you in and guide your understanding.

8. When speaking with a person who uses a wheelchair or a person who uses crutches, place yourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation.

9. To get the attention of a person who is deaf, tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively to determine if the person can read your lips. Not all people who are deaf can read lips. For those who do lip read, be sensitive to their needs by placing yourself so that you face the light source and keep hands, cigarettes and food away from your mouth when speaking.

10. Relax. Don’t be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted, common expressions such as “See you later,” or “Did you hear about that?” that seems to relate to a person’s disability. Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you’re unsure of what to do.

When speaking about people with disabilities, use “person first” language. People with disabilities should be referred to as people first , their disability is secondary. For example, instead of saying the “disabled person”, say the “person with a disability”. Rather than saying “the retarded man”, say the “person with mental retardation”. Instead of saying “he is “crippled”, “lame” or “deformed”, say he is “physically disabled.” Avoid group designations such as “the blind” or the “the deaf” because these terms do not reflect the individuality of the people with disabilities. For example, instead of saying “the blind” or “blind people” say “person who is blind” or “the people who are blind”.

Refrain from patronizing people with disabilities. People with disabilities do not want to be viewed as heroic or particularly brave for living independently, working or accomplishing day-to-day tasks.

Be careful about what assumptions you make about people with disabilities. Do not assume that people with disabilities are unable to do things. People with quadriplegia can drive cars. People who are blind can use your work-out facility. Focus on the person’s ability, not their disability. Don’t make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do. Let them tell you and don’t be afraid to ask. Do not assume that an individual’s disability negatively affects their other senses. You don’t have speak slowly or loudly to a person who is blind.

Be aware of “hidden” disabilities. For purposes of the Fair Housing laws, a “disability” is defined as an impairment that “substantially limits one or more of the major life activities.” Learning disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, epilepsy, cancer, arthritis and heart conditions are not apparent by observing the person, but they are bona fide disabilities which may justify accommodation or modification by the Landlord.

The more often you are communicating and interacting with people with disabilities, the more comfortable you will become.

Your occupancy rates are down and you are competing with other apartment communities for residents. You have a novel idea - Hey! Maybe some creative advertising would help! You create a stunning brochure with pictures from your holiday party with everyone having a good time and a guy dressed like the Easter Bunny in the background. You put up some billboards with pictures of your smiling staff members posing around the swimming pool. The next thing you know, you have a complaint filed against you claiming that your advertising violates the Fair Housing Act. The complaint says that 7 out of the 10 people in the pictures on your billboards are Hispanic and that does not reasonably represent the majority and minority groups in your area. The complaint also says that the Easter Bunny in the brochure implies that you are discriminating against non-Christians.

Wait a minute. This is the U.S.A. What about freedom of speech? The First Amendment? You mean I cannot put anything I want to in my advertisements? That’s right.

An apartment owner in Virginia was fined a substantial amount of money for using all white models in their brochure because the models were not “clearly definable as reasonably representing the majority and minority groups in the metropolitan area.” Your billboard might be a problem because more of the residents in your community are members of racial groups other than what is shown in your billboard picture. However, you may take comfort in knowing that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does not consider the use of the Easter Bunny to be discriminatory. So your brochure is probably okay.

The Fair Housing Act says that you may not publish advertisements which “indicate any preference, limitation, or discrimination or the intention to make a preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.”

Obviously, your ads may not say something blatant such as “no children” or “no Catholics.” But what about the more subtle aspects of your ads? The general rule is to describe the property and not the people who live there and the ad will be acceptable. Phrases like “no wheel chairs allowed” or “independent living” discriminate against people with disabilities. But, it is acceptable to say that your property is “handicapped accessible” or has “wheelchair ramps” because these are descriptions of the facilities.

An ad stating that your property is “great for Jewish families” is unacceptable because it indicates a preference for renting to Jewish families. Describing your property as “near the new Catholic Community Center” may also show a preference for a particular type of resident. However, using terms like “desirable neighborhood” or “great location” is not discriminatory.

Here Are Some Tips to Avoid Problems with Advertising

1. Review your written materials and advertising materials. Get rid of anything that may give rise to a discrimination complaint. Your advertisements and community newsletter should portray a community that is accessible to the protected classes.

2. Add the Fair Housing Logo to all of your advertising materials.

3. If room provides, put a statement in your advertising that contains the following Fair Housing message:

WE DO BUSINESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FAIR HOUSING ACT IT IS ILLEGAL TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY PERSON BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, HANDICAP, FAMILIAL STATUS, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN

4. Describe the apartment and amenities. Do not describe who you think would be happy renting there.

5. The people in any pictures in your advertising should reflect the majority and minority members of your community. If your staff does not reflect the make-up of the community, do not use a picture of them in your advertisements. Likewise, using a photograph from one of your community events may be a bad idea if it does not represent the majority and minority members of your metropolitan area.

6. If you are not sure whether something in your advertisement is a Fair Housing violation, leave it out.