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Practice Of Real EstateFair_housingMEDIUM

A real estate broker in Lake Charles is managing a rental property. A prospective tenant who is deaf applies for a unit and requests that the landlord install a visual doorbell alert system as a reasonable accommodation. The landlord refuses, saying the modification would be too expensive. Under Louisiana's fair housing law, which of the following is most accurate?

Correct Answer

B) The landlord must allow the modification as a reasonable accommodation for disability, and the cost is typically borne by the tenant.

Under both the federal Fair Housing Act and Louisiana's Equal Housing Opportunity Act (La. R.S. 51:2606), landlords must allow tenants with disabilities to make reasonable modifications to the unit necessary for the tenant's full enjoyment of the premises. However, in private housing (not federally assisted), the cost of the modification is generally borne by the tenant, not the landlord. The tenant may also be required to restore the property to its original condition upon vacating. A visual doorbell alert is a reasonable modification for a deaf tenant, and refusing to allow it violates fair housing law.

Answer Options
A
The landlord is correct because reasonable accommodations only apply to common areas, not individual units.
B
The landlord must allow the modification as a reasonable accommodation for disability, and the cost is typically borne by the tenant.
C
The landlord must pay for all disability-related modifications regardless of cost under Louisiana law.
D
The landlord is not required to allow modifications if the building was constructed before 1991 and is not subject to accessibility requirements.

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

disabilityreasonable_modificationtenant_rightsfair_housingaccommodation

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