[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR100.203]

[Page 659-660]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
    CHAPTER I--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 100_DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT--Table of Contents
 
    Subpart D_Prohibition Against Discrimination Because of Handicap
 
Sec. 100.203  Reasonable modifications of existing premises.

    (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to permit, at the 
expense of a handicapped person, reasonable modifications of existing 
premises, occupied or to be occupied by a handicapped person, if the 
proposed modifications may be necessary to afford the handicapped person 
full enjoyment of the premises of a dwelling. In the case of a rental, 
the landlord may, where it is reasonable to do so, condition permission 
for a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior of the 
premises to the condition that existed before the modification, 
reasonable wear and tear excepted. The landlord may not increase for 
handicapped persons any customarily required security deposit. However, 
where it is necessary in order to ensure with reasonable certainty that 
funds will be available to pay for the restorations at the end of the 
tenancy, the landlord may negotiate as

[[Page 660]]

part of such a restoration agreement a provision requiring that the 
tenant pay into an interest bearing escrow account, over a reasonable 
period, a reasonable amount of money not to exceed the cost of the 
restorations. The interest in any such account shall accrue to the 
benefit of the tenant.
    (b) A landlord may condition permission for a modification on the 
renter providing a reasonable description of the proposed modifications 
as well as reasonable assurances that the work will be done in a 
workmanlike manner and that any required building permits will be 
obtained.
    (c) The application of paragraph (a) of this section may be 
illustrated by the following examples:
    Example (1): A tenant with a handicap asks his or her landlord for 
permission to install grab bars in the bathroom at his or her own 
expense. It is necessary to reinforce the walls with blocking between 
studs in order to affix the grab bars. It is unlawful for the landlord 
to refuse to permit the tenant, at the tenant's own expense, from making 
the modifications necessary to add the grab bars. However, the landlord 
may condition permission for the modification on the tenant agreeing to 
restore the bathroom to the condition that existed before the 
modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted. It would be reasonable 
for the landlord to require the tenant to remove the grab bars at the 
end of the tenancy. The landlord may also reasonably require that the 
wall to which the grab bars are to be attached be repaired and restored 
to its original condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted. However, 
it would be unreasonable for the landlord to require the tenant to 
remove the blocking, since the reinforced walls will not interfere in 
any way with the landlord's or the next tenant's use and enjoyment of 
the premises and may be needed by some future tenant.
    Example (2): An applicant for rental housing has a child who uses a 
wheelchair. The bathroom door in the dwelling unit is too narrow to 
permit the wheelchair to pass. The applicant asks the landlord for 
permission to widen the doorway at the applicant's own expense. It is 
unlawful for the landlord to refuse to permit the applicant to make the 
modification. Further, the landlord may not, in usual circumstances, 
condition permission for the modification on the applicant paying for 
the doorway to be narrowed at the end of the lease because a wider 
doorway will not interfere with the landlord's or the next tenant's use 
and enjoyment of the premises.