Landlord Barred Disabled Tenant's Use of Motorized Scooter

Tenant sued landlord for disability discrimination in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. Tenants lived in a ground-floor unit in an apartment complex. Based on multiple disabilities, tenant used a motorized scooter to get from her apartment's patio door across a lawn to the parking lot. But landlord couldn't maintain a clear, level path to sidewalks and parking lots and therefore forbade the use of apartment patio doors for coming and going. An insurance agent's report also advised landlord that the motorized scooter use created liability exposure. Landlord then refused to renew tenant's lease. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial.

The court ruled against landlord. Landlord failed to demonstrate that tenant's use of her scooter wasn't a reasonable accommodation for her disability, and also failed to show that it would impose undue hardship or a substantial burden on landlord. Landlord's liability concerns alone were speculative. There also were issues of fact that required a trial. The court needed to determine if landlord's offer to install a sidewalk was a reasonable accommodation. 

Timmons v. Kingsley-Johnston, Inc.: Index No. 5:18-CV-1087, NYLJ No. 1605536354 (NDNY; 11/13/20; Kahn, J)