§ 7–1006. Equal access to housing.

(a) Persons with physical or mental disabilities shall be entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general public, to all housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or compensation in the District of Columbia, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law or in accordance with law and applicable alike to all persons.

(b) Persons with physical or mental disabilities who have a service animal shall be entitled to full and equal access to all housing accommodations referred to in this section without being denied access because of the service animal. Such persons shall not be required to pay an extra charge for the service animal but shall be liable for any damage done by the service animal.

(c) Nothing in this section shall require any person renting, leasing, or providing real property for compensation in the District of Columbia to modify his property in any way or to provide a higher degree of care for a blind person or person with another physical disability than for a person who does not have a physical disability.

(d) In making a determination that an individual qualifies under this section, a housing provider shall limit any inquiry to the minimum information and documentation necessary to establish that an individual meets the definition of persons with physical or mental disabilities provided in § 7-1009(4) by requiring that a physician or other licensed healthcare professional verify that the individual meets the definition of persons with physical or mental disabilities. A housing provider may also require a person with a disability to demonstrate a nexus between his or her disability and the function that the service animal provides. A housing provider shall not inquire further into the nature or severity of the disability. A housing provider shall not require the individual to provide a description of the disability when making an eligibility determination. A housing provider shall not require the individual to provide eligibility documentation in less than 30 days.

(Oct. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 972, Pub. L. 92-515, § 5; Mar. 5, 1981, D.C. Law 3-144, § 2(c), 27 DCR 4659; Apr. 24, 2007, D.C. Law 16-305, § 25(d), 53 DCR 6198; Apr. 27, 2013, D.C. Law 19-291, § 2(c), 60 DCR 2351.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 6-1706.

1973 Ed., § 6-1505.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-1007.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 16-305, in subsec. (a), substituted “persons with physical disabilities” for “physically disabled persons”; and, in subsec. (c), substituted “person with another physical disability” for “otherwise physically disabled person” and “does not have a physical disability” for “is not physically disabled”.

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-291 substituted “Persons with physical or mental disabilities” for “Blind persons and other persons with physical disabilities” in (a); rewrote (b); and added (d).