Private Community Disabled Parking Laws?

I rent in a private community where HOA laws rule. This community has renters, and disabled renters. The HOA says they do not have to follow the rules For Americans with Disabilities Act, because they are a private community. I have requested a disabled parking spot, and they said "NO". Do I have any rights?

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While the HOA does not have to follow the ADA rules, they can not discriminate against you.

You can argue that by not allowing you to get to your door in a safe and efficient manner because of your disability is constructive discrimination.

Tough case in court, but with the right approach you will get your spot.

Go to your local legal aid clinic and ask them to draft up a letter, which gets sent to the HOA, your City/County Councilor, your State Rep, and your Congressional Rep. Send a copy to the local paper/tv station and you will have the spot within a couple months.

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i believe you do have right---let them know you're contacting your attorney or just put up your own sign.
Try calling the county atty/Zoning board.
Depends on:

- reasons for denying your request,

- whether you applied to the correct authority, and

- what appeal procedures are available when requests like yours are denied.
Tell them they haven't read quite all of the law relating to diabled access:

The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons because of:

race or color , religion , sex , national origin , familial status, or DISABILITY!

The penalties for failure to comply are substantial including payment of your legal fees if you need an attorney to enforce the law.

Go to: www.fairhousingfirst.org

or just do a Yahoo Search for Fair Housing Act.
They're full of it.

The ADA applies to all "places of public accommodation". Since members of the public can rent or buy apartments / houses / condos, the community is a "place of public accommodation" under the law, and the ADA applies.

Tell the HOA manager that he has only two choices. He can comply with the ADA voluntarily as it applies to a disabled parking spot, or he can end up paying lawyers fees - his AND yours - and still having to comply. The HOA may also be fined for non-compliance if he chooses to go that route.

Richard
Generally speaking, the HOA is correct. However, there are a lot of exceptions to this general statement. See a lawyer and be prepared to discuss the size of the complex, whether there is professional management, who your landlord is, and a whole lot of other facts that are necessary to determine whether you have any right to a disabled parking spot.

EDIT - an apartment building meeting certain age and size requirements clearly has a responsibility to provide disabled parking as "public" accommodations. An HOA, which is an organization of private residential owners not holding themselves out to the public as a business, and not in the rental business, operates under different rules. See that lawyer. One who is familiar with HOA law.
having just reviewed ADA, it does not seem to cover your case directly. ADA is about employment and public transportation, not about access to private property in a non-commercial setting.

follow cian's advice ... make a stink ... not just one tv/newspaper, every tv newspaper in the area. every elected official.

btw, there may be other areas of law that cover this situation -- housing acts, for example, which are likely state or local laws.

many communities of disabled persons have already addressed these issues in their area and have both answers and will happily help you fight for reasonable accomodation.