The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reached a Voluntary Compliance Agreement with the Housing Authority of Prince George’s County (HAPGC) in Maryland. A HUD compliance review found HAPGC “denied the reasonable accommodation requests of tenants with disabilities, failed to ensure program accessibility in existing facilities, and failed to make an adequate number of accessible units available.”

HUD cites section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The regulation “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal financial assistance, and requires that recipients of federal financial assistance bring their programs and activities into compliance with federal accessibility requirements.” HUD also cites Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Voluntary Compliance Agreement requires HAPGC to:

• Ensure that at least 5 percent of its PH, PBV, and Mod Rehab units are fully accessible, and at least 2 percent are designated sensory accessible;
• Hire an independent licensed architect to evaluate and design the accessible retrofitting of existing units and common areas;
• Work with disability-rights organizations to recruit landlords with accessible units into the HCV program;
• Set up a $200,000 compensation fund for HCV, PBV, Mod Rehab, and PH participants who were denied reasonable accommodations;
• Create a $200,000 modification fund for its HCV program to pay the costs for tenants who need reasonable accommodations and modifications;
• Appoint a VCA coordinator and a Fair Housing Compliance Coordinator during the 7-year term of the agreement;
• Develop policies pertaining to non-discrimination and accessibility, reasonable accommodations, effective communication, transfers, and assistance animals and post the policies on its website; and
• Ensure that all HAPGC staff attend annual fair housing training.

Read the agreement.

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