Locating Accessible Housing

Locating an accessible house or apartment can be time-consuming, so it usually comes down to making a few modifications in an elevated apartment building or ranch-style house or trailer. Under the Fair Housing Act, a landlord cannot refuse to allow a renter to make reasonable accommodations to a rental unit for wheelchair accessibility, as long as the renter agrees to restore the unit to its original state, when he or she moves out. Read more about the Fair Housing Act.

For assistance locating accessible housing, contact your local Independent Living Center; they will have referrals. . A directory of all the CILs is listed on the Independent Living Research Utilization Project (ILRU) Web site: http://www.ilru.org and also at Virtual CIL:http://www.virtualcil.net/cils

Check with other non-profit organizations for housing listings. Looking through mainstream classifieds and most realty companies is often fruitless, but look in your telephone directory yellow pages for realty companies that cater to locating properties with wheelchair access. There are a few rare birds!

NPI/Socialserve.com is dedicated to help people access affordable housing and supportive services by developing solutions that utilize leading-edge technology. Socialserve.com provides a fully-staffed, toll-free English/Spanish call center that helps landlords list and helps tenants search for properties while monitoring the availability and accuracy of listings. Includes extensive accessibility information. 
Toll-Free: 1.877.428.8844

The National Accessible Apartment Clearinghouse is a database of apartment listings for people with special housing needs. Information is available on more than 18,000 units nationwide by calling the clearinghouse's hotline (800) 421-1221, or by visiting their Web site at: http://www.forrent.com.

Reference: http://www.spinalcord.org/resource-center/askus/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=57