St. George Villa Assocs. v. Barnhurst

No. 960500683EV (Utah Dist. Ct. Wash. County Oct. 25, 1996). ; Clearinghouse Number: 51581

Description

Eviction Dismissed for Landlord’s Failure in Reasonably Accommodating Tenant’s Mental Disability

Abstract

The court has dismissed the eviction of a mentally ill tenant from subsidized housing because plaintiff landlord failed in reasonably accommodating tenant’s mental disability in violation of Section 3604(f)(3)(B) of the Fair Housing Amendments Act and Section 794 of the Rehabilitation Act. Both laws require that a landlord reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities. Tenant had severe mental disabilities that impaired her ability to solve the problems upon which the landlord based the eviction-rule violations including unauthorized guests, guest disturbances, failure to control guests, excessive noise, and housekeeping problems. Landlord gave tenant several written notices and warnings, including two notices of lease termination, and contacted the local mental health agency eight to ten times. Tenant, however, refused to work with the agency because it insisted on controlling her money, which was not an issue in the tenancy dispute. The ten or so contacts were the extent of landlord’s accommodation of tenant’s disability. The court rejected landlord’s argument that accommodation of the disability was unnecessary because tenant rejected help from the agency. It reasoned, in part, that while house rules incorporated into the lease sought to hold tenant responsible for guests’ behavior, tenant was not strictly liable because she was not necessarily aware of or able to control others’ behavior; also the incidents complained of were not sufficiently connected to tenant and were inadequate grounds for eviction.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Defendant represented by Bruce Plenk, Utah Legal Services, Inc., 254 W. 400 S. #200, Salt Lake City, UT 84101; (801) 328-8891.
Docket Date
1996-10-25 00:00:00+00:00