Reasonable Modifications: Requests, Costs, and Restoration

Under the Fair Housing Act, reasonable modifications are physical changes a tenant with a disability is allowed to make to a rental unit or shared building areas when the change is needed for full use of the home. A landlord who refuses a qualifying request is discriminating.¹ The part most tenants don’t expect: in private, unsubsidized housing, you pay for the work. Knowing the rules and the paperwork before you ask makes the difference between a clean approval and months of friction.

What Counts as a Reasonable Modification

A reasonable modification is a structural change to the interior or exterior of a dwelling, or to a common space like a hallway or laundry room, that a person with a disability needs to fully use the home.² Grab bars in a bathroom. A widened doorframe for a wheelchair. A ramp at the entrance. Lowered kitchen counters. A roll-in shower. Wall reinforcement so safety equipment can be anchored. The change can be minor or extensive.

A modification is not the same as a reasonable accommodation, and this trips up a lot of tenants. A modification is a physical change to the property. An accommodation is a change to a rule or policy, like allowing a service animal in a no-pets building. The request process looks similar, but payment does not. Housing providers typically cover accommodations. Tenants cover modifications in private housing.²

Who Qualifies

The Fair Housing Act uses the term “handicap” and defines it three ways: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one. Current illegal drug use is explicitly excluded.³ Major life activities cover walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, thinking, communicating, working, and caring for yourself, among others. Conditions that are episodic or in remission still qualify if they substantially limit a major life activity when active.

Qualifying as disabled isn’t the whole picture. There must be an identifiable connection between the impairment and the specific change you’re asking for. A wheelchair user requesting a ramp has an obvious link. A tenant with severe arthritis needing lever-style door handles instead of round knobs also has a clear one. Without that nexus, the housing provider can refuse.²

When both the disability and the reason for the modification are obvious, the landlord cannot demand medical proof. When the disability is apparent but the connection to the requested change is not, the landlord can ask only for information explaining that connection. Detailed questions about the nature or severity of your condition are off-limits.²

Who Pays

In private, unsubsidized housing, the tenant pays for materials, labor, permits, and upkeep during the tenancy. The statute is explicit that the modification happens “at the expense of the handicapped person.”¹ Some state and local fair housing laws impose higher obligations on landlords, so it’s worth checking your jurisdiction before assuming you’re on the hook for the full cost.

The rules flip in federally assisted housing. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the housing provider pays for structural modifications as a reasonable accommodation, unless the cost would create an undue financial and administrative burden. Even then, the provider must cover a less costly alternative that stays under that threshold.⁴ If you live in public housing or a HUD-subsidized project, ask the housing authority about their modification process before assuming any out-of-pocket cost.

A landlord cannot raise your security deposit because you asked for a modification. The regulation is direct: the landlord “may not increase for handicapped persons any customarily required security deposit.”⁵ They also can’t require additional insurance or charge any other fee as a condition of approval. A surcharge is itself a fair housing violation. The one legitimate financial condition ties to restoration at move-out, which is a separate escrow arrangement covered further down.

How to Request a Modification

Federal law doesn’t require a specific form. You can request a modification verbally, but writing creates a record if the process breaks down. A useful request covers three things: what you want changed, why the change relates to your disability, and enough detail about the work for the landlord to evaluate it.

Under the federal regulation, a landlord can ask for a reasonable description of the proposed work and reasonable assurances that it will be done in a workmanlike manner with any required building permits.⁵ Answering those questions upfront saves time. If your disability or its connection to the modification isn’t obvious, include a letter from a healthcare provider confirming you have a qualifying impairment and explaining why the modification is needed. Keep it functional (for example, “needs grab bars to safely transfer in the bathroom”) rather than diagnostic. Describe the work itself: what will change, where, and with what materials, ideally with a contractor bid or diagram. Note that a licensed contractor will perform the work, or describe your own qualifications if you plan to do it yourself, and confirm you’ll pull required permits. Give a realistic start and completion date.

Send the request by certified mail with return receipt, or through the property management portal if one exists. Both create proof of delivery. Keep copies of everything.

How the Landlord Should Respond

After receiving your request, the landlord is expected to engage in a good-faith dialogue sometimes called the interactive process. That means clarifying questions, requests for documentation where the disability-related need isn’t apparent, or suggested alternatives that meet the same functional goal with less structural impact.

Federal law sets no fixed deadline for the landlord’s response, though HUD has urged prompt handling. Unreasonable delay can be treated as a constructive denial. If several weeks pass with no substantive answer despite a follow-up, treat it as a refusal and move to the enforcement options below. Document dates, follow-ups, and any replies you receive.

Once you reach agreement, get the approval and conditions in writing. The written approval should specify the permitted changes, the contractor and materials, the timeline, and any restoration expectations. This protects both sides.

Landlords have real but limited tools. They can require restoration of the interior at move-out where reasonable, a description of the work, assurances of workmanlike quality, and evidence that permits will be obtained.⁵ They can suggest a less intrusive alternative. What they cannot do: refuse because they’d rather not have the property altered, demand additional insurance, raise your deposit, pick your contractor (though they can require a licensed one), or impose conditions unrelated to protecting the property.²

Common Areas and HOAs

The right to modify isn’t confined to your unit. Tenants can also request changes in common and public areas: widening a laundry room entrance, adding a ramp at a building entrance, installing accessible signage. In private housing, the tenant still pays for the installation. Maintenance is different. If the modification sits in an area the housing provider normally maintains, the provider takes over upkeep after installation. If the provider doesn’t normally maintain that area, they have no obligation to maintain the modification either.²

Homeowners associations and condo boards are also covered by the Fair Housing Act. They cannot refuse a reasonable disability-related modification to a unit or to common areas.⁶ An architectural review committee can enforce general design standards but cannot use them as a pretext to block a modification a resident needs for access. The homeowner or tenant pays. If your HOA has an approval process for exterior changes, submit through that process and label the request a disability-related fair housing request so the legal obligation to permit the change is triggered.

Restoration and Escrow at Move-Out

A landlord in private housing can require you to undo interior modifications that would interfere with the next tenant’s use, when your lease ends. The statute limits this to the interior and only where restoration is reasonable.¹ The regulation gives a concrete example: if you install grab bars, the landlord can require you to remove them and patch the wall, but not to remove the hidden reinforcement inside the wall, because that blocking doesn’t interfere with anyone’s use and could benefit a future tenant.⁵

Exterior modifications and changes to common areas do not have to be restored. A ramp, a widened laundry room door, or accessible signage stays in place after you leave.² Interior changes that don’t affect the next occupant, like widened doorframes, generally don’t need to be reversed either.

Where restoration will be required, the landlord can negotiate a provision requiring you to pay into an interest-bearing escrow account over a reasonable period. The amount cannot exceed the actual estimated restoration cost, and the interest accrues to you.⁵ The escrow is separate from and cannot substitute for raising your security deposit. If the modification doesn’t require interior restoration, there is no basis for an escrow at all.

If a Landlord Refuses

Two enforcement paths run in parallel.

HUD Complaint

File a housing discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development within one year of the last discriminatory act.⁷ HUD accepts complaints online, by phone at (800) 669-9777, or by mail.⁸ A fair housing specialist reviews the complaint, contacts you for more information, and helps file a formal charge if the facts state a viable Fair Housing Act claim. HUD then investigates. If the case goes to an administrative hearing, a HUD administrative law judge can award compensatory damages, injunctive relief, and civil penalties.⁹

Private Lawsuit

You can also file a civil lawsuit in federal or state court within two years of the discriminatory act, without filing a HUD complaint first. Time spent on a pending HUD complaint does not count against that two-year window. A court can award actual damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief, and can award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party, meaning a tenant who wins may not have to pay legal costs out of pocket.¹⁰

You lose the private lawsuit option if you’ve already signed a HUD conciliation agreement resolving the complaint or if an administrative law judge has begun a hearing on your charge.⁷ Because those doors can close, decide your strategy early, ideally with a fair housing attorney or a local legal aid organization that handles disability rights cases.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Joint Statement on Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3602 – Definitions
4
HUD Exchange. FAQ ID 4095 – In Public Housing, Who Is Responsible for Paying for Physical Modifications
5
GovInfo. 24 CFR 100.203 – Reasonable Modifications of Existing Premises
6
HUD Exchange. CoC and ESG Additional Requirements – Reasonable Modifications
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Learn About FHEOs Process to Report and Investigate Housing Discrimination
8
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-903 Report Housing Discrimination
9
Federal Register. Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalty Amounts for 2025
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3613 – Enforcement by Private Persons