Q. I have had nothing but misery and nightmares since new management took over my courtyard building. Their inconsideration included moving me to a back unit, even though they knew that was a hardship for me because my daughter is in a wheelchair.
When the snows came, they did such a poor job of clearing the walks that I had to drag my daughter's wheelchair backward to get out to the street for the school bus.
The city needs some laws to make sure disabled persons are not held prisoners in their own homes because the landlord will not shovel the walks. The city itself should be more conscientious clearing the public pedestrian pathways.
A. There are no Chicago laws requiring the removal of snow from private walks and drives. Some suburbs do have this requirement.
Landlords are required under city code to keep emergency exits accessible. At the very least, clearing snow and ice from building doors and steps is in order.
Local fair housing laws closely follow federal requirements that landlords provide "reasonable accommodations" for renters with disabilities. The goal is to allow a disabled tenant to "enjoy" the property equally as all the other tenants, but not be given special, overly costly or burdensome favors.
Court decisions require a tenant to put requests for accommodation in writing to trigger their rights. What accommodations are required or sufficient vary case by case. Generally, the concept requires that the accommodation not put an "undue hardship" on the landlord.
The city has an old law requiring landlords, property owners and tenants to clear a five-foot path on the public sidewalks after it snows, and sprinkle ice melt. The Department of Streets and Sanitation has the power to write tickets, with fines of $25 to $100. Over the decades, very few persons have been cited.
Some Special Service Areas, mostly local commercial strips, use tax-increment-financing (TIF) money to clean up snow in front of retail businesses.
Illinois has a law protecting property owners from personal injury lawsuits if the owners do a careful job of snow removal from the public walks. A recent Appellate Court decision included this protection for snow removed from private property, under some circumstances.
Moving you around and not clearing the walks could be considered either attempts to make you move because of the wheelchair or a failure to accommodate. Access Living, a Chicago not-for-profit, provides information to landlords and tenants about fair housing disability matters. Call (312) 640-2100.
Write mediator Ed Sacks at Apartment Watch, Homelife, Chicago Sun-Times, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago, IL 60654.
