Casey recently moved into a low-income housing complex for people making less than the federal poverty level. Because they are a person with a mobility disability that makes it difficult to walk, Casey needed a designated accessible parking spot near their unit as well as near the leasing office. Because they lived in low-income housing, Casey wasn’t sure if they could ask the housing complex to put in accessible parking spots. Casey called the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network hotline to check what the law actually says.

The ADA Specialist at the regional ADA Center told Casey that just because the complex is low-income housing does not relieve them of following the ADA or another civil rights law called the Fair Housing Act. Casey had the right to accessible parking. The ADA Specialist worked over the phone to help Casey draft a letter to send to the leasing office asking for more accessible parking.

After receiving the letter, the leasing office installed several accessible parking spots around the complex. The leasing office followed the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design to ensure the spots were accessible. Thanks to the ADA, Casey had the access they needed to drop off their rent check.