'Reasonable Accommodation,' Rent Regulation, and the Fair Housing Act

The federal Fair Housing Act Amendments prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of a dwelling because of a handicap. 42 USC Section 3604(f)(1) and (f)(2). The statute also provides that discrimination includes “a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.” Does the statute require a landlord to offer a handicapped occupant of a rent-regulated apartment the opportunity to rent, at a regulated price, a vacant apartment located on a lower floor? A federal district court has recently suggested that the statute might, indeed, impose such a requirement on the landlord.