## Facts

- Windsor Plaza Condominium Association governed a residential condominium with garage parking spaces deeded to individual unit owners.
- Michael Fishel, who used a wheelchair, bought a unit with an assigned deeded garage space.
- After moving in, Fishel found he could not get his wheelchair into or out of his deeded space because the configuration did not allow sufficient room to maneuver.
- Fishel asked the association’s board for a reasonable accommodation to secure handicapped-accessible parking in the garage.
- The board responded that it could not provide the requested accommodation because the few handicapped-accessible garage spaces were deeded to individual owners and were not controlled by the board.
- Fishel proposed converting a bicycle-storage area in the garage into an accessible parking space.
- The board declined to make physical changes to the garage and suggested Fishel use on-street handicapped parking; Fishel objected that it was dangerous due to traffic conditions.
- The board arranged with the owner of a handicapped-accessible garage space to allow Fishel to use that space, but Fishel rejected the arrangement because it did not transfer ownership of the space to him.
- Fishel filed complaints with federal and state authorities alleging disability discrimination under fair-housing statutes.
- The Virginia Fair Housing Board filed suit against the association; the trial court dismissed the case, and the Board appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the association’s response to Fishel’s request for handicapped-accessible parking could constitute a failure to make a reasonable accommodation under Virginia and federal fair-housing law.
2. Whether a reasonable accommodation for accessible parking may be satisfied by granting a resident the ability to use an accessible space, even if title to that space is not conveyed to the resident.
3. Whether the trial court properly dismissed the Fair Housing Board’s enforcement action at the pleading stage.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed the trial court’s dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court treated the Virginia Fair Housing Law’s reasonable-accommodation requirement in line with the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act.
- The court explained that fair-housing law requires a reasonable and necessary accommodation that provides equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling, not necessarily the specific accommodation demanded.
- The court indicated that providing effective access to a handicapped-accessible parking space can satisfy the duty to accommodate even when the arrangement does not transfer ownership of the space.
- The court left the ultimate determination of reasonableness and necessity to further proceedings rather than resolving it by dismissal.

## Legal Principles

- A housing provider must make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
- The accommodation duty focuses on practical access and equal opportunity, not on granting a particular property interest or the resident’s preferred solution.
- An offered accommodation may be sufficient if it effectively addresses the disability-related need and is reasonable in light of the housing provider’s authority and the governing property arrangements.
- Whether an accommodation is reasonable and necessary often depends on facts and should not be decided on dismissal where the pleadings support a viable claim.

## Conclusion

Fair Housing Board v. Windsor Plaza Condominium Association holds that a condominium association’s fair-housing obligation is to provide a reasonable, necessary accommodation that affords a resident with a disability equal use and enjoyment; the law does not automatically require transferring ownership of an accessible parking space, and dismissal was improper where the pleadings raised a viable accommodation dispute requiring further factual development.


Fair Housing Board v. Windsor Plaza Condominium Association, 768 S.E.2d 79 (2014)