Question about the disclosure of disabilities?

The reason a person does not need to disclose their disability as it often leads to unwarranted discrimination. Some disabilities are obvious and than discrimination will still take place. A landlord if told about needed accommodations in advance might decide that don't want to rent to you and that IS discrimination.

A landlord can ask for proof of the reason for a needed accommodation. Not for proof of a disability. If you require an air conditioner, the landlord can request proof of the reason an air conditioner is needed from a medical professional. Example: A person does not need to prove that they have asthma, but they do have to provide proof that their health would be compromised if the air in their home was over 80 degrees. This in essence discloses they have asthma, but they could also have emphesema, black lung disease, or any of a number of other breathing disabilities.

It MIGHT be fair if all the information was laid out ahead of time, but to be fair, the chances of a person with a disability getting rented to would drop substantially. When the stigma of disability disappears - ask the question again.

Added: The other reason disclosure is not required ahead of time is that a person may not know what accommodations they need. They might need none in their current living situation and so decide not to disclose. But in their new apartment there is a problem with air circulation and so the apartment gets much hotter (or colder) than their previous apartment. So they need an accommodation. A person can choose to disclose or not. The only time disclosure is required is when you ask for a specific accommodation.

Don't see how this could be a problem. While detailed medical information cannot be compelled, certainly some disclosure would be required to support the request for the appropriate accommodation. The very nature of the accommodation requested would make the disability somewhat obvious, I would think. Landlord would certainly need to know what activities the accommodation was intended to support if only to ensure the best logical solution is employed. Quite often, there are several possibilities available. Construction standards in most jurisdictions, anyway, address this to some extent, i.e. bathroom rails v. rails AND a walk-in shower AND a raised toilet AND special faucet handles. All that bugaboo.

The reason people are allowed to not disclose information about their disability to their landlord, employer etc. is the high risk of discrimination if they do disclose it.

If people were by law forced to disclose that information in advance, it would be virtually impossible for people with disabilities to find a place to rent, get a job etc. because let‘s face it, most landlords and employers would go for the easier option, which is to rent to or employ someone who does not have any disabilities and who does not need any accommodations, regardless of who is the most qualified for the job.

Disabilities still carry a stigma with them and people are still being discriminated against and not given chances because of their disabilities. It is illegal to discriminate against people because of their disabilities, but it still happens. Allowing people to not disclose their disability in advance is just one of the ways used to try to reduce and prevent such discrimination.

The law does not view disabilities as relevant information for employers or landlords, as long as the person is able to do the job with reasonable accommodations and fulfill their duties as tenants.

"Wouldn't it be fair to everyone involved to have all the information laid out beforehand?"

No, unfortunately that would not be fair to everyone involved. That would just turn the tables and enable the landlords/employers to turn down applicants with disabilities because they are unwilling to provide accommodations. That would not be fair to people with disabilities. Unfortunately it is hard to be completely fair to everyone when there is a conflict of interests like in situations like this.

if you are on SSD/SSI then it is obvious that you have some sort of disability

and you have to provide your letter from SSA as proof of income

in addition, many landlords will not rent to someone on SSI/SSD as thier only source of income because they can't garnish SSD/SSI in the event that the person doesn't pay and/or destroys property

so... using myself as an example.. a person who graduated college early, saved enough money to put 25% down, built my credit up, lived on less than I made so that my banking history would be strong & bought my first house when I was 22 without any co-signer.... raised a child & lived fully self-suficient dispite disabilities (at that time I was able to out-run them)... did so many things right & had set myself up to retire by 50 (in case my disabilities out-ran me)

well, I was a passenger in a car accident with an uninsured motorist.... my already existing disabilities went into overdive & I was faced with new additional disabling conditions....

It took liquidating everything I owned to pay my hugely expensive medical bills and support myself for the nearly 3 years of the disability process....

So, now I have none of my assets (other than good credit)

and even though I was a home-owner I technically did not have rental history in 15 years

and NO ONE will rent to me without a co-signer because I am on SSD!!!!

My point is that being on either side of the fence isn't the best of circumstances

It is Humilating Enough to have to deal with Severe Disabilities...

It cost me EVERYTHING... all of my plans, all of my money, all of my loyality to a company that was not loyal to me in the end, all of my retirement (supposedly I can get my pension in @ 20 years), all of my standard of living, not to mention my DIGNITY OF BEING SELF-SUFFICIENT!!!

The ONLY accomodation my landlord has had to provide me is to alow me my service dog.. and that DID require proof in the form of a letter from my doctor verifying that I have a qualifying disability, that I use a Service Dog & what services the SD provides to me....

Because ADA laws allow 3 questions pertaining to SD: (1) are you disabled (2) is that a Service Dog & (3) WHAT DOES YOUR SERVICE DOG DO FOR YOU???? then to answer the question DOES discolose my disability. In addition, ADA allows landlords to request proof for Service Animals

They should be, but that's not how laws work in some places.

Becoming a landlord is mostly signing yourself up for a long continuous headache.

Yes disabilities should be disclosed because there are laws that require specific accommodations for disabled people.