The King County Housing Authority is committed to providing accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities so that their living arrangements are, as a whole, comparable to that of other applicants/residents. Accommodations must be reasonable, causing neither undue financial or administrative burden nor a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program. KCHA ensures reasonable accommodations for residents of its subsidized housing.

Examples of accommodations a qualifying applicant/tenant may request include:

A structural change or repair in their apartment.
A change or repair in some other part of the housing development.
A change in the Housing Authority’s rules, policies, or procedures.

KCHA will work with an applicant/resident to make an accommodation that is reasonable to them and that suits their needs, giving priority to those methods that offer programs and activities in the most appropriate integrated setting.

Reasonable accommodations will be made in response to individual requests from qualified persons with disabilities. The request may be made in any manner that is convenient for the person with disabilities; individuals with the same disability may not need or desire the same level of accommodation.

If a reasonable accommodation is requested, KCHA may require the applicant/resident to provide reliable documentation (not medical records) that they have a disability and documentation of the need for the particular accommodation(s). The Housing Authority will not ask questions about the nature or severity of the disability except as specifically related to the requested accommodation. The type of verification the applicant/tenant will need to provide depends on the specifics of the situation.

KCHA cannot provide supportive services (counseling, medical or social services) beyond those offered to all residents. In addition, while the Housing Authority will make modifications to enable a qualified applicant/resident with disabilities to live in a KCHA community, it is not required to offer housing of a fundamentally different nature. The test is whether, with appropriate modifications, the applicant/resident can live in the housing that the Housing Authority offers; not whether the applicant/resident could benefit from some other type of housing that the Housing Authority does not offer.

Reasonable Accommodation Request Form for Public Housing Applicants and Residents

Reasonable Accommodation Request Form for Housing Choice (Section 8) Applicants and Participants

Note: The information above is a brief summary of KCHA’s reasonable accommodation policy. To obtain further information or to submit a request for a reasonable accommodation, applicants or residents should contact their management office.