Kayden Gill, a third-year in health sciences, exits his off-campus apartment. Credit: Courtesy of Kayden Gill
The off-campus housing search at Ohio State is known to start early, but finding accessible housing may send some students searching earlier than most.
Students seeking accommodations for a wheelchair or vision or hearing impairment are encouraged to begin their off-campus housing search in the fall. Landlords tend to fulfill requests for “reasonable accommodations” in making properties more accessible, but students could also be held responsible for adapting a rented property themselves.
Students seeking accommodations may want to look at newer properties because they must follow the latest building codes for accessibility, Molly Hegarty, managing director of Student Legal Services, said in an email. She said although all landlords are legally required to make “reasonable accommodations” to make their buildings more accessible for a tenant, landlords of older buildings are not required to retrofit their properties to meet current Federal Housing Administration accessibility requirements, and the strengths of an individual property should be prioritized over any particular location on campus.
“The area a student is looking at may be less important than the building itself and whether the building can accommodate the needs of the disabled individual,” Hegarty said.
Ohio State’s paratransit services extend beyond the boundaries of campus, giving students easier access if they are unable to find living arrangements in the immediate campus area, according to the Transportation and Traffic Management website.
Hegarty said students are not required to request an accommodation at any specific point along the housing search process and landlords are not permitted to inquire about a disability until a tenant requests a “reasonable accommodation.”
There are two frames of thought around making a request for accommodation: before signing a lease and after.
Hegarty said SLS may advise students to make a request before signing a lease if they are concerned it’s within the landlord’s legal right to deny the request. Other times, SLS will encourage students to wait until after signing a lease to make a request so that their application does not risk rejection as a “pretext for discrimination,” she said.
“Because the best time to discuss accommodations may vary, Student Legal Services recommends scheduling an appointment with SLS to discuss the student’s specific situation,” Hegarty said in an email.
A 2011 study of accessibility in American housing by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found about 22 percent of households in Columbus with at least one mobility-disabled resident are considered “potentially modifiable,” about five percent are “livable” and less than one percent are wheelchair accessible.
“Potentially modifiable” homes have the structural framework to become accessible but may have existing stairs to the entry or bedrooms and bathrooms above the ground floor without elevator access.
“Livable” homes are deemed accessible for those with moderate mobility difficulties.
“Wheelchair accessible” homes have all the necessary accommodations that allow an individual to live and prepare their own meals, according to the HUD report.
Kayden Gill, a third-year in health sciences, found his apartment through the search function on the Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services website. Although it’s located on the third floor, he said it’s still “somewhat accessible” with his wheelchair.
Gill said unlike public spaces, such as schools, that are legally required to make areas wheelchair accessible, the cost of retrofitting off-campus housing to become more accessible can potentially fall on the tenant rather than the landlord. He said personally investing in those changes is a big commitment, especially when the student is only renting the property for a year.
“That’s the biggest barrier with off-campus housing,” Gill said. “Obviously, putting in an elevator or chairlift is very expensive.”
Gill said in addition to paying to implement the accommodation, the tenant could also be responsible for removing it at the end of a lease term. He said building a wheelchair ramp can cost between $1,800 and $3,600.
Caroline Karbowski, a third-year in biology and chemistry and tutoring coordinator of the Deaf-Hearing Club, said deaf and hard of hearing students may look for well-lit apartments with open floor plans conducive to sign language. She said tenants may also install visual alerts such as a strobe light fire alarm or doorbell.
Karbowski said blind or low-vision students may look for appliances that are easier to manipulate than touchscreens, such as ovens with dials. Potential tenants may also ask the landlord if contracts and rent payments can be available electronically rather than in print so they can be read aloud.
“There have been things where someone’s like, ‘Oh, you didn’t pay your [bill] and now you’re behind’ and the person’s like, ‘Well, I never knew you sent it to me,’” Karbowski said. “I think most people like to go for email because email can work on your electronic Braille display or screen reader. There’s a lot of versatility to it.”
Gill said he would advise any student looking for accessible housing to start searching early in the leasing process. He said although the newer apartment complexes on campus along North High Street are more accessible due to compliance with the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act update, those buildings will also be unaffordable to most.
“It’s just the issue with old houses and places that are building, renovating these small houses around campus,” Gill said. “Instead of putting in a ramp, which really isn’t that difficult, they go ahead and just build a new porch with a bunch of stairs.”
This story was updated Oct. 29 at 11:54 a.m. to include accommodation requirements in older properties.
