Know Your Legal Rights
Know your Legal Rights and Protections for Housing for Persons with Disabilities
There are federal and state legal protections for housing rights for persons of disabilities, such as people with alcoholism and other drug addictions, mental illness, and developmental disabilities, to name a few. Unfortunately, these rights have not been well publicized. Therefore, the people who have disabilities, those who provide group housing for them, and local governments who enact zoning and land use regulations are not as informed as they should be on this very important subject.
As a result, some governments have enacted or are considering enacting ordinances that are considered in violation of these laws. As providers have become more educated in the past few years they are standing up more for these rights with their local governments. Here are three issue briefings that explain key points that all providers of housing for persons with disabilities, their advocates and staff and elected officials of local governments need to know.
Comparison chart: Differences among group home types for persons with disabilities (California)
Sober Living Fact Sheet from the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs – This document describes the qualities of a good sober living home. Note that one guideline (individual resident agreements) cannot be met in the City of Los Angeles as the result of a pending zoning ordinance.