Spring Hill, a renter with a mobility disability, contacted the FHC when her landlord refused to grant her an assigned accessible parking space. Living at a Provident Asset Management property, she was often unable to access the sidewalk safely with her walker due to other residents’ vehicles blocking her path. When Spring made her first request for reasonable accommodation to the landlord, she was told it would be unfair to other residents if she were granted a designated parking space since all residents were provided parking under their lease agreement.
FHC staff stepped in to explain the protections afforded to renters with disabilities like Spring’s under the Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), making it clear that the FHA preempted any protections under state contract law that governed the lease agreement with other tenants. The landlord continued to deny the request for reasonable accommodation, so Spring chose to work with Cooperating Attorney Francyne Stacey to sue the housing provider in the Eastern District of Michigan. Assigned to the Honorable Judith Levy, the case settled for an undisclosed amount in May 2026.