Property management companies must ensure their websites are accessible for prospective tenants and current residents. Rental listings, tenant portals, and maintenance request systems must work for users with disabilities under both ADA and Fair Housing Act requirements.
Property management ADA/FHA lawsuits
Average FHA + ADA settlement
Property sites with violations
Housing is a fundamental need, and the Fair Housing Act adds additional accessibility requirements on top of ADA. Tenant portals for rent payment, maintenance requests, and lease signing must be fully accessible.
Audit your tenant portal end-to-end — login, rent payment, maintenance requests, lease documents, and communication tools — for keyboard and screen reader accessibility. Add detailed text descriptions to all floor plan images and property photos, describing room layouts, dimensions, and features visible in each image. Ensure rental applications, income verification uploads, and digital lease signing tools are all keyboard-operable with properly labeled form fields. Test your property search and filtering features for accessibility, providing text-based alternatives to any map-based search interfaces.
Yes. The FHA prohibits housing discrimination, and courts have applied this to online rental listings and applications. An inaccessible property listing page can violate both ADA and FHA, creating dual liability. FHA damages can include compensatory and punitive damages, making the financial risk higher than ADA alone.
Rent payment portals are essential services that must be fully accessible. Login forms, payment amount fields, payment method selection, and confirmation screens must all work with keyboards and screen readers. Tenants with disabilities should not have to call the office or mail a check because the portal is inaccessible.
Floor plan diagrams must have detailed text descriptions explaining the layout, room dimensions, and key features. A simple alt text like 'floor plan' is inadequate. Describe the layout in a way that allows someone who cannot see the image to understand the apartment configuration and flow between rooms.
Maintenance request submission is an essential tenant service that must be accessible. Request forms need labeled fields, file upload controls must be keyboard-operable for attaching photos, and status tracking for submitted requests must be screen reader compatible. Emergency maintenance contact information must be available as accessible text.
Yes. Prospective tenants who encounter an inaccessible online rental application can file complaints under both ADA and FHA. The inability to apply for housing through the same process available to other applicants constitutes discrimination. This includes application forms, income verification uploads, and e-signature tools.
ADA website lawsuits against property management businesses are increasing every year. Settlements typically range from $10,000 to $75,000+, and defense costs alone can exceed $25,000. The cost of proactive compliance is a fraction of a single lawsuit.
Enter your URL and get a complete WCAG 2.1 AA audit in under 60 seconds. See exactly what needs fixing.
Scan Your Site Free