INSIDER's Pop Quiz!

Q: To avoid fair housing problems, you should always handle maintenance requests on a first-come, first-served basis. True or false?

A: False. In general, communities should adopt policies to handle maintenance and repair requests on a first-come, first-served basis—unless the request involves an emergency. Furthermore, a maintenance or repair request may require immediate attention in some cases if it qualifies as a reasonable accommodation for an individual with a disability.

For more guidance on this issue, see “Making Sure Maintenance Workers Don’t Trigger Fair Housing Claims,” in our October 2012 issue, available on our homepage.