How Should You Mark Parking Spaces for Tenants with Disabilities?

Q: Max, a tenant in Apartment 16B, asks you to post a sign to indicate that nobody else can park in the space you’ve reserved to accommodate his disability. What should the sign say?   

a.         “Disability Reserved Parking”

b.         “Reserved Parking”

c.          “Disability Parking Reserved for Exclusive Use of Max Jones, Apt. 16B”

d.         You shouldn’t post a sign at all

Scroll down for the Answer …

A: b

You should put up a sign marking the space “Reserved,” but it shouldn’t say anything about disability or identify the tenant or his unit number since this is privacy-protected information that you generally can’t disclose except in narrow circumstances (such as when disclosure is required by law). Thus, b. is the right answer.  

Wrong answers explained:

a.         The reason a. is wrong is that all you need to say to accomplish the purpose of posting the sign—that is, to keep others from parking in the space—is that the space is reserved. You don’t have to say why it’s reserved.

c.          This choice is wrong because a “disability” reserved sign that lists the tenant’s name and/or unit number essentially discloses the fact that the tenant is disabled, in violation of privacy laws.

d.         This answer doesn’t work because posting a sign to indicate that the space is reserved is often necessary to keep others out and ensure the disabled tenant has access to the space at all times; the problems arise when you include personal information about the tenant or disability in the sign posting.

For more guidance on avoiding parking-related discrimination claims, see our March lesson, “How to Handle Requests for Accessible Parking Spaces,” available to premium subscribers here.