Good Neighbor: Understand Rights of Residents

The residents of recovery housing are considered individuals with disabilities, and are a protected class under Federal and state fair housing laws.  This means that local governments can not discriminate against the residents of recovery homes.  If you find that there is a local ordinance that prohibits you from operating in a community, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation on behalf of your residents.

Local governments may not understand how to grant reasonable accommodations or be well versed in how federal fair housing law applies to recovery homes.

While you do not need to have legal counsel to request a reasonable accommodation, you may consider engaging legal counsel to assist you in this process to ensure that you are fully understanding and explaining the legal rights of your residents.

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(LEARN MORE from NARR about the Standard Compendium including Resident Rights: https://narronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/NARR-Standard-Compendium-v3.pdf)

(LEARN MORE from OhioMHAS Sample of a Resident Rights Statement:

https://mha.ohio.gov/static/Portals/0/assets/SchoolsAndCommunities/CommunityAndHousing/HousingResources/RecoveryHousing/development-handbook/SampleResidentsRights.docx)