Make your home work

A full renovation is not the first step for every home. The Administration for Community Living says assistive technology can be low tech, and state programs can demonstrate devices, lend them for a short time, and reuse equipment someone else no longer needs. California's reuse and loan programs are on the equipment guide.

We did not open a government catalog of ramps or grab bars, so this page does not name products or installation steps. An occupational therapist or an independent living center can look at the doorway, the threshold, and the bathroom with you. If you rent, get permission before anything is fastened to the building.

The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse a person with a disability permission to make a reasonable modification of a home they occupy, or will occupy, when the change may be necessary for full use of the home. HUD and the Justice Department say that permission is generally at the expense of the person with a disability. Examples they name include widening a doorway, a ramp, and grab bars. There has to be a connection between the change and the disability, and the change has to be reasonable.

In a rental, the regulation says a landlord may, where it is reasonable, require the renter to agree to restore the interior when they move, except for reasonable wear and tear. The landlord may also ask for a reasonable description of the work, a reasonable assurance that it will be done in a workmanlike way, and any required permits. The landlord may not raise the usual security deposit because of a disability. In some cases the landlord may negotiate an escrow for the restoration cost. Read the regulation before you rely on a summary.

A reasonable accommodation is a different request. It is a change to a rule, policy, or service, such as a reserved parking space or an assistance animal when there is a no-pets rule. HUD's booklet uses those as examples. Do not treat a structural change and a rule change as the same ask.

Housing that receives HUD money can have added disability duties, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. HUD sorts out which law applies. Report possible discrimination as soon as you can. HUD says there are time limits. Call 1-800-669-9777, or use the online report. Retaliation for reporting is illegal.

These are questions, not a passing grade for a home. Walk the path you would actually use.

• Can you get from the parking or the sidewalk to the door without a step you cannot manage?
• Are the entry, the bedroom, and the bathroom doors wide enough for the wheelchair or walker you use?
• Is there a bathroom you can enter and use, including the shower or tub?
• If you rent, will the provider allow a modification, and who pays?
• If the building gets federal housing money, ask whether added accessibility rules apply.

USDA Section 504, for some rural homeowners

The Section 504 Home Repair program lends to low and very-low-income homeowners who live in the home and cannot get affordable credit elsewhere, to repair, improve, or modernize the house or remove health and safety hazards. Grants are for homeowners age 62 or older with very-low income, and grants must remove health and safety hazards. The page we opened says the maximum loan is $40,000, the maximum grant is $10,000, and they can be combined up to $50,000. Loans are 20 years at a fixed 1 percent. A grant has a lifetime limit of $10,000 and must be repaid if the property is sold in less than 3 years. The home has to be in an eligible rural area. This is for homeowners, not renters. Applications go through a local Rural Development office.

California

Medi-Cal Community Supports can include environmental accessibility adaptations. The Department of Health Care Services says those modifications can include ramps, grab bars, a wider doorway for a wheelchair user, a stair lift, or a bathroom a wheelchair can use. Plans are encouraged to offer Community Supports. They are not all required to offer every support. Ask your plan, and use the county search tool.

The Dignity at Home Fall Prevention Program is run through local Area Agencies on Aging. Services may include an in-home assessment, home modifications, and equipment. All of these have to be true: you have a disability or you are 60 or older, adjusted household income is not over 80 percent of the area median, and you have fallen, are at risk of falling, or are at risk of institutionalization. The local agency decides.

Texas

The Amy Young Barrier Removal Program, at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, gives one-time grants of up to $22,500 for accessibility modifications and hazardous conditions. A household member must have a disability. Household income cannot exceed 80 percent of the area median family income. Tenants and homeowners can qualify. The program is not available in every part of Texas. Households do not apply straight to the department. Use Help for Texans, choose home repair and accessibility modifications, and search your city or county.