Housing laws exist at the Federal level and are enforced by both the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and at the state (PA) level. These laws are overseen by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). The purpose of housing laws are to prevent discrimination of tenants and homebuyers and to ensure that certain housing standards are met. An example of this would be making reasonable accommodations for the tenant. To get a better sense of what your housing rights are, we recommend viewing the document Know Your Rights as a Renter in Pennsylvania from The Housing Equity Center of PA.
Also, look at the Disability page from the U.S. HUD, which explains the federal government’s role in housing rights and the Fair Housing Act. Topics include assistance animals, community-based housing, reasonable accommodations and many other subjects related to housing for those with disabilities. We encourage you to check out the Fair Housing Practices page from PHRC. PHRC shares honest information about what discrimination can look like and who is protected. It also provides thorough information on how to report discrimination.
We hope that this has given you enough background knowledge to be familiar with your housing rights since it pertains to individuals with disabilities. Additionally, if you feel that you or a loved one is being discriminated against, you now know who to contact about the issue.
