Rights for Children with Autism Attorney in Miami, Florida

Why I Represent Families of Children with Autism

My work representing families of children with autism is personal to me.

I am a civil rights attorney, and for many years my practice has included representing individuals and families whose rights have been violated under the Fair Housing Act and other federal and state civil rights laws. I am also the father of a son with autism.

That experience gives me a perspective on these cases that goes beyond understanding the law.

I know that children with autism can experience and interact with the world differently. Behaviors that are understood by a parent may be misunderstood by a neighbor, condominium board, homeowners’ association, landlord, or property manager. A vocalization, repetitive behavior, sensory response, or meltdown may be viewed simply as a nuisance or a violation of community rules without consideration of the disability behind the behavior.

For a family, the consequences can be devastating.

A Child with Autism Has the Right to Feel Welcome at Home

Home should be the place where a child and family feel most secure.

Unfortunately, I have seen situations in which families of children with autism face repeated noise complaints, condominium or HOA violations, fines, threats, or other enforcement actions because of behavior associated with their child's disability.

Parents may suddenly find themselves having to explain their child's autism to strangers. They may worry every time their child makes noise. They may feel pressure from neighbors or management to somehow prevent manifestations of a disability that cannot simply be turned off.

And sometimes families begin to wonder whether they will be able to remain in their own home.

That is where the Fair Housing Act becomes critically important.

The Fair Housing Act Protects People With Disabilities

Federal fair housing law prohibits housing discrimination because of disability. It also recognizes that treating everyone identically is not always equal treatment.

Under appropriate circumstances, a condominium association, HOA, landlord, or other housing provider may be required to make a reasonable accommodation to a rule, policy, practice, or service when the accommodation is necessary to provide a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

For families of children with autism, reasonable accommodations can become especially important when disability-related behavior conflicts with ordinary community rules.

Every case is different. Having a child with autism does not mean that every rule disappears or that every requested accommodation must automatically be granted. But neither should a housing provider simply enforce its rules without considering its obligations under federal fair housing law.

Why These Cases Matter to Me

As a lawyer, I approach these matters as civil rights cases. I examine the facts, the requested accommodation, the housing provider's response, the applicable law, and the evidence necessary to prove the claim.

As a father of a son with autism, I also understand something that cannot be learned simply by reading cases and statutes.

These cases involve someone's child.

When parents contact me because their condominium association is complaining about their autistic child's behavior, I understand why the dispute can feel profoundly different from an ordinary disagreement with an HOA or landlord.

The issue is not merely a violation notice or a fine. Parents may feel that their child is being told, directly or indirectly, that he or she does not belong.

No family should have to accept disability discrimination as the price of remaining in its home.

Representing Families With Children With Autism Throughout Florida

I represent families in autism housing discrimination and reasonable accommodation cases involving condominium associations, homeowners’ associations, landlords, property managers, and other housing providers.

These cases may involve autism-related noise complaints, denied reasonable accommodations, fines, enforcement proceedings, threats to housing, or retaliation after a parent requests an accommodation or asserts rights protected by the Fair Housing Act.

My goal is straightforward: to use my experience as a civil rights attorney to protect families when disability-related housing disputes threaten their right to live in and enjoy their homes.

For me, representing families of children with autism is not simply another area of my Fair Housing Act practice.

Autism and Noise Complaints in Condos and HOAs: Fair Housing Rights for Families

Families of children with autism sometimes face a difficult housing problem: neighbors complain about noise or behavior associated with the child’s disability, and the condominium association, HOA, landlord, or property manager responds with violation notices, fines, threats, or demands that the noise stop.

When this happens, the Fair Housing Act may protect the family and the child.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families with children with autism in housing discrimination and reasonable accommodation cases in Miami, South Florida, and throughout Florida.

Can Autism-Related Noise Be Protected Under the Fair Housing Act?

Potentially, yes.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination because of disability. It also requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or services when an accommodation is necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

Children with autism may engage in vocalizations, repetitive movements, meltdowns, or other behaviors that create noise. When the behavior is related to the child’s disability, strict enforcement of ordinary noise rules may raise fair housing concerns.

That does not mean that every noise complaint involving a child with autism must be ignored. Instead, the issue is whether a reasonable accommodation can address the disability-related behavior while appropriately considering the interests of other residents.

What Should a Condo or HOA Do After Learning About the Child’s Autism?

Once a housing provider knows that enforcement of a rule may interfere with a person’s use and enjoyment of housing because of a disability, the association or landlord should appropriately evaluate a request for reasonable accommodation.

Depending on the circumstances, a family may request an accommodation concerning enforcement of noise restrictions, violation procedures, fines, or other community rules.

A condominium association or HOA should not simply treat disability-related conduct exactly like ordinary misconduct without considering its obligations under federal fair housing law.

What If the Association Threatens Fines or Eviction?

Families should take these threats seriously.

Repeated violation notices, escalating fines, demands that a tenant leave, or efforts to force a family from a condominium can create significant legal issues when the underlying conduct is connected to a child’s disability.

The facts matter. Important questions can include whether the association knew about the disability, whether an accommodation was requested, how the association responded, whether alternatives were considered, and whether the association’s actions effectively denied the family an equal opportunity to enjoy its home.

Speak With an Autism Housing Discrimination Attorney

Attorney J. Courtney Cunningham represents individuals and families in Fair Housing Act and disability discrimination cases. His practice includes disputes involving condominium associations, HOAs, landlords, property managers, and management companies.

If your family is receiving noise complaints because of a child with autism, facing condominium or HOA violations, or being threatened with fines or loss of housing because of autism-related behavior, legal protections may be available.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families in autism housing discrimination and reasonable accommodation matters throughout Florida.

Reasonable Accommodations for Children With Autism Under the Fair Housing Act

Parents of children with autism frequently encounter housing rules that were written without their child’s disability in mind. Federal fair housing law may require a landlord, condominium association, or homeowners’ association to make exceptions or adjustments to those rules when necessary because of a disability.

These adjustments are known as reasonable accommodations.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families with children with autism in Fair Housing Act reasonable accommodation and housing discrimination cases throughout Florida.

What Is a Reasonable Accommodation?

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of disability. One form of prohibited discrimination is the refusal to make a reasonable accommodation to rules, policies, practices, or services when the accommodation may be necessary to provide a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

For a child with autism, the appropriate accommodation depends upon the child’s disability-related needs and the particular housing problem.

There is no single “autism accommodation” that applies to every child.

What Types of Accommodations Can Families Request?

Accommodation requests involving children with autism can arise from many different circumstances.

For example, a family might encounter problems involving noise restrictions, common-area rules, behavioral restrictions, enforcement procedures, fines, parking or access requirements, or other condominium, HOA, or apartment policies.

The important legal question is generally whether there is a connection between the child’s disability and the requested accommodation and whether the accommodation is reasonable and necessary to provide an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing.

Does the Request Have to Use the Words “Reasonable Accommodation”?

Not necessarily.

Fair housing disputes often turn on what the housing provider actually knew. A parent does not necessarily need to use particular legal terminology to communicate that a disability-related exception or change is needed.

Nevertheless, a carefully prepared written reasonable accommodation request can be extremely important. It can identify the disability-related need, explain the requested accommodation, and establish when the housing provider received notice.

Documentation can become particularly important if litigation later develops over whether the association or landlord appropriately responded.

Can a Housing Provider Delay an Accommodation Request?

A housing provider should not simply leave a legitimate accommodation request unanswered indefinitely.

Federal courts have recognized that an unreasonable delay in providing a necessary accommodation can potentially amount to a denial. Whether a particular delay violates the Fair Housing Act depends upon the circumstances.

Families therefore should preserve emails, letters, violation notices, medical documentation, meeting records, and other communications concerning the request.

Florida Attorney for Autism Housing Accommodation Cases

Attorney J. Courtney Cunningham is a Miami civil rights attorney whose practice includes Fair Housing Act litigation and disability discrimination claims.

If your child has autism and your condominium association, HOA, landlord, or property management company has denied or ignored a reasonable accommodation request, you may have rights under federal or Florida fair housing law.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families with children with autism in reasonable accommodation and housing discrimination matters in Miami, South Florida, and throughout Florida.

Can an HOA or Condo Association Punish a Family Because a Child Has Autism?

A condominium association or homeowners’ association generally has the right to enforce legitimate community rules. But those enforcement powers are subject to federal and state fair housing laws.

When an HOA or condominium association takes enforcement action against a family because of conduct connected to a child’s autism, the association may have an obligation to consider a reasonable accommodation before imposing fines, restrictions, or other sanctions.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families with children with autism in HOA, condominium, and other housing discrimination disputes throughout Florida.

Does the Fair Housing Act Protect Children With Autism?

Yes, when the child meets the Fair Housing Act’s definition of a person with a disability.

The FHA prohibits discrimination because of disability and requires reasonable accommodations under appropriate circumstances.

The law can apply to condominium associations and homeowners’ associations, as well as landlords and other housing providers.

What Happens When Disability-Related Behavior Violates an HOA Rule?

This is where many disputes begin.

A child with autism might make repetitive sounds, experience a meltdown, have difficulty complying with certain behavioral expectations, or have another disability-related need that conflicts with a community rule.

An association should not assume that the existence of a rule ends the analysis.

Once the association has sufficient notice that a disability is involved and that an accommodation is needed, federal fair housing obligations may require consideration of whether the rule or its enforcement should reasonably be modified.

Can an HOA Fine a Family With an Autistic Child?

The answer depends on the circumstances.

The Fair Housing Act does not automatically exempt a family from every community rule simply because a child has autism. But imposing fines without appropriately considering a requested disability accommodation can potentially create a fair housing problem.

The analysis may involve questions such as:

• Did the association know that the child had a disability?

• Was the conduct connected to the disability?

• Did the family request an accommodation?

• Was the requested accommodation reasonable and necessary?

• Did the association meaningfully consider the request?

• Were fines or other enforcement measures imposed while the accommodation issue remained unresolved?

The answers can determine whether an ordinary HOA dispute becomes a Fair Housing Act disability discrimination case.

Retaliation May Also Violate the Fair Housing Act

Families also have protection when they exercise their fair housing rights.

An association should not retaliate against parents because they requested a disability accommodation, complained about discrimination, or otherwise exercised rights protected by fair housing law.

Depending upon the facts, retaliation can constitute a separate Fair Housing Act violation.

Florida Lawyer for HOA and Autism Discrimination Cases

Attorney J. Courtney Cunningham represents plaintiffs in civil rights and Fair Housing Act litigation, including families facing disability discrimination by condominium associations, HOAs, landlords, and property management companies.

If your HOA or condominium association is fining, threatening, harassing, or taking enforcement action against your family because of behavior associated with your child’s autism, legal protections may be available.

J. Courtney Cunningham, PLLC represents families in autism housing discrimination, reasonable accommodation, and Fair Housing Act cases throughout Florida.