51.5-45 - Right of persons with disabilities to housing accommodations. - Virginia Statutes

§ 51.5-45. Right of persons with disabilities to housing accommodations.

A. All persons with disabilities shall be entitled to full and equalopportunity to acquire, as other members of the general public, any housingaccommodations offered for sale, rent, lease, or compensation, subject to theconditions and limitations established by law and applying alike to allpersons. "Housing accommodations" for the purpose of this section means anyreal property, or portion thereof, which is used or occupied or is intended,arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, orsleeping place of one or more human beings, but shall not include any singlefamily residence the occupant or owner of which rents, leases, or furnishesfor compensation not more than one room therein.

B. Every visually-impaired person who has a guide dog, any hearing-impairedperson who has a hearing dog, and every mobility-impaired person with aservice dog, as those terms are defined in § 51.5-44, shall be entitled tofull and equal access with such dog to all housing accommodations providedfor in this section. He shall not be required to pay extra compensation forsuch dog but shall be liable for any damage done to the premises by such dog.

C. Nothing in this section shall require any person offering for sale,renting, leasing, or providing for compensation real property to modify thatreal property or provide a higher degree of care for a person with adisability than for a person who is not disabled, except as provided in §36-99.5, nor shall anything in this section require any person who isselling, renting, leasing, or providing for compensation real property tosell, rent, lease or provide such property to any person who would constitutea direct threat to the property or safety of others.

(Code 1950, § 63.1-171.7; 1972, c. 156; 1979, c. 207; 1984, c. 753; 1985, c.421, § 51.01-45; 1987, c. 500.)