California ADA Compliance for Landlords & Tenants

1. ADA Help & Defense for Commercial Landlords and Tenants

When commercial space is leased to a business, both the landlord and the commercial tenant must comply with the ADA and other laws that provide disabled persons with access to the business.  However, your lease agreement may have assigned primary responsibility for ADA compliance to either the landlord or the tenant. That party must then pay any discrimination award, and the other party will have to pay only whatever balance is left when the first party has no more assets.

If you are a commercial landlord or tenant, the experienced attorneys of San Diego Law Firm can help you comply with the ADA and avoid being sued. We can assist you with all of the following:

• If you already have a commercial lease, we can advise you what your ADA obligations are according to that lease, and according to the law.
• We can also negotiate with the other party to modify your lease to clearly establish who is primarily responsible for ADA compliance, and how the obligation is to be shared.  Settling these issues early can help you avoid ADA compliance expenses that are not your responsibility, and to recover your expenses in defending a lawsuit.
• If you are obligated under the lease to maintain the premises in compliance with ADA and California disability laws, we will advise you on who is protected and considered disabled and the steps your particular business must take to be sufficiently accessible. We can also advise you on ADA compliance for new construction and building modifications. 
• If you are a commercial tenant and have not yet signed a lease agreement, or will be renewing your lease, we can help you negotiate your lease terms to minimize your liability under the ADA.

2. ADA Help & Defense for Residential Landlords

If you rent out residential property, you must comply with laws such as the federal Fair Housing Act that prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of disability. California law also requires that property offered for rent or lease must be accessible to persons with disabilities.  San Diego Law Firm can help you avoid lawsuits for disability discrimination by:

• Advising you on when and what types of modifications you must permit a tenant to do to accommodate his or her disability. 
• For multifamily housing, advising you on when and how you must comply with wheelchair and other accessibility construction requirements.
• Drafting or modifying written policies, rental leases, and other documents so that you are plainly in compliance with the law, and advising you what adjustments you should make to your rental practices to avoid lawsuits. We can help you avoid unforeseen pitfalls. A typical example: your rental agreement needs to include a clause prohibiting tenants from running any type of business from their unit; if your agreement is missing this clause, you could end up with ADA compliance obligations to the tenant's customers.

For more information about ADA and state disability laws that may apply to you, please see these sections:

• ADA Compliance and Lawsuit Prevention Advice for Businesses
• ADA Compliance and Lawsuit Prevention Advice for Employers

3. Defense of Lawsuits for Non-Compliance with Disability Laws

San Diego Law Firm is experienced in defending businesses, employers, landlords, and tenants against suits for non-compliance under the ADA, FMLA, FEHA, and other state and federal disability laws.  We will carefully review discrimination or accessibility claims brought against you and advise you on your options.  As your legal counsel, we will help you resolve your disability compliance problem in a way that will help minimize disruption and expense to you and your business. 

4. Benefits to Our Clients

We are committed to keeping our clients fully informed and offering them the guidance and support they need to make good choices between different legal alternatives.  San Diego Law Firm will ensure that all of your legal matters are supervised by a seasoned senior partner who will act as your Personal Legal Representative and oversee your legal affairs, even if another attorney is performing a particular service for you. For as long as we represent you, you will receive the same dedication and quality of service that brought you to us in the first place.

How to Contact San Diego Law Firm

We handle matters throughout California, and new clients are always welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact us either by:

Telephone: (619) 794-0243

E-mail: contactus@SanDiegoLawFirm.com
 

We can be reached by telephone Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You may also use the form below to contact us. This form is answered Monday through Friday during the work day. Please remember that for us to become your attorneys, we must first have a written attorney-client agreement signed by both of us, so please do not email any confidential information at this point. After we have reached an agreement with you, we can then exchange information freely. We look forward to helping you.

Contact Information:
Name:	(Required)
E-mail:	(Required)
Home or Cell Phone:
Work Phone:
How may we help you?