AURORA, Colo. — For more than 15 years, Kimberly Chatham and her mother have lived at The Fletcher Southlands apartments, along the 22900 block of E. Smoky Hill Road in Aurora.
For most of those years, Chatham said, she had a written reasonable accommodation allowing her to pay rent on the 15th of each month, after her disability check arrived, instead of the first.
“I pay the same amount as everybody else," she said. "I just pay it on the 15th without late fees and without notices on my door.”
Chatham has multiple sclerosis and lives with her mother on a fixed income from disability and Social Security benefits.
“Our finances are so tight… We literally have a couple hundred in our bank account, if we’re lucky,” Chatham said.
Reasonable accommodations are changes or adjustments made to help people with disabilities have equal access to housing.
Disability rights attorney Morgan Hecht Dominguez of Disability Law Colorado said allowing rent payments mid-month is a common practice.
“Absolutely, that’s a very common reasonable accommodation request,” Dominguez said. “A reasonable accommodation is not a favor. It’s required under the law. Housing providers are required to grant a reasonable accommodation unless it would cause them an undue burden, and that has to be something significant that it wouldn't be feasible for them to do."
She added her organization has received “quite a few complaints” about Greystar failing to provide accommodations.
Chatham said that after a new property manager took over, she was told Greystar cannot honor her agreements. Notices began appearing on her door and she was charged $95 in late fees. She reached out to Denver7 Investigates for help.
“Every time a new manager comes, it’s such a fight for everything,” she told us.
After she contacted Denver7 Investigates, Chatham said the next day, a regional manager called her.
► WATCH IN THE PLAYER BELOW | Jaclyn Allen helps Aurora tenant get her disability accommodation back
“He was super apologetic… they were going to honor it… and waive the late fees,” she said.
An email from Greystar confirmed her accommodation request was approved and the late fees reversed.
“I sincerely apologize for the back and forth regarding this matter,” the property manager's email read.
In a statement to Denver7 Investigates, Greystar said: “Once the resident shared her concerns, regional leadership connected with her directly and resolved the matter. We value our residents and appreciate the opportunity to work through concerns collaboratively.”
More Denver7 Investigates reporting on Greystar:
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- Largest US landlord to pay $7 million to settle rent‑setting algorithm lawsuit
- Dangerous dust? Tenant lawsuit alleges retaliation over silica dust exposure in Littleton
- FTC, Colorado sue corporate landlord Greystar for alleged deceptive advertising, 'junk fees'
- Colorado AG Phil Weiser discusses apartment price-fixing lawsuit against large landlords
- Colorado, Justice Department add Greystar, Cortland and other large landlords to apartment price-fixing suit
For Chatham, the change is about more than one month’s rent.
“They need to listen to their residents and not treat us like rent,” she said. “If you believe you’re right, then don’t give up on it… Get help.”
If you believe your landlord has failed to provide a reasonable accommodation, you can reach out to Disability Law Colorado and file a complaint with The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
