Saint Paul, Minn., Legis. Code ch. 183 § 183.08

Prohibited acts in public services

In Force
Verified 11/13/2026 · Next check 12/13/2026
Saint PaulFair Housing & Anti-Discrimination

Operative Text

Saint Paul, Minn., Legis. Code ch. 183 § 183.08
It is an unfair discriminatory practice: (1)
To discriminate against any person in the access to, admission to, impartial and equal administration of, full utilization of or benefit from any public service or to fail to ensure physical and program access for disabled persons unless the public service can demonstrate that providing the access would impose an undue hardship on its operation. In determining whether providing physical and program access would impose an undue hardship, factors to be considered include:
a. The type and purpose of the public service's operation;
b. The nature and cost of the needed accommodation;
c. Documented good faith efforts to explore less restrictive or less expensive alternatives; and
d. The extent of consultation with knowledgeable disabled persons and organizations.
(2) For public transit services to discriminate in the access to, full utilization of, or benefit from service because of a person's disability. Public transit services may use any of a variety of methods to provide transportation for disabled people; provided, that persons who are disabled are offered transportation that, in relation to the transportation offered nondisabled persons, is:
a. In a similar geographic area of operation. To the extent that the transportation provided disabled people is not provided in the same geographic area of operation as that provided nondisabled people, priority must be given to those areas which contain the largest percent of disabled riders. A public transit service may not fail to provide transportation to disabled persons in a geographic area for which it provides service to nondisabled persons if doing so will exclude a sizeable portion of the disabled ridership;
b. During similar hours of operation;
c. For comparable fares;
d. With similar or no restrictions to trip purpose; and
e. With reasonable response time.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Saint Paul Legislative Code ch. 183 § 183.08 establishes that discriminating against individuals in access to public services on the basis of disability is an unfair discriminatory practice. Public services are generally required to provide physical and program access for disabled persons unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, assessed through factors such as cost, the nature of the accommodation, and good-faith efforts to find alternatives. For public transit specifically, disabled riders must be offered service that is comparable to what nondisabled riders receive in terms of geography, hours, fares, trip-purpose restrictions, and response time.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on November 13, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Although § 183.08 is directed at public services rather than private landlords, property owners who operate or participate in publicly funded or publicly accessible programs should be aware that this provision sets a broad standard against disability-based discrimination in service delivery. Operators of such services generally document their good-faith efforts to explore accommodations, consult with knowledgeable disabled persons and organizations, and assess undue-hardship claims using the specific factors enumerated in § 183.08. Maintaining clear records of these steps supports a defensible compliance posture if a discrimination claim arises.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Under Saint Paul Legislative Code ch. 183 § 183.08, individuals with disabilities have a recognized right to equal access to public services and, specifically, to public transit that is comparable to what nondisabled riders receive in geography, hours, fares, and response time. If a public service or transit provider appears to be falling short of these standards, affected individuals can document the specific barriers they encountered and consider filing a complaint with the Saint Paul Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity, which administers the city's human-rights ordinance. Tenant-rights and disability-rights organizations in Saint Paul can also help individuals understand the options available under § 183.08.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated November 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

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