Any person or entity involved in the design and construction of an apartment or condominium building, and the owner of the building, may be named as Defendants, sued, and held liable for violations of the Fair Housing Act or Americans with Disabilities Act at the facility in a HUD lawsuit.
Read MoreHUD is not required to review or approve builder's plans or issue certifications of compliance with the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements for multi-family housing. The burden of compliance rests with the person or persons who design and construct covered multifamily dwellings.
Read MoreIf a builder, architect, or developer believe that a property with which they were involved is covered by the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements but does not comply, they should seek technical assistance from a consultant with expertise in the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements about a plan to correct the violations.
Read MoreAlterations, rehabilitation, or repair of covered multifamily dwellings are not covered by the FHA because the Act's design and construction requirements only apply to new construction of buildings built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991.
Read MoreA minimum of two percent of the number of parking spaces serving covered dwelling units [apartments or condominiums] must be made accessible and they must be located on an accessible route; if different types of parking are offered, such as surface parking, garage, or covered spaces, a sufficient number of each type must be made accessible.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Act does not require fully accessible apartments.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements do not require a minimum number of accessible dwelling units.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements do not cover multistory townhouses--units that have two, three, or even four stories--unless the building has an elevator.
Read MoreHUD recognizes 15 safe harbors to meet FHA regulations to provide a range of options that—if followed in their entirety without modification or waiver—will keep residential buildings compliant with the FHA. The new safe harbors are generally aligned with the current codes (minus any local amendments to the IBC), which may make it less complicated by limiting the layers of the requirements. HUD recommends that only one safe harbor should be used for design and construction of a multi-family facility.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Act (FHA) requires seven basic requirements that must be met to comply with the access requirements of the Act. To describe these requirements in more detail, HUD published FHA Guidelines in 1991. The FHA Guidelines are one of 15 safe harbors for compliance that HUD has identified.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Act requires all "covered multifamily dwellings" designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Covered multifamily dwellings are all dwelling units in buildings containing four or more units with one or more elevators, and all ground floor units in buildings containing four or more units, without an elevator.
Read MoreThe Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 represented a major change in housing law. Congress delayed the effective date for the access provisions until 1991 to give developers, builders, and architects more time to incorporate the new access standards into their building plans. Richard Acree provides multi-family building and facility inspections for ADA and FHA compliance.
Read MoreDOJ has published a NPRM explaining how they propose updating the regulations for Title II of the ADA to lay out specific requirements for the accessibility of MDE. This NPRM proposes to make the USAB’s MDE Standards enforceable under the ADA by adopting and incorporating them into the DOJ’s ADA Title II regulation.
Read MoreIf a sorority or fraternity facility qualifies as a private club it does not have to comply with the ADA, FHA, Section 504, or DOE Title 34, except when/if the facility is open to the public.
Read MoreThe US Department of Justice (DOJ) has updated its “Common Questions About COVID and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” to address two COVID-era issues affecting people with disabilities. For the complete answers to these questions please click on DOJ Covid Questions and Answers.
Read MoreSoft Contained Play Structures as defined by the ADA are usually found outdoors at temporary installations such as festivals, or indoors at quick serve restaurants, shopping malls, car dealerships, or medical facilities, etc. An accessible route to the soft contained play structure is required, but, once inside the structure, there are no ADA requirements.
Read MoreConstruction tolerances are used to allow for slight discrepancies during construction. Construction tolerances as applied to the ADA are intended to apply only to certain sections of the 2010 ADA Standards where dimensions are stated as single dimensions or as simple minimums or maximums, not to excuse poor workmanship.
Read MoreThis article discusses the technical requirements for residential dwelling units found in 2010 ADA Standard 809. Standard 809 is the primary Standard for technical requirements for residential dwelling units; however, several other Standards have requirements for residential dwelling units as well. These requirements can be complicated.
Read MoreThis article discusses the scoping requirements for residential dwelling units found in 2010 ADA Standard 233, other scoping Standards, 28 CFR 35.151(e) and (f), and 28 CFR 36.406(d) and (e). This topic can be complicated and confusing. Start first with funding. If federal funds are involved you are probably looking at HUD rules for the facility. If public funds are involved you are probably looking at a combination of FHA and ADA rules for the facility.
Read MoreADA Inspections Nationwide, LLC, offers Americans wih Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA) constructability compliance inspections for different phases of design and construction or renovation of multi-family housing.
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