Multifamily Building Conformance with the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (in English)
Synopsis "Multifamily Building Conformance with the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (in English)"
The Fair Housing Act (the Act) requires that "covered multifamily dwellings" built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, be designed and constructed to include certain features of accessible design. Covered multifamily dwellings are found in buildings consisting of four or more units, if such buildings have one or more elevators, and ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units. The Act's design and construction requirements apply to privately owned housing, federally or publicly assisted housing, and to all types of housing when the housing is located in buildings containing four or more dwelling units, including, for example, single-family homes, apartments, condominiums, dormitories, assisted living developments, time-sharing properties, and homeless shelters when used as a residence. The requirements do not apply to multi-story town homes that do not have elevators or to single-family detached houses. As part of its obligation to provide technical assistance to states, units of local government, and others, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (the Guidelines) in l991. The Guidelines are intended to provide a safe harbor for compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act. Although these Guidelines are not the only method of complying with the Act, they are the most commonly known and utilized by the industry.
