Explaining ADA, Fair Housing, and Section 504 Regulations
Many properties need to be in compliance with multiple federal laws. Let’s talk about it.
You’ve heard Lumina Compliance talk about the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act quite a bit. Theres a reason for that. These acts are incredibly important.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) explains how each of these acts applies to the housing industry really well. Here’s what they say about each Act and how it applies.
Fair Housing Act
”Both privately owned and publicly assisted multifamily housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, regardless of whether it is for sale or rental, must meet the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act. In an elevator building with four or more units, all units must meet the Act’s design and construction requirements, and in a building without elevators, only ground-floor units must meet these requirements. Failure to design and construct covered multifamily housing in accordance with the requirements is illegal discrimination because of disability.” —HUD.gov
Section 504
”Section 504 requires that recipients of federal financial assistance ensure that their programs and activities are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. As of July 11, 1988, newly-constructed housing and non-housing facilities must be designed and constructed to be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.” —HUD.gov
Americans with Disabilities Act
”Title II of the ADA covers housing provided or made available by public entities (state and local governments and special purposes districts). Title III of the ADA prohibits private entities that own, lease, and operate places of public accommodation from discriminating on the basis of disability and requires places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with established accessibility standards. Public accommodations at housing developments include any public areas that are open to the general public, such as a rental office. Public accommodations would also include, for example, shelters and social service establishments.” —HUD.gov
What types of housing need to be in compliance with all of these regulations?
The following information is straight from HUD.
Most entities are subject to more than one federal accessibility law and architectural standard in the operation of their housing services, programs, and activities. Here are some common examples in the housing context:
A public housing agency receiving HUD funding and operating public housing and voucher programs may be subject to the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 as a recipient of federal financial assistance, and Title II of the ADA as a public entity.
A private homeless shelter operator may receive HUD funding and therefore be subject to the Fair Housing Act as a provider of housing, Section 504 as a recipient of federal financial assistance, and Title III of the ADA as a private business operating a place of public accommodations.
A City may receive HUD funding in its operation of its housing program, and therefore be subject to the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 as a recipient of federal financial assistance, and Title II of the ADA as a public entity.
In addition, state and local laws may also apply and provide for greater protections. Entities must be aware of all applicable laws and ensure that they and any subrecipients comply with such laws. This may require applying multiple federal accessibility laws and architectural standards, e.g., the Fair Housing Act accessibility guidelines, UFAS or HUD’s Deeming Notice, and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, to ensure physical accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Additional state and local requirements may also apply.
Ok, great. My property needs to be in compliance but how do I add all of this to my task list?
Lumina Compliance gets it. This can be overwhelming to keep up with. The federal laws and regulations. PLUS state and local. You have a lot to do with a limited budget and a slim staff usually. That’s where we come in. We will travel to your property to conduct a Physical Accessibility Inspection. Lumina Compliance works with multifamily owners, managers, syndicators, HFAs and more. Let us help you mitigate your risk and help you tackle your Accessibility Action Plans.
Call Andy at (704) 702-2498 or email him at andy@luminacomp.com if you want to learn more about what we do at Lumina Compliance.
