The Fair Housing Act Design Manual: A Manual to Assist Designers and Builders in Meeting the Accessibility Requirements of The Fair Housing Act provides clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing which complies with the Fair Housing Act. The manual provides direct information about the accessibility requirements of the Act, which must be incorporated into the design, and construction of multifamily housing covered by the Act. It carries out two statutory responsibilities: (1) to provide clear statement of HUD's interpretation of the accessibility requirements of the Act so that readers may know what actions on their part will provide them with a "safe harbor"; and (2) to provide guidance in the form of recommendations which, although not binding meet the Department's obligation to provide technical assistance on alternative accessibility approaches which will comply with the Act, but may exceed its minimal requirements. The latter information allows housing providers to choose among alternative and also provides persons with disabilities with information on accessible design approaches. The Manual clarifies what are requirements under the Act and what are HUD's technical assistance recommendations. The portions describing the requirements are clearly differentiated from the technical assistance recommendations.
The Department is pleased to present the Fair Housing Act Design Manual. The manual was first published in August, 1996, and was updated in 1998. This republication of the 1998 manual is intended to provide clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing that complies with the Fair Housing Act. The manual provides comprehensive information about accessibility requirements which must be incorporated into the design and construction of multifamily housing covered by the Act. It caiTies out two statutory responsibilities: * first, it provides a clear statement of 1-IUD's interpretation of the accessibility requirements of the Act, so that readers may know what actions on their part will provide them with a "safe harbor," and * second, it provides guidance in the form of recommendations which meet the Department's obligation to provide technical assistance on alternative accessibility approaches. Readers following the revised manual can rely on it. They will be in compliance with the Act's accessibility provisions if they carry them out. However, it should be noted that when the manual uses the terms: recommended, preferred, should, could, or uses italics or text labeled as "recommended," the material involved is provided as a suggestion for accessibility and not a requirement under the Act. In addition, HUD currently recognizes six other safe harbors for compliance with the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements. The other safe harbors are I, HUD's March 6, 1991 Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (the Guidelines), and the June 28, 1994 Supplemental Notice to Fair [lousing Accessibility Guidelines: Questions and Answers about the Guidelines; 2. ANSI A117.1-I96, used in conjunction with the Act and HUD's regulations, and the Guidelines; 3. CABO/ANSI A117.1-1992, used in conjunction with the Act, HUD's regulations, and the Guidelines; 4. ICC/ANSI A117.1-1998, used in conjunction with the Act, HUD's regulations, and the Guidelines; 5. Code Requirements for Housing Accessibility 2000 (CRHA), approved and published by the International Code Council (ICC), October 2000; 6. International Building Code 2000 (IBC) as amended by the IBC 2001 Supplement to the International Codes. It is important to note that the ANSI Al 17.1 standard contains only technical criteria, whereas the Fair Housing Act, the regulations and the Guidelines contain both scoping and technical criteria. Therefore, in using any of the ANSI standards it is necessary to also consult the Act, HUD's regulations, and the Guidelines for the scoping requirements. Providing an environment where persons with disabilities can have the same access to, and ability to use, housing that persons without disabilities enjoy is both a worthwhile goal and the law. The Department is committed to helping those who develop housing to meet the requirements of the law, so that we can reach the goal of providing meaningful access for people with disabilities.
(a) Design and construction. (1) Each facility or part of a facility constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public entity shall be designed and constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, if the construction was commenced after January 26, 1992. (2) Exception for structural impracticability. (i) Full compliance with the requirements of this section is not required where a public entity can demonstrate that it is structurally impracticable to meet the requirements. Full compliance will be considered structurally impracticable only in those rare circumstances when the unique characteristics of terrain prevent the incorporation of accessibility features. (ii) If full compliance with this section would be structurally impracticable, compliance with this section is required to the extent that it is not structurally impracticable. In that case, any portion of the facility that can be made accessible shall be made accessible to the extent that it is not structurally impracticable. (iii) If providing accessibility in conformance with this section to individuals with certain disabilities (e.g., those who use wheelchairs) would be structurally impracticable, accessibility shall nonetheless be ensured to persons with other types of disabilities, (e.g., those who use crutches or who have sight, hearing, or mental impairments) in accordance with this section.
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. In 1988, Congress passed the Fair Housing Amendments Act. The Amendments expand coverage of Title VIII to prohibit discriminatory housing practices based on disability1 and familial status. Now it is unlawful to deny the rental or sale of a dwelling unit to a person because that person has a disability. As a protected class, people with disabilities are unique in at least one respect because they are the only minority that can be discriminated against solely by the design of the built environment. The Fair Housing Act remedies that in part by establishing design and construction requirements for multifamily housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. The law provides that a failure to design and construct certain multifamily dwellings to include certain features...
