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 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.
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You can download Fair Housing Act Design Manual: A Manual to Assist Designers and Builders in Meeting the Accessibility Requirements of the Fair Housing Act in PDF format.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and the Office of Housing
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS OF THE GUIDELINES
Chapter One: REQUIREMENT 1 – Accessible Building Entrance on an Accessible Route
Chapter Two: REQUIREMENT 2 – Accessible and Usable Public and Common Use Areas
Chapter Three: REQUIREMENT 3 – Usable Doors
Chapter Four: REQUIREMENT 4 – Accessible Route into and Through the Covered Unit
Chapter Five: REQUIREMENT 5 – Light Switches, Electrical Outlets, Thermostats, and Other Environmental Controls in Accessible Locations
Chapter Six: REQUIREMENT 6 – Reinforced Walls for Grab Bars
Chapter Seven: REQUIREMENT 7 – Usable Kitchens and Bathrooms
■ PART A: Usable Kitchens
■ PART B: Usable Bathrooms
INTRODUCTION
THE FAIR HOUSING ACT
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 of accessible design will be regarded as unlawful discrimination.
The design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act apply to all new multifamily housing consisting of four or more dwelling units. Such buildings must meet specific design requirements so public and common use spaces and facilities are accessible to people with disabilities.
In addition, the interior of dwelling units covered by the Fair Housing Act must be designed so they too meet certain accessibility requirements.
The Fair Housing Act is intended to place “modest accessibility requirements on covered multifamily dwellings .... These modest requirements will be incorporated into the design of new buildings, resulting in features which do not look unusual and will not add significant additional costs” (House Report 7112 at 25 and 18 ). Fair Housing units are not fully accessible, nor are they purported to be; however, new multifamily housing built to comply with the Guidelines will be a dramatic improvement over units built in the past.
The Fair Housing Act gives people with disabilities greater freedom to choose where they will live and greater freedom to visit friends and relatives. But the Fair Housing Act has other broad implications. It proactively addresses the needs of an evolving population, looking ahead at future needs.
With the aging of the population and the increase in incidence of disability that accompanies aging, significant numbers of people will be able to remain in and safely use their dwellings longer. For example, housing designed in accordance with the Fair Housing Act will have accessible entrances, wider doors, and provisions to allow for easy installation of grab bars around toilets and bathtubs, i.e., features that make housing safer and more responsive to all users.
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