As a property manager, you are undoubtedly aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act. These laws require you to make housing accessible in specific ways.

However, sometimes interpretations of these laws end up costing you more than you might actually need to spend. To maintain accessibility without breaking the bank, it helps to fully understand what the ADA and Fair Housing Act mean for your properties. Here’s what these laws do and don’t require of you.

What Accessibility Laws Mean

The ADA, the Fair Housing Act, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA) all have varying levels of relevance depending on the properties you own. For instance, all public spaces require accessibility features but properties built after 1990 ADA legislation will require stricter compliance.

Additionally, removing architectural and communication barriers is necessary whenever “readily achievable” for a property owner or manager. This means you have time to make changes to public spaces even in older buildings based on your financial circumstances.

However, tenants or staff requesting reasonable accommodation must receive it in all areas outside the unit itself. Within the rental unit, however, tenants are responsible for their own reasonable accommodations. Returning the unit to its original state (if deemed necessary) is also on the tenant should they move out.

In short, these are the accessibility features that you’ll have to comply with:

• Building-specific accommodations

• Wheelchair accessibility for public spaces and common areas

• Adaptable design for ground floor and elevator-accessible units

• Reasonable accommodations requested by tenants

• 5 or 5% of accessible units required for federally assisted new constructions 

The important part is doing your homework and responding fairly to tenant requests. By making sure that you’re meeting these compliance standards, you can avoid costly legal challenges.

What Accessibility Laws Don’t Mean

However, it’s also important to keep in mind that accessibility laws are not all-encompassing. They mean specific things for specific properties and people. This is good news for owners and managers of older properties in which there might be a lot to do to match modern building regulations.

By dispelling some of the common accessibility compliance myths in property management, you can better target your efforts to your actual tenant needs. These are just a few corrections to myths and misconceptions:

• There is no such thing as an ADA-compliant residential unit. Interiors are not covered by the ADA; your job is to make public areas and access to these units accessible.

• Accessibility and adaptability don’t mean the same thing. Under the FHAA, residential units (except for townhouses) have to be adaptable to accessibility accommodations — this doesn’t mean including such accommodations. 

• 5 or 5% accessible units aren’t required of every multifamily property subsidized by the government. Properties built before 1988 don’t have to meet these accommodations unless substantially rehabilitated.

With these realities in mind, you can better assess the compliance of your own units. From here, explore specific building codes based on your property type and locale. Then, budget compliance accordingly.

The Bottom Line

Maintaining accessible units is not just important when it comes to avoiding lawsuits. It’s also your ethical obligation to tenants of varying abilities.

Learn what accessibility compliance entails and what it does not. As a result, you can ensure you meet these obligations and cultivate value in an inclusive property.

For additional ways to cultivate value, explore these Property Management Insights.