This document explains 4 key accessibility laws: the Architectural Barriers Act, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act Titles II and III, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act. It provides an overview of what each law prohibits in terms of discrimination, which entities and facilities each covers, and what obligations they create to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities through compliance with standards for design, construction and alteration. Understanding these laws is important for architects, developers and others to avoid lawsuits and meet their legal responsibilities to provide access.

1. 4 Accessibility
Laws Explained
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

2. What are access laws for?
• Prohibit discrimination on the basis of any
defined disability.
• “Discrimination" under Title III of the ADA
is a "failure to remove" architectural
barriers in existing facilities, or a failure to
provide adequate access that persons
without disabilities would normally enjoy.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

3. Why learn these 4 laws?
•Protect your client from lawsuits.
•You wanna be an architect someday, right?
•The boring but important: “To protect the
Health, Safety, and Welfare of the Public.”
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

4. What are 4 access laws to know
about?
• Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Section
504.
• ADA Title II
• ADA Title III
• Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA)
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

5. Architectural Barriers Act (ABA)
Section 504
• The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 ("ABA“)is an Act of Congress.
• Requires that facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with funds supplied by the
United States Federal Government be accessible to the public.
– The ABA marks one of the first efforts to ensure that certain federally funded buildings and
facilities are designed and constructed to be accessible to people with disabilities.
– Facilities that predate the law generally are not covered, but alterations or leases undertaken
after the law took effect can trigger coverage.
– Applies to anything built within the last 40 years.
• The Act includes uniform standards for the design, construction and alteration of
buildings so that physically handicapped persons will have ready access to and use of
them. These Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) are developed,
maintained, and enforced by an Access Board.
– 4 Federal agencies are responsible for the setting the standards:
Department of Defense,
Department of Housing and Urban Development,
General Services Administration,
U.S. Postal Service.
• Special NOTE: Some departments have, as a matter of policy, also required
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines (which
otherwise do not apply to the Federal sector) in addition to UFAS.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

6. If Section 504 Applies to your
project:
• Can affect site selection
• Can affect facility selection
• Program Access may require retroactive
modifications to existing facilities
• Residential requirements can be
significantly different.
• It may be advantageous for your client to
use UFAS rather than ADA Standards for
Accessible Design.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

7. ADA Title II
Public Services
(and public transportation)
• Applies to any state or local government,
or its instrumentalities, regardless of federal
financial assistance. This would include
local housing agencies, such as your public
housing authority.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

8. ADA Title II
Public Services
(and public transportation)
– Covers public agencies (local, county, state, etc., government and
their units). That section generally requires the agencies to comply
with regulations similar to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
– Access includes physical access described in the Uniform Federal
Accessibility Standards or the ADA Standards for Accessible
Design and access that might be obstructed by discriminatory
policies or procedures of the entity.
– Title II is specific to public transportation provided by public
entities. It includes all commuter authorities. This section requires
the provision of paratransit services by public entities.
– It states that a "public entity" can be any state or local government
or any department or agency thereof.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

9. If ADA Title 2 Applies:
• Access may require retroactive
modifications to existing facilities.
• Access requirements can exceed the
technical standards.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

10. ADA Title III
Public Accommodations
(and Commercial Facilities)
• "Public accommodations" include most places of lodging (such as inns and
hotels), recreation, transportation, education, and dining, along with stores,
care providers, and places of public displays.
• Under Title III of the ADA, all "new construction" (construction, modification
or alterations) after the effective date of the ADA (approximately July of
1992) must be fully compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act
Accessibility Guidelines ("ADAAG")
• More importantly Title III also has application to already existing facilities.
– This means that even facilities that have not been modified or altered in any way
after the ADA was passed still have obligations. The standard is whether
"removing barriers" (typically defined as bringing a condition into compliance
with the ADAAG) is "readily achievable," defined as "easily accomplished without
much difficulty or expense."
– The statutory definition of "readily achievable" calls for a balancing test between
the cost of the proposed "fix" and the wherewithal of the business and/or owners
of the business. Thus, what might be "readily achievable" for a sophisticated and
financially capable corporation might not be readily achievable for a small "mom-
n-pop" outfit.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

11. Exceptions to ADA Title III
• Some private clubs and religious organizations
• Some historic properties (those properties that are
listed or that are eligible for listing in the National
Register of Historic Places, or properties
designated as historic under State or local law).
– Must still comply with the provisions of Title III of the
ADA to the "maximum extent feasible" but if following
the usual standards would "threaten to destroy the
historic significance of a feature of the building" then
alternative standards may be used.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

12. If the ADA Title III applies:
• If it is a place of public accommodation,
“readily achievable” clause may require
retroactive modifications.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

13. Fair Housing Amendments Act
(FHAA)
• Applies to virtually all forms of housing,
whether for sale or rent. The exceptions
include (a) buildings with four or fewer
units where the landlord lives in one of the
units, and (b) private owners who do not
own more than three single family houses,
do not use real estate brokers or agents,
and do not use discriminatory
advertisements.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

14. Fair Housing Amendments Act
(FHAA)
• Idea started in 1968 as part of the Civil
Rights Act.
• Not officially created until 1988.
• Not applicable until after 1991.
• Includes Public Housing or Housing funded
by Federal Funds especially multi-family
dwellings
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

15. If the FHAA applies:
• UFAS and ADAAG kick in.
• The guidelines may have additional
accessibility requirements beyond Section
504 or ADA Title III.
• Many residential structures that are not
typically considered multifamily housing
must comply with the Guidelines.
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

16. Questions to Ask Your
Client/Project Manager:
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

17. More Questions to Ask Your
Client/Project Manager:
4 Accessibility Laws Explained

18. Resources
US Access Board:
http://www.access-board.gov/gs.htm
Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Amended:
http://www.access-board.gov/about/laws/ABA.htm
ADA Title II and Title III:
http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA):
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/title8.htm
http://www.huduser.org/Periodicals/CITYSCPE/VOL4NUM3/schill.pdf
4 Accessibility Laws Explained