Fair Housing Act and Multifamily Accessibility: Covered Dwelling Requirements, Accessible Routes, and Design Standards

How the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 applies to multifamily housing design and construction, including which buildings qualify as covered multifamily dwellings, the seven accessibility requirements, accessible route standards, usable door widths, kitchen and bathroom design, reinforced walls for grab bars, and the relationship between Fair Housing Act requirements and ADA, Section 504, and the Architectural Barriers Act.

ARE · Project Development & Documentation

Overview

The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 changed the game for multifamily housing design. Any building with four or more dwelling units designed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, must meet seven specific accessibility requirements. These aren't suggestions. They're federal law, and architects who miss them face serious liability.

Here's the catch that trips people up: the Fair Housing Act isn't the same as the ADA. The ADA covers public accommodations and commercial facilities. The Fair Housing Act covers residential dwellings. Both can apply to the same project, but they have different scoping rules and different technical standards. A rental office in a residential building? That's ADA territory. The dwelling units themselves? Fair Housing Act.

The seven requirements cover accessible entrances and routes, public and common use areas, usable doors, accessible routes through the unit, accessible environmental controls, reinforced bathroom walls for grab bars, and usable kitchens and bathrooms. For non-elevator buildings, only ground floor units must comply. Elevator buildings? Every unit.

On the ARE, expect questions about which buildings trigger coverage, what specific dimensions are required, and how to handle sloped sites where accessible entrances become tricky. The exam tests application of these rules to real design scenarios, not just recitation of requirements.

Essential

The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 amended the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination based on disability and familial status. For architects, the critical piece is the design and construction mandate: any covered multifamily dwelling designed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, must meet specific accessibility standards. HUD published the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines on March 6, 1991, codified at 24 CFR Part 100, to give builders and designers technical guidance. ## Which Buildings Are Covered? A "covered multifamily dwelling" means a building with four or more dwelling units. Two scoping rules apply: - Elevator buildings: All units in the building must comply with the seven requirements. - Non-elevator buildings: Only ground floor units must comply. Commercial space does not count toward the four-unit threshold. Three residential units plus a retail shop? Not a covered building.

Professional

An architect designing a 60-unit apartment complex on a sloped suburban site faces overlapping regulatory obligations. The Fair Housing Act governs the dwelling units, but the ADA may also apply to common areas open to the public, such as the leasing office or fitness center. Section 504 applies if federal funds are involved. Getting these boundaries wrong means redesign, liability, or both. Consider a project with a three-story non-elevator building on a grade that drops eight feet from front to back. The front facade has one story at grade; the rear facade has two stories at grade. Under HUD's rules, both the first and second floors may qualify as "ground floors" requiring accessible units. The measurement for determining additional ground floors uses the center of each entrance at floor level. An architect who assumes only the lowest level counts as the ground floor could miss half the required accessible units.

TLDR

The Fair Housing Act covers buildings with 4+ dwelling units designed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. Commercial space doesn't count toward the threshold.
Elevator buildings: all units must comply. Non-elevator buildings: only ground floor units.
Seven requirements: accessible entrance on accessible route, accessible common areas, usable doors (32" clear opening = 34" door), accessible route through unit, accessible controls, reinforced walls for grab bars, usable kitchens and bathrooms.
Accessible parking: minimum 2% of spaces, with at least one accessible space per parking type (surface, garage, covered).
Individual assigned garages: 2% must be at least 14'-2" wide with 10'-0" vehicular door. No vertical clearance standard exists.
Exterior side of main entry door: full ANSI A117.1 maneuvering clearances and hardware. Interior side: 32" clear width only.
Grab bar reinforcement (plywood, double studs) is required, not actual grab bars. Builder must document reinforcement locations.
Counter height is NOT set at 34"; standard 36" counters are acceptable.
Sloped sites: slope measured from center of doorway to arrival points within 50 feet. Grade manipulation to avoid requirements is illegal.
The FHA is separate from the ADA. Rental offices and sales offices in residential buildings must comply with ADA as public accommodations.

ELI5

Think of it this way. If you're building an apartment building with at least four homes in it, the government says you have to make those homes usable for people who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities. This rule has been around since 1991. There are seven things you have to get right. The building needs a way in from the sidewalk or parking lot that a wheelchair can use. The hallways, lobbies, and other shared spaces need to be accessible. The doors inside each apartment need to be wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through. The light switches and thermostats need to be reachable. The bathroom walls need hidden support behind them so someone can add grab bars later without rebuilding the wall. And the kitchen and bathroom need enough open floor space for a wheelchair to turn around.

AREProject Development & Documentation

Fair Housing Act and Multifamily Accessibility: Covered Dwelling Requirements, Accessible Routes, and Design Standards

2 min read205 words

Fair Housing Act Accessibility: What Architects Need to Know

Want to track your progress and access more study tools?

Create a free account