It is not unusual to hear questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or to have multifamily housing professionals refer to the ADA when they really mean the FHA –Fair Housing Act.
These two significant pieces of federal legislation are vastly different. The irony is that where it might seem to make sense to think that the ADA would apply at apartment communities, it doesn’t; but where you might not think of it at all, it does have relevance.
Here are three such examples:
1. There is no such thing as “ADA accessible” apartments, nor is it likely a community pool “must comply with ADA.” This is because the ADA is for places of public accommodation and the FHA impacts housing. [Usually the one and only place of public accommodation at your community will be the leasing office (where the public comes to do business with you–i.e. learn about and possibly apply to rent apartments) and hence the leasing office must be ADA accessible.]
On the other hand, depending on the community’s age, the property must either allow its residents to make reasonable modifications to the premises (physical changes both inside and outside the apartments) or the owner must provide certain accessibility features to both the common areas and apartments themselves. But these regulations are all because of the FHA.
2. “Only dogs are service animals” is something else that apartment professionals often say. As of March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under the ADA and each such dog must be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. So yes, there is a limitation on service animals in public places, but that has nothing to do with residents’ rights to have service animals (working animals and companion animals) at apartment communities. I repeat: The ADA is for places of public accommodation and the FHA impacts housing.
3. The ADA applies to public accommodations; a leasing office is a public accommodation; websites that parallel a “brick-and -mortar” space (think a big box store–you can shop online or at their locations) must be accessible.
What! Websites must be accessible? Yes, if they are an alternative way for the public to “do business.” And you need to know that the U.S. Department of Justice enforces the ADA with regard to website accessibility.
Therefore, any “place” that offers housing for rent is a “public accommodation” that must be accessible, including a website.
People who cannot see computer monitors may use screen readers to “speak” the text. People who have difficulty using a mouse because of physical impairment can use voice recognition software for verbal commands.
Following are examples of barriers to people with disabilities that could be an issue with a community’s website:
• Photographs without identifying text
• Navigation links without a “skip” feature
• Unclear description of a text link (i.e., “click here”)
• Use of pdf exclusively
• No telephone or e-mail contact information provided
As a suggestion–and this is not to be construed as legal advice–communities may wish to begin a plan to integrate some accessibility features into their websites; check out the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines”–www.w3c.org/WAI/Resources.
Nadeen Green is Senior Counsel with For Rent Media Solutions™.
The information contained in this article is not to be considered legal advice and the author and FRMS strongly suggest that you consult with your own counsel as to any fair housing questions or problems you may have.