Fair Housing
ACCESS has eleven Fair Housing Experts on staff to guide you through the design and construction of your multi-family projects. This staff is available to review your drawings from schematic through construction documents, and perform inspections on site as your project progresses from rough frame-in to turnover, and ensure all the intricacies of the Fair Housing Design requirements are implemented.
Did you know?
The Fair Housing Act celebrated 50 years of existence being contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1968 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Since that time, several milestones related to housing and disability have occurred that affect legal requirements of owners and developers of multi-family facilities:
Section 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability for programs and facilities funded by HUD.
Fair Housing Amendment Act (FHAA) of 1988 - added disability & familial status to the Fair Housing list of protected classes.
Fair Housing Design Manual of 1996 - provides guidelines and illustration to aid designers in the creation of compliant spaces.
Olmstead Executive Order 13217 - signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001, to ensure the federal government provides housing for the disabled in communities rather than institutions.
ACCESS CAN HELP
We understand the complexities of the history and application of the accessibility laws, codes and amendments. Each has a specific and relevant application to your project. We know how to evaluate the project based on the year of construction, scope and location. We determine the codes to review based on the location of your project and needs of your team.
Technical Directors of Fair Housing
All of our technical staff are proficient in Fair Housing throughout the country, however each has a region of focus:
Pacific Northwest - Angela Shapiro angela@access-lp.com
California - Sabrina Blackman sabrina@access-lp.com
Central US/Central Texas - Chris Schexnayder, RAS 0037 chris@access-lp.com
North Texas - Richard Haight, RAS 1159 richard@access-lp.com
South Texas - Celia Boyle, RAS 1095 celia@access-lp.com
Southeast US - Jillian Infurchia jillian@access-lp.com
Carolinas - Kristi Kuphal kristi@access-lp.com
Carolinas - Josh Kuphal josh@access-lp.com
Mid-Atlantic/DC - Kay Pearson kay@access-lp.com
Northeast - Sherry DiGiuseppe sherry@access-lp.com
If you have a question about your project outside these areas, give us a call so we can let you know which Fair Housing Specialist will best serve you.
Some of the codes we review:
INTERNATIONAL
International Building Code (IBC) Chapter 11 (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2018)
FEDERAL
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAG)
Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS)
Fair Housing Act (FHA) All Safe Harbors.
STATE & LOCAL
Architectural Barriers Act (ABA)
American National Standards Institute A117.1 (ANSI) (1986, 1992, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2017)
We are able to adapt to State and Local accessibility regulations including local amendments.
Products
We are determined to provide the product you need, not a report to sit on a shelf. We have many templates and tools to be utilized for design revisions and construction monitoring. If these work for your team, great. If not - let us know and we will work together to get you the information you need in the most efficient manner to meet your needs. The primary goal is to help you understand the data in a way that best applies to your day to day project management.