Accessible Unit Requirements for Apartment Buildings

Apartment buildings with four or more units built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 must meet the Fair Housing Act’s accessible design standards. In buildings with an elevator, every unit has to be built to those standards. In buildings without an elevator, only the ground-floor units do. The accessible unit requirements for apartment buildings are not a percentage rule under the FHA: they apply to every covered unit. A separate and stricter percentage rule kicks in only when a project receives federal financial assistance, requiring at least 5% of units to be fully wheelchair-accessible and another 2% to be built for residents with hearing or vision impairments.

Which Buildings and Units Are Covered

The FHA uses the term “covered multifamily dwellings” for buildings with four or more units designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991. That date sweeps in nearly every modern apartment complex, condominium building, and townhouse development.

Two categories of unit are covered:

In buildings with at least one elevator, all dwelling units.
In buildings without an elevator, all ground-floor units.

The distinction matters for garden-style properties. A three-story walk-up with 30 units might have only 10 units subject to the design rules, while a 30-unit mid-rise with an elevator has to make all 30 compliant.¹

The Seven Design Features Every Covered Unit Must Have

The FHA does not require covered units to be “fully accessible” in the sense of roll-in showers or lowered countertops throughout. It requires them to be adaptable, meaning a resident with a disability can modify the space affordably and without major construction. The statute and HUD’s Fair Housing Act Design Manual spell out seven features:

An accessible building entrance on an accessible route, meaning at least one entry a wheelchair user can reach without stairs or steep grades.
Accessible common and public areas, including lobbies, hallways, and shared facilities.
Doors wide enough to allow passage into and through the unit by someone using a wheelchair.
An accessible route into and through each covered unit, without narrow turns or level changes.
Light switches, thermostats, electrical outlets, and similar controls placed within reach of a seated user.
Reinforcement in bathroom walls so grab bars can be added later without opening up the wall.
Kitchens and bathrooms configured so a person in a wheelchair can maneuver around appliances, sinks, and fixtures.

The kitchen standard, for example, calls for a 30-by-48-inch clear floor space in front of each appliance and fixture, positioned so a wheelchair user can pull up parallel to the stove and sink.² The overall design manual walks through each requirement in detail.³

The practical result: a tenant using a wheelchair can move into any covered unit and, with minor changes like adding grab bars or removing a vanity cabinet under the sink, live there comfortably.

Federally Funded Projects: The 5% and 2% Rule

When a housing project receives federal financial assistance, a second layer applies under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. At least 5% of the total dwelling units, or one unit, whichever is greater, must be fully accessible to people with mobility impairments. Another 2%, or one unit, must be accessible to people with hearing or vision impairments.⁴

In a 100-unit federally assisted building, that translates to at least five units designed from the outset for wheelchair users and two units built with visual alarms, doorbell signalers, and other features for deaf or low-vision residents. These are not adaptable units. They must be move-in ready without further modification.

What Counts as Federal Financial Assistance

Direct federal grants, HUD project-based rental assistance, and Community Development Block Grant funding all trigger Section 504. Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by themselves do not: the IRS treats them as tax credits rather than direct financial assistance, so a standard LIHTC project is subject to the FHA’s seven design features but not the 5%/2% rule. That changes when a LIHTC project also receives direct federal cash through programs like the Tax Credit Assistance Program.⁵

Common Areas and Parking

The unit itself isn’t the whole picture. Under the FHA, all public and common areas in a covered property must be readily accessible and usable by people with disabilities. That includes lobbies, corridors, laundry rooms, mailbox areas, fitness rooms, community rooms, pools, playgrounds, and trash disposal areas.⁶

Accessible parking follows a sliding scale based on the total spaces in each lot or garage. A lot with 1 to 25 spaces needs one accessible space. A lot with 101 to 150 needs five. For lots between 501 and 1,000 spaces, 2% of the total must be accessible. Above 1,000, the facility must provide 20 accessible spaces plus one for every additional 100. One in every six accessible spaces has to be van-accessible, with a wider access aisle for a side-mounted ramp.⁷

Older Buildings and Tenant Modifications

Buildings constructed for first occupancy before March 13, 1991 were not required to meet the FHA’s design standards. Many of them have narrow doorways, small bathrooms, and steps at entryways. The FHA still protects tenants in these buildings by prohibiting landlords from refusing to allow reasonable physical modifications to the unit or common areas when those changes are necessary for a tenant with a disability to use the home.¹

In private, non-subsidized housing, the tenant pays for the modification. A landlord can require the work to be done professionally, can require the tenant to restore the interior to its original condition on move-out (normal wear and tear excepted), and can ask the tenant to fund an escrow account to cover the restoration. In federally assisted housing, the cost of reasonable modifications is the housing provider’s, not the tenant’s.³

Penalties for Noncompliance

Accessibility failures are civil rights violations, not just building-code problems. A person with a disability who encounters an inaccessible property can file a complaint with HUD or bring a private lawsuit, and the Department of Justice can take enforcement action against a pattern of noncompliance.

A first violation can carry a civil penalty of up to $50,000. Subsequent violations can reach $100,000.⁸ On top of those penalties, courts can order retrofits of entire buildings, along with the complainant’s attorney fees and compensatory damages. DOJ consent decrees in design-and-construction cases regularly run into the millions once retrofit costs are included. Fixing accessibility after construction almost always costs far more than building it in from the start.

State and Local Codes Can Require More

Federal law sets a floor. State and local building codes can, and often do, require more accessibility than the FHA or Section 504 demand. Some jurisdictions require a higher percentage of fully accessible units, mandate features the FHA does not address, or extend accessibility rules to smaller buildings that fall below the four-unit federal threshold. Where a state or local standard is stricter, it controls; where it is weaker, federal law wins.⁹ Confirm the specific code in your jurisdiction before finalizing plans, because failing a stricter local standard creates the same liability as violating federal law.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices
2
HUD User. Fair Housing Act Design Manual – Chapter 7: Usable Kitchens and Bathrooms
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fair Housing Act Design Manual
4
eCFR. 24 CFR 8.22 – New Construction, Housing Facilities
5
National Housing Law Project. Section 504 Protections Apply to ARRA-Funded LIHTC Projects
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fair Housing Act Design Manual – Chapter 2
7
U.S. Access Board. Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards – Chapter 5: Parking Spaces
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3614 – Enforcement by Attorney General
9
Mid-Atlantic ADA Center. Federal, State, and Local Laws: Conflicts or Complements