Home / Housing Resources / For Housing Providers / Accessibility and Universal Design

Accessibility and Universal Design

Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Many resources exist to help housing providers incorporate universal design features into homes. The ROOF Housing Resource Library includes guidelines, manuals and other publications on universal design.

See below for links to additional information:

Center for Universal Design

http://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/

National Association of Home Builders

http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=89934

Accessibility in housing generally means that the dwelling meets prescribed requirements for accessible housing. Mandatory requirements for accessible housing vary widely and are found in state, local, and model building codes, in agency regulations such as in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s program 202 and 811, section 504, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act requirements. They are also found in standards such as the American National Standards Institute’s A117.1 (ANSI A117.1-1986, 1998) and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). Accessible features in dwellings include items such as wide doors, sufficient clear floor space for wheelchairs, lower countertop segments, lever and loop type handles on hardware, seats at bathing fixtures, grab bars in bathrooms, knee spaces under sinks and counters, audible and visual signals, switches and controls in easily reached locations, entrances free of steps and stairs, and an accessible route through the house. Most “accessible” features are permanently fixed in place and very apparent.

Many resources exist to help housing providers comply with accessibility requirements. The ROOF Housing Resource Library includes guidelines, manuals and other publications on universal design.

See below for links to additional information:

Fair Housing Accessibility First 

http://www.fairhousingfirst.org/

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, The Fair Housing Act

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/housing_coverage.php