Abstract:

This article examines litigation issues under the provision of the federal Fair Housing Act - 42 U.S.C. Section 3604(f)(3)(C) - that requires multifamily housing built after 1991 to include seven specified accessibility features to help insure equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. Despite these accessibility requirements - and similar requirements in scores of state and local fair housing laws - a huge proportion of the millions of multifamily units built since this provision became effective do not include the mandated features. Each of these dwellings is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Because there is virtually no substantive defense to noncompliance with Section 3604(f)(3)(C), the litigation has centered around three issues: (1) Who are proper defendants in an action based on this law? (2) Who are proper plaintiffs in such an action? and, (3) When does the statute of limitations expire on such an action? The first part of this article sets forth the requirements of Section 3604(f)(3)(C) and related laws mandating accessibility in housing and also surveys the relevant enforcement provisions of the Fair Housing Act. The second part reviews the evidence of noncompliance with Section 3604(f)(3)(C) and examines some of the reasons for this noncompliance. The final part analyzes the three main enforcement issues identified above and offers suggestions for how they should be resolved.