Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST
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Your FIRST Stop on the Learning Curve

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentEqual Housing Opportunity
Supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Questions?
 Call our toll-free Design and Construction Resource Center: (888) 341-7781 (V/TTY)

 

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative designed to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program offers comprehensive and detailed instruction programs, useful online web resources, and a toll-free information line for technical guidance and support.

HUD is pleased to announce it has resumed its Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST program trainings. There will be ten training events across the country during Spring of 2013. Read more about how to register for these training sessions. There are no fees for these training sessions. For more information, contact John Ritzu, LCM Program Manager for the Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST Program at 312-913-1717, Ext. 228 or jritzu@lcmarchitects.com.

HUD and DOJ Release Joint Statement On Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice today issued a Joint Statement on the "Accessibility (Design and Construction) Requirements for Covered Multifamily Dwellings under the Fair Housing Act."

The new guidance is designed to help design professionals, developers and builders better understand their obligations and help persons with disabilities better understand their rights regarding the "design and construction" requirements for covered multifamily dwellings under the federal Fair Housing Act.

To see a copy of the press release, click here.
To see a copy of the Joint Statement, click here.

HUD Issues Guidance On Assistance Animals For Persons With Disabilities

HUD has issued a Notice on Service Animals and Assistance Animals for People with Disabilities in Housing. The Notice explains the circumstances under which the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act may require housing providers to allow applicants and tenants to use “service” and “assistance” animals. Importantly, HUD explains that housing providers must accommodate applicants and tenants who need an "assistance animal" which includes any animal that "works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability."

To read HUD's Press Release, click here.
To view the Notice, click here.

A FIRST LOOK AT ACCESSIBILITY....

The Fair Housing Act
Design and Construction Requirements 
of the Fair Housing Act
Common Violations of the Fair Housing Act

Instruction
Our instruction modules include general information, as well as more specific technical information regarding design and construction requirements, building strategies, various disability rights laws, and enforcement. 

Calendar
Sign-up for upcoming FIRST training events and conferences around the U.S.

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST has been contracted by HUD to provide information, materials, and technical assistance to all relevant stakeholders about the accessibility design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act as amended in 1988. However, Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is not responsible for enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. The information, materials, and technical assistance are intended solely as informal guidance and are neither a determination of legal responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibility under the Fair Housing Act.