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Every property owner in the greater Los Angeles Area understands that operating a building is a lot more than just collecting rents, paying bills and addressing maintenance issues. In today’s world, property owners have to navigate governmental agencies such
as local rent control boards, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and so on. On top of that, owners have to keep abreast of the ever-changing legal environment.
Up to this point, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was best understood by our commercial counterparts but over the past 20 plus years, the ADA has started to impact apartment owners. For example, ADA touches on websites, parking, public access common areas, government subsidies, tenant requests for accommodations, substantial rehabilitations, service animals and even grading of concrete slabs. As a landlord, it is important to be informed on ADA to better manage risk and to decrease the chances potential frivolous legal action.
Even though there are significant issues to address by property owners, the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is something that every owner would agree with and champion. The bill was designed to be a civil rights bill to stop discrimination against those with disabilities. It modeled protections
for those with disabilities after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But it also went beyond the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and required reasonable accommodations to be made by employers and publicly accessed facilities.
The bill itself is composed of five “Titles.” Title l deals with employment focusing on companies with 15 or more employees to make accommodations for employees with disabilities. Title ll relates to public entities and public transportation. Interestingly enough, this section would apply to any form of governmental housing including voucher-based Section 8.1 Title lll deals with public accommodations, commercial facilities, service animals and ancillary aids. This section has the biggest impact on property owners because it can apply to existing buildings. Title IV deals with telecommunications which would have little impact if any on property owners. And finally, there is Title V which is made up of miscellaneous provisions including an antiretaliation provision for those that exercise their right under the ADA.
If Title III only applied to new buildings built approximately after 1992, local property owners would be in the clear. But Title III also applies to building built prior to 1992. The law views failures to remove architectural barriers in existing buildings as possibly discriminatory. The standard to evaluate an owner’s obligation under the law is, is it “readily achievable.” This basically means balancing the
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OF 1990 By Matt Williams, Williams Real Estate Advisors
Matt, 35, was born in Montebello, California and went to Whittier Christian High School. He is the principal of Williams Real Estate Adisors, Inc. which is a full service property management company that has approximately $150,000,000 of mult-family assets under management throughout Southern California. When Matt is not in his office he speaks at prisons, visits skid row, reads a lot of books and enjoys a good movie. He supports many local charities by either being a sponsor or just buying a ticket. In the near future he will be setting up a program to teach 18 year old young men how to garden at his many apartment units and how to start their own business.
16 SEPTEMBER 2021 - APARTMENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE AMM1/6