Fair Housing Accessibility

[Andrew S.]

Good morning BP,

I'm looking at purchasing a quadplex that was built after 1991 and my realtor brought up fair housing accessibility requirements to not discriminate against those with disabilities.   Walk into the front door, go up stairs to the upper 2 units and down stairs to go to the lower 2 units. There is no elevator, does the basement units classify as "ground floor units" ? Has anyone ran into a similar situation?
Could the buyer be held accountable to retroactively comply with this Act?

Federal Fair Housing Act says:

In buildings with four or more dwelling units and at least one elevator, all dwelling units and all public and common use areas are subject to the Act’s design and construction requirements. In buildings with four or more dwelling units and no elevator, all ground floor units and public and common use areas are subject to the Act’s design and construction requirements.

My research below from the Act's FAQ page says that the split level quadplex does not apply because it doesn't have a ground floor. Anyone agree?

11. Do the Act’s design and construction requirements apply to multistory townhouses in non-elevator buildings containing four or more dwelling units?

No. The Fair Housing Act applies to all ground floor dwelling units in non-elevator buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units. Multistory townhouses in non-elevator buildings are not considered ground floor dwelling units because the entire 8

dwelling unit is not on the floor that qualifies as a ground floor. Thus, if a building containing four or more dwelling units has only multistory townhouses and does not have an elevator, the Act’s design and construction requirements do not apply.

Thanks!