HUD Handbook 4350.3 § 2-45
Fair Housing Act Basic Accessibility Requirements (HUD Occupancy Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 CHG-4)
Operative Text
The Fair Housing Act requires that all buildings designed and constructed for first
occupancy after March 13, 1991 meet certain basic accessibility requirements. This
requirement applies to all new construction, regardless of the presence of federal
financial assistance. See 24 CFR 100.205. Owners of properties that should have been
constructed in accordance with these requirements but were not, are obligated to retrofit
their units to bring them into compliance with the Act. If a tenant in one of these
properties requests modifications to a unit that should have been made at the time of
construction, the owner has an affirmative obligation to make and pay for those
modifications as part of its original obligation to conform to the Fair Housing Act design
and construction requirements.Under HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 CHG-4 § 2-45, the Fair Housing Act mandates that residential buildings designed and constructed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 meet baseline accessibility standards, regardless of whether federal funding was involved. This requirement is not optional: if a covered building was not built to those standards, the owner bears an ongoing obligation to retrofit the property to achieve compliance. When a tenant in such a building requests modifications that should have been incorporated during original construction, the law treats that request as part of the owner's unfulfilled construction duty — meaning the owner, not the tenant, is responsible for the cost.
Plain English — not legal advice.
HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 CHG-4 § 2-45 places the compliance burden squarely on property owners for buildings first occupied after March 13, 1991. Operators of covered properties generally conduct accessibility audits to identify any design-and-construction deficiencies and proactively plan retrofits rather than waiting for tenant requests. When a tenant requests a modification that should have been built in originally, compliant operators treat that request as a construction-obligation matter — funding and completing the modification themselves rather than treating it as a discretionary reasonable-accommodation request at the tenant's expense.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 2-45 of HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 CHG-4 establishes that tenants living in buildings first occupied after March 13, 1991 that were not built to Fair Housing Act accessibility standards have a distinct set of rights: if a needed modification is one that should have existed at construction, the owner — not the tenant — is obligated to pay for it. Tenants who believe their building was not constructed in compliance with 24 CFR 100.205 may file a fair housing complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or consult a tenant-rights organization to understand available options. Documenting the requested modification and the building's construction date can be relevant when pursuing any of these paths.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 30, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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