# 33

III-1.2000 September 11, 1992

DJ 202-PL-118

XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Freehold, New Jersey XXXXX

Dear Mr. XXXXX:

This is in response to your letter requesting information

about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide

technical assistance to individuals and entities having rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA's requirements.
However, it does not constitute a legal interpretation or legal
advice, and it is not binding on the Department.

Your letter states that you reside with your wife in a

senior citizen housing development consisting of 671 homes and a
two-story clubhouse building. You state that the second floor is
not accessible to your wife and other persons who use wheelchairs
because there is no elevator or wheelchair lift.

The ADA does not apply to strictly residential facilities.

Assuming your housing complex is strictly residential and would
not be considered a social service center establishment, whether
the ADA applies to the clubhouse depends on who is entitled to
use the clubhouse. If activities in a clubhouse within a
residential complex are intended for the exclusive use of
residents and their guests, the facility is considered an amenity
of the housing development. It would not be considered a public
accommodation subject to the accessibility requirements of the
ADA. Nonetheless, the housing units and the clubhouse would be
subject to the requirements of the Fair Housing Act, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

If the clubhouse facilities and activities are made

available to the general public for rental or use, they would be
covered by the ADA. Once covered by the ADA, the owners or
operators of the clubhouse would be required to remove
architectural barriers to accessibility if their removal is
readily achievable, that is, without much difficulty or expense.
However, because the clubhouse is a two-story facility, it would
not be required to have an elevator, even if it were readily
achievable to install one. The ADA requirements for new
construction mandate elevators only in certain types of two-story
buildings -- shopping malls and doctor's offices, for example.
The barrier removal obligation for existing facilities does not
require a facility to exceed the requriements that would be
applicable to new construction.

I have enclosed the Department's Title III Technical

Assistance Manual which may provide further guidance on these
issues.

I hope this information is useful to you in understanding

the requirements of the ADA.

Sincerely,

John L. Wodatch
Director
Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Enclosures (2)
Title III regulations
Title III Technical Assistance Manual