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Whether it is for affordability issues, achieving greater density, or both – many traditionally single-family homebuilders are considering adding townhomes to their current offerings. And why not? A well-designed townhome can offer great lifestyle for less money for the customer. Or the ability to deliver a great lifestyle in a desirable location that would be too costly for single family. Regardless the motivator, both pose potential pitfalls for the unprepared single-family builder.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is often mistakenly thought to only be applicable to large scale multifamily buildings served by an elevator. Those do indeed qualify, but just this month, we had two very different projects bump into the Fair Housing Act and its requirements. This week, I’ll discuss the issues we faced with active adult ranch townhomes. If you are a single family builder considering venturing into multi-family, I hope that these scenarios will better inform you before you make the leap.

Active Adult Ranch Townhomes

A builder of a single story paired villa for 55+ buyers decided to add a couple of new interior units and create a new 4 unit building to drive down costs for buyers. Surprise – those units in the 4 unit building now must follow the Fair Housing Act with regards to accessibility and usability. Four or more units is the key.

Okay. No big deal. This project was on a relatively flat site, so the accessible route was achievable. And these units were designed for aging in place, so the usable doors requirement would be very appropriate for this buyer. Specifically, every door that you pass through must be 32” clear – so larger 2’-10” wide doors would work. End of story – right?

Wrong. The larger doors are just one component of making the units accessible and usable.

The biggest oversight we find is the design of the usable bathrooms (The seventh requirement of the FHA). The FHA defines two types of bathrooms based upon the clear 30″x48” floor space that is needed in front of the bath fixtures for a wheel chair.

• Specification A  (see page 212 of the FHA Design Manual) shows the required floor space but the access to the bathtub and its controls is not ideal. Specifically, the access is on the narrow 30” side of the clear floor space. “If Specification A is used, it applies to all bathrooms, and all fixtures in those bathrooms must be usable.”
  
• Specification B (see page 213 of the FHA Design Manual) allows greater usability since the 30”x48” clear floor space is now in front of every fixture on the 48” side. “If Specification B is used, it applies to on bathroom, and only one of each type must be usable; additional bathrooms in the units are exempt only from maneuvering and clear floor space requirements at fixtures.“
  

Using Specification B from the design manual is one way to achieve the preferred greater access to the bathtub and we find it to be the most efficient use of square footage However, we have included a couple of alternatives to the example shown in the manual. The key is the 30” by 48” clear floor space – which we have illustrated in blue in the examples below. I’m sure there are many other ways to achieve this, but we have found these three solutions to be useful.

Privacy and Dignity Please

If you only offer Spec A baths in the unit, you cannot provide a toilet room in the primary bath unless it has a clear floor space of 48” in front of the toilet and has maneuverability for a wheelchair. A four-foot-wide toilet room would give you the clear floor space with an outswing 2’-10” door, but would not be maneuverable for a wheelchair. You would need a 5’ by 5’ space in front of the toilet. Quite a lot of space for the toilet.

I personally think a toilet room is a key component to privacy and dignity to an aging but ambulatory buyer. The key to providing buyers this level of dignity means at least one Spec B bath in the unit. Then, a private toilet room with a 2’-10” door is obtainable. Consider a 42” wide toilet room for little extra width for future grad bars.

Usable Kitchens

Good news on this front. If you’re design a kitchen with an island, you can easily achieve a user-friendly kitchen. Be sure to maintain 40” of clearance between the island and the cabinets behind the island. That clearance must include the extended edge of the countertop along with the door and handles of the refrigerator and the dishwasher.

Since our recommended minimum distance between countertop is 48”, this is a non-issue. We prefer 4’-6” so that when the dishwasher door and range door are open – they don’t touch.

Lastly, we show the outline of the appliance doors open on the floor plan to better illustrate the space constraints.

I’ll detail the unique challenges with two and three story townhomes next week. In the meantime, below is the complete list of all seven requirements of the Fair Housing Act

All Seven Requirements (paraphrased)

1. Accessible building entrance and route to the building.

2. Accessible and usable public areas within the building

3. Usable doors – passable by a person in a wheelchair

4. Accessible route through the unit

5. Light switches and thermostats within reach

6. Blocking for grab bars

7. Usable Kitchens & Baths