Lavatories at Fair Housing

When designing dwelling units for multi-family projects, we follow the Fair Housing Design Guidelines. Requirement 7 gives us the requirements for “usable bathrooms” and tells us how many must comply. One of the first things we have to determine when applying the Fair Housing requirements, is whether the dwelling unit is subject or covered by the Fair Housing Act or not. These are the dwelling units that must meet the requirements:

1. Dwelling units in a multi-family project where the building has four or more dwelling units.
2. All the dwelling units in a building that has an elevator that connects all the stories
3. Only the ground floor units in a building that does not have an elevator
4. Only multi-story town homes with elevators
5. Only the first level of a multi-story unit.

The requirement for “Usable Bathrooms” are found in Requirement 7 of the Fair Housing Design Manual. To be a usable bathroom there are five requirements:

Usable bathroom specifications include:

1. an accessible route to and into the bathroom with a nominal 32-inch clear door opening (Requirements 3 and 4),
2. switches, outlets, and controls in accessible locations (Requirement 5),
3. reinforced walls to allow for the later installation of grab bars around the toilet, tub, and shower stall; under certain conditions provisions for reinforcing must be made in shower stalls to permit the installation of a wall-hung bench seat (Requirement 6),
4. maneuvering space within the bathroom to permit a person using a mobility aid to enter the room, close and reopen the door, and exit (Requirement 7), and
5. maneuvering and clear floor space within the bathroom to permit a person using a mobility aid to approach and use fixtures; fixture dimensions and placement are specified only under certain conditions (Requirement 7).

In addition to those five requirements, there are guidelines for how many bathrooms are required to be “usable” . Thoese are based on the type of bathroom they are: Spec “A” or Spec “B”

Spec A bathroom

Spec B bathroom

If the dwelling unit has a spec A bathroom, then ALL bathrooms must be “usuable”. If the dwelling unit has a Spec B bathroom, then only ONE of them must be usable.

As far as each fixture is concerned, there are other requirements for how many must be provided. This newsletter will explain about lavatories only.

Usable bathrooms:

1) section 100.205©(3)(iv)(b)(v) state that vanities and lavatories are installed with the centerline of the fixture a minimum of 1’3” horizontally from an adjoining wall or fixture.

2) In Spec B Bathrooms: The top of the fixture rim is a maximum height of 2’10” above the finished floor. If knee space is provided below the vanity, the bottom of the apron is at least 2’3” above the floor. If provided, full knee space (for front approach) is at least 1’5” deep. (See Figure 7c.)

Figure 7c

3) While there is not a specific height requirement for lavatories in Spec A bathrooms, the manual recommends that the 34in height should be used in Spec A bathrooms.

The photo above shows a lavatory in a spec A bathroom

The height is 35 1/2″ a.f.f. which is acceptable because Type A bathroom lavatories are not required to be 2′-10″ a.f.f.

Need a “Barrier Free” HSW AIA approved CEUs?

June 24^th – “How Accessible is Your Workplace” at Ann Sacks, 1616 Oak Lawn Avenue in the Design District. CEU begins at noon.

Link to Register: https://iida.ejoinme.org/daljune225ceureg

August 19^th – “Applying the ADA to Existing and Altered Buildings” at Tangram Interiors, 300 South Pearl Expressway, Suite 200, Dallas. CU begins at noon

Link to Register: https://iida.ejoinme.org/dalaug25ceureg

September 9^th – “The ADA and Residential Facilities” at Kimball’s Downtown Showrrom, 1699 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas 75201

Link to Register: https://iida.ejoinme.org/dalsep25ceu