HUD HCV Guidebook § 2.6

Signed into law in 1990 and amended in 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive
civil rights law for persons with disabilities. Title II of the ADA and its implementing regulations extend Section
504’s nondiscrimination requirements to all programs, services, and activities of public entities regardless of
whether the public entity receives Federal financial assistance.27

States and local governments, any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a
State or local government, whether they receive Federal funds, cannot discriminate against individuals with
disabilities in any of their programs, services, or activities such as public education, transit, health care, social
services, town meetings, voting, and court access, as well as all housing services, programs, and activities.
Title II and Section 504 are similar but they have some unique requirements. Like Section 504, the Title II ADA
regulations also adopted physical accessibility requirements known as the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible
Design.28

Because both Section 504 and Title II generally apply to PHAs, and they are subject to the architectural
standards under both, until HUD adopts a new accessibility standard for purposes of compliance with HUD’s
Section 504 requirements, PHAs may either use the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) or HUD’s
Deeming Notice,29 which permits the use of the 2010 ADA Standards with certain exceptions, in order to meet
their physical accessibility obligations under Section 504. However, the standards applicable to any given
facility or element within a property depend on various considerations, such as when the facilities or elements
were designed, constructed and altered.30

Also, if a PHA employs more than 50 people, Title II requires the PHA to adopt grievance procedures for
anyone denied a reasonable accommodation, including applicants to the HCV program. These grievance
procedures can be the same as the regular informal hearing or grievance procedures, as long as they provide
due process to resolve complaints under Title II and comply with all nondiscrimination requirements.31 The
PHA may not require an individual who believes their request for a reasonable accommodation was incorrectly

26 See 24 CFR 8.27.
27 For more information, please refer to the Department of Justice’s Titles II and III ADA implementing regulations at 28 CFR part 35.
28 See https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleII_2010/titleII_2010_regulations.htm.
29 79 Fed. Reg. 29671 (May 23, 2014).
30 See U.S. Department of Justice, Revised ADA Requirements: Effective Date and Compliance Date (2011),

https://www.ada.gov/revised_effective_dates-2010.htm.
31 28 CFR 35.107; see 24 CFR part 966 subpart B.

Fair Housing and Nondiscrimination Requirements                                                                            9
US Department of Housing and Urban Development                                                                     April 2025

denied to utilize the PHA’s grievance procedures and must make clear that individuals are permitted to file
complaints alleging discrimination with HUD at any time32.

Title III of the ADA prohibits private entities that own, lease, and operate places of public accommodation from
discriminating on the basis of disability and requires places of public accommodation and commercial
facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with established accessibility standards.33
Places of public accommodation include rental offices, as well as shelters, social service establishments, and
other facilities that are open to the public.