DJ 202-PL-175
                                                SEP 11 1992
Edward B. Frankel, M.D.
Assured Management, Inc.
434 S. Euclid Street
Anaheim, California 98202-1247

Dear Dr. Frankel:

        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.

        You have asked whether rental offices within apartment
buildings must be made wheelchair accessible under the ADA. You
have also described 10-20 year old apartments to which wheelchair
access may be physically impossible, and have asked whether these
and other older buildings may be "grandfathered" under the ADA.
        Title III of the ADA addresses accessibility requirements
for public accommodations. Strictly residential facilities are
not considered places of public accommodation, but common areas
that function as one of the ADA's twelve categories of places of
public accommodation within residential facilities are considered
places of public accommodation if they are open to persons other
than tenants and their guests. Rental offices, which by their
nature are open to the public, are places of public accommodation
and must comply with ADA requirements.

        In response to your second question about older buildings,
if the facilities you have described are strictly residences, and
if the complex they are within provides-only residential
services, they are not places of public accommodation, and title
III of the ADA does not apply to them. Please be aware, though,
that accessibility and non-discrimination requirements under the
Fair Housing Act, as amended, may be applicable to these units.

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Magagna, Novich, Library, FOIA
    Udd:Novich:pl.60.ltr

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                                - 2 -
        If the facilities you have described are places of public
accommodation, they will not be "grandfathered" under the ADA.
No places of public accommodation are exempted from title III
requirements, regardless of their age. However, existing
facilities need only remove architectural barriers if the removal
is readily achievable. Readily achievable means that removal is
easily accomplishable and can be done without much difficulty of
expense. Any improvements that would be truly "physically
impossible" would not be readily achievable, and would not be
required under the ADA. Please consult the enclosed title III
regulations and Technical Assistance Manual for further
discussion of these issues.

        I hope this information is useful to you.

                                        Sincerely,

                                        John L. Wodatch
                                           Director
                        Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Enclosures (2)
        Title III regulations
        Title III Technical Assistance Manual

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