STATE OF COLORADO
CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION                     Department of Regulatory Agencies
JACK LANG y MARQUEZ, Director                    Steven V. Berson
                                                Executive Director
April 16, 1992

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Coordination and Review Section
P.O. Box 66118
Washington, D.C. 20035-6118

Sirs:

     We would like to ask your interpretation of the Public 
Accommodations section of the ADA, more specifically, when and how it 
overlaps the Fair Housing Act in its application to services or 
facilities within residential buildings. The only clarification we find 
of this is in the ADA preamble of when residential facilities can also 
be either "places of lodging" or social service center establishment.

     The Colorado Civil Rights Division is a substantially equivalent 
agency under the Fair Housing Act and, as such, accepts and 
investigates both federal and state charges of housing discrimination 
on the basis of race, religion etc. The Division expects approval soon 
to also process charges of handicap discrimination. Meanwhile, we are 
receiving many questions about the interplay and overlapping of the FHA 
and the ADA, and we would like answers to the following questions, so 
that we can give out proper information to the public. It is important 
for us to understand the distinction because of the very significant 
difference between the FHA and the ADA, namely, that the tenant is 
responsible for making structural changes in existing buildings under 
the FHA, but the responsibility falls to the owner under the ADA.


     1. If an existing multifamily dwelling contains an office where
     the public comes to make inquiries or applications, does this
     office come under the ADA? Does it make any difference to this
     question if there are no handicapped units (which were not
     required prior to passage of the ADA)?

     2. If an apartment complex/subdivision has common areas, such as
     a meeting room or club house, which are used only by residents
     and their non-paying guests, is there any ADA requirement?

     3. If these same facilities are sometimes rented to the public,
     do these facilities then come under the ADA?

     4. If the answer to #1, #2 or #3 is yes, does parking,
     exterior access etc. then also have to meet ADA handicap
     requirements?

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     5. The preamble states that residential hotels which offer
     short term rentals come under the ADA requirements because they
     are considered "places of lodging".  Has the Department
     established a standard for what length of time is "short term"?

     6. There are many kinds of residential facilities other than
     the homeless shelters referred to in the preamble which offer
     congregate care, for example nursing homes and adult foster care
     homes.  By their very nature they are offering certain types
     of medical or social services. Do these come under the ADA,
     even though they also come under the FNA, or are they only
     subject to the ADA if they offer transient or short term care?
     (The architectural standards, section 9.5, refers to "transient
     lodging" in this kind of facility, but there is no mention in
     the main body of the regulations.)

Sincerely,




Nancy R. Snow
Housing Compliance Specialist






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