28 CFR Part 36 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities NPRM: Preamble (2008 Title III NPRM Preamble)

Definitions of residential facilities and transient lodging. (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The 2004 ADAAG adds a definition of "residential dwelling unit" and modifies the current definition of "transient lodging" in the 1991 Standards.  Under section 106.5 of the 2004 ADAAG, a "residential dwelling unit" is defined as "a unit intended to be used as a residence, that is primarily long-term in nature" and does not include transient lodging, inpatient medical care, licensed long-term care, and detention or correctional facilities.  Additionally, section 106.5 of the 2004 ADAAG, changes the definition of "transient lodging" to a building or facility "containing one or more guest room[s] for sleeping that provides accommodations that are primarily short-term in nature" and does not include residential dwelling units intended to be used as a residence.  The references to "dwelling units" and "dormitories" in the 1991 Standards definition are omitted in the 2004 ADAAG definition of transient lodging.

The Department said in the ANPRM that by applying the 2004 ADAAG residential facility guidelines to transient group homes, homeless shelters, halfway houses, and other social service establishments, these facilities would be more appropriately classified according to the nature of the services they provide, rather than the duration of those services.  Participants in these programs may be housed on either a short-term or long-term basis in such facilities, and variation occurs even within the same programs and same facility.  Therefore, duration can be an inconsistent way of classifying facilities.

Several commenters stated that the definitions of residential dwellings and transient lodging are not clear and will confuse social service providers.  They noted that including "primarily long-term" and "primarily short-term" in the respective definitions creates confusion when applied to the listed facilities because they serve people for widely varying lengths of time.

The Department is aware of the wide range of services and duration of services provided by social service establishments.  Therefore, rather than focus on the length of a person's stay at a facility, it makes more sense to look at a facility according to the type of services provided.  For that reason, rather than saying that social service establishments are residential facilities, the Department has drafted the proposed § 36.406(d) to provide that group homes and other listed facilities shall comply with the provisions in the 2004 ADAAG that would apply to residential facilities. 

Finally, the Department received comments from code developers and architects commending the decision to coordinate the 2004 ADAAG with the requirements of section 504, and asking it to coordinate the 2004 ADAAG with the Fair Housing Act's accessibility requirements.  The Department believes that the coordination of the Fair Housing Act with other applicable disability rights statutes is within the jurisdiction of HUD, which is the agency charged with the responsibility to develop regulations to implement the Fair Housing Act, the Architectural Barriers Act, and the provisions of section 504 applicable to federally funded housing programs.