I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1408 

To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, single-family houses and 

town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with 

disabilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2009 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mr. FARR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. BORDALLO, 

Mr. GUTIERREZ, and Mr. KIRK) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, singlefamily houses and town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with disabilities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inclusive Home Design 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this Act: 

8 (1) ACCESSIBLE ROUTE.—The term ‘‘accessible 

9 route’’ means a continuous unobstructed path that— 


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1 (A) can be negotiated by a person with a 

2 disability using a wheelchair; and 

3 (B) is safe for and usable by people with 

4 other disabilities and people without disabilities. 

5 (2) COVERED DWELLING UNIT.—The term 

6 ‘‘covered dwelling unit’’ means a dwelling unit 

7 that— 

8 (A) is a detached single family house, a 

9 townhouse or multi-level dwelling unit (whether 

10 detached or attached to other units or struc11 tures), or a ground-floor unit in a building of 

12 three or fewer dwelling units; 

13 (B) is designed as, or intended for occu14 pancy as, a residence; 

15 (C) was designed, constructed, or commis16 sioned, contracted or otherwise arranged for de17 sign or construction, by any person or entity 

18 who, at any time during the design or construc19 tion, received Federal financial assistance for 

20 any program or activity; and 

21 (D) is made available for first occupancy 

22 after the expiration of the one-year period be23 ginning on the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act. 


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1 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS.—The term 

2 ‘‘environmental controls’’ means, for a dwelling unit, 

3 any switches or devices that control or regulate 

4 lights, temperature, fans, doors, security system fea5 tures, or any other feature included in the new con6 struction of the unit. 

7 (4) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

8 term ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ means— 

9 (A) any assistance that is provided or oth10 erwise made available by the Secretary of Hous11 ing and Urban Development or the Secretary of 

12 Veterans Affairs, or any program or activity or 

13 such agencies, through any grant, loan, con14 tract, or any other arrangement, after the expi15 ration of the one-year period beginning on the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, including— 

17 (i) grants, subsidies, or any other 

18 funds; 

19 (ii) services of Federal personnel; 

20 (iii) real or personal property or any 

21 interest in or use of such property, includ22 ing— 

23 (I) transfers or leases of the 

24 property for less than the fair market 


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1 value or for reduced consideration; 

2 and 

3 (II) proceeds from a subsequent 

4 transfer or lease of the property if the 

5 Federal share of its fair market value 

6 is not returned to the Federal Govern7 ment; 

8 (iv) any tax credit, mortgage or loan 

9 guarantee or insurance; and 

10 (v) community development funds in 

11 the form of obligations guaranteed under 

12 section 108 of the Housing and Commu13 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

14 5308); or 

15 (B) any assistance that is provided or oth16 erwise made available by the Secretary of Agri17 culture under title V of the Housing Act of 

18 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.). 

19 (5) PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘person or 

20 entity’’ includes one or more individuals, corpora21 tions (including not-for-profit corporations), partner22 ships, associations, labor organizations, legal rep23 resentatives, mutual corporations, joint-stock compa24 nies, trusts, unincorporated associations, trustees, 


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1 trustees in cases under title 11 of the United States 

2 Code, receivers, and fiduciaries. 

3 SEC. 3. VISITABILITY REQUIREMENT. 

4 It shall be unlawful for any person referred to in sec5 tion 2(2)(C) with respect to a covered dwelling unit to fail 

6 to ensure that such dwelling unit contains at least one 

7 level that complies with the following requirements: 

8 (1) ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), the level shall contain at 

11 least one entrance to the dwelling unit that— 

12 (i) is accessible to, and usable by, peo13 ple with disabilities such that all rooms on 

14 the level are connected by an accessible 

15 route; 

16 (ii) does not contain any steps or any 

17 door threshold that exceeds one-half inch 

18 in height; and 

19 (iii) is located on a continuous unob20 structed path from the public street or 

21 driveway that serves the unit, which 

22 path— 

23 (I) at no point has a slope ex24 ceeding one inch in rise for every 12 

25 inches in length; 


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1 (II) has a width of not less than 

2 36 inches; 

3 (III) has a cross slope not great4 er than two percent of the width; 

5 (IV) is an accessible route; and 

6 (V) may include curb ramps, 

7 parking access aisles, walks, and 

8 ramps. 

9 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The provisions of 

10 clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A) shall 

11 not apply to a covered dwelling unit if— 

12 (i) the finished grade of the site is too 

13 steep to provide a path having a slope 

14 meeting the requirements of subclause (I) 

15 of subparagraph (A)(iii) at the front, side, 

16 or back of the unit; 

17 (ii) there is no driveway serving the 

18 unit; and 

19 (iii) there is no alley or other roadway 

20 capable of providing vehicular access to the 

21 rear of the unit. 

22 (2) ACCESSIBLE INTERIOR DOORS.—All doors 

23 that are designed to allow passage within the level 

24 shall have an unobstructed opening of at least 32 

25 inches when the door is open at a 90-degree angle. 


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1 (3) ACCESSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS.— 

2 All environmental controls located on the level shall 

3 be located on the wall— 

4 (A) at least 15 inches, but not more than 

5 48 inches, above the floor; or 

6 (B) in the case of environmental controls 

7 located directly above a counter, sink, or appli8 ance, not more than three inches above such 

9 counter, sink, or appliance. 

10 (4) ACCESSIBLE HABITABLE SPACE AND BATH11 ROOM.—The level shall contain the following: 

12 (A) HABITABLE SPACE.—At least one in13 door room that has an area of not less than 70 

14 square feet and contains no side or dimension 

15 narrower than seven feet. 

16 (B) BATHROOM.—At least one bathroom 

17 that contains, at a minimum, the following: 

18 (i) CLEAR FLOOR SPACE.—Clear floor 

19 space of 30 by 48 inches centered on and 

20 contiguous to the sink, which is not en21 croached by the swing path of the bath22 room door. 

23 (ii) ACCESSIBLE SINK AND TOILET.— 

24 A sink and a toilet that each allow for a 


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1 parallel or head-on approach by a person 

2 in a wheelchair. 

3 (iii) REINFORCED WALLS.—Walls that 

4 are reinforced to be capable of supporting 

5 grab bars that resist shear and bending 

6 forces of a minimum of 250 pounds, as fol7 lows: 

8 (I) All walls adjacent to the toilet 

9 shall have horizontal backing rein10 forcements, each at least 33 inches, 

11 but not more than 36 inches, above 

12 the floor, and sufficient to allow for a 

13 24-inch grab bar on the wall behind 

14 the toilet and another 42-inch grab 

15 bar. 

16 (II) If a bathtub is present in the 

17 bathroom, such reinforcements shall 

18 include (aa) two backing reinforce19 ments on the back wall of the bath20 tub, each at least 24 inches long and 

21 not more than 24 inches from the 

22 head end wall and not more than 12 

23 inches from the foot end wall, one in 

24 a horizontal position at least 33 

25 inches, but not more than 36 inches, 


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1 above the floor, and one 9 inches 

2 above the rim of the bathtub, (bb) one 

3 backing reinforcement on the foot end 

4 wall of the bathtub, at least 24 inches 

5 long and located at the front edge of 

6 the bathtub, and (cc) one backing re7 inforcement on the head end wall of 

8 the bathtub, at least 12 inches long 

9 and located at the front edge of the 

10 bathtub. 

11 (III) If a shower is present in the 

12 bathroom, such reinforcements shall 

13 include backing reinforcements on at 

14 least two walls on which the control 

15 valve is not located, each at least 33 

16 inches, but not more than 36 inches, 

17 above the floor. 

18 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AS20 SISTANCE.—Each applicant for Federal financial assist21 ance shall submit an assurance to the Federal agency re22 sponsible for such assistance that all of its programs and 

23 activities will be conducted in compliance with this Act. 

24 (b) APPROVAL OF ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUC25 TION PLANS.— 


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1 (1) SUBMISSION.—Any applicant for or recipi2 ent of Federal financial assistance who designs, con3 structs, or commissions, contracts, or otherwise ar4 ranges for design or construction of a covered dwell5 ing unit shall submit architectural and construction 

6 plans for such unit to the State or local department 

7 or agency that is responsible, under applicable State 

8 or local law, for the review and approval of construc9 tion plans for compliance with generally applicable 

10 building codes or requirements (in this subsection 

11 referred to as the ‘‘appropriate State or local agen12 cy’’). 

13 (2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

14 (A) CONDITION OF FEDERAL HOUSING AS15 SISTANCE.—The Secretary of Housing and 

16 Urban Development may not provide any Fed17 eral financial assistance under any program ad18 ministered by such Secretary to a State or unit 

19 of general local government (or any agency 

20 thereof) unless the appropriate State or local 

21 agency thereof is, in the determination of the 

22 Secretary, taking the enforcement actions under 

23 subparagraph (B). 


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1 (B) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The en2 forcement actions under this subparagraph 

3 are— 

4 (i) reviewing any plans for a covered 

5 dwelling unit submitted pursuant to para6 graph (1) and approving or disapproving 

7 such plans based upon compliance of the 

8 dwelling unit with the requirements of this 

9 Act; and 

10 (ii) consistent with applicable State or 

11 local laws and procedures, withholding 

12 final approval of construction or occupancy 

13 of a covered dwelling unit unless and until 

14 such compliance is determined. 

15 (c) CIVIL ACTION FOR PRIVATE PERSONS.—Any per16 son aggrieved by an act or omission that is unlawful under 

17 this Act may commence a civil action in an appropriate 

18 United States district court or State court against any 

19 person or entity responsible for any part of the design or 

20 construction of a covered dwelling unit no later than two 

21 years after the occurrence or termination of the alleged 

22 unlawful conduct under this Act. For purposes of this sec23 tion, a violation involving a covered dwelling unit that is 

24 not designed or constructed in conformity with the reVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:32 Mar 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1408.IH H1408

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1 quirements of this Act shall not be considered to terminate 

2 until the violation is corrected. 

3 (d) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

4 Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to 

5 believe that any person or group of persons has violated 

6 this Act, the Attorney General may commence a civil ac7 tion in any appropriate United States district court. The 

8 Attorney General may also, upon timely application, inter9 vene in any civil action brought under subsection (c) by 

10 a private person if the Attorney General certifies that the 

11 case is of general public importance. 

12 (e) RELIEF.—In any civil action brought under this 

13 section, if the court finds that a violation of this title has 

14 occurred or is about to occur, it may award to the plaintiff 

15 actual and punitive damages, and subject to subsection 

16 (g), may grant as relief, as the court finds appropriate, 

17 any permanent or temporary injunction, temporary re18 straining order, or other order (including an order enjoin19 ing the defendant from violating the Act or ordering such 

20 affirmative action as may be appropriate). 

21 (f) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any civil action brought 

22 under this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow 

23 the prevailing party, other than the United States, a rea24 sonable attorney’s fee and costs. 


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1 (g) EFFECT ON CERTAIN SALES, ENCUMBRANCES, 

2 AND RENTALS.—Relief granted under this section shall 

3 not affect any contract, sale, encumbrance, or lease con4 summated before the granting of such relief and involving 

5 a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant, without 

6 actual notice of a civil action under this title. 

7 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 

8 Nothing in this Act shall be constructed to invalidate 

9 or limit any law of a State or political subdivision of a 

10 State, or of any other jurisdiction in which this Act shall 

11 be effective, that grants, guarantees, or provides the same 

12 rights, protections, and requirements as are provided by 

13 this Act, but any law of a State, a political subdivision 

14 thereof, or other such jurisdiction that purports to require 

15 or permit any action that would violate this Act shall to 

16 that extent be invalid. 

17 SEC. 6. DISCLAIMER OF PREEMPTIVE EFFECT ON OTHER 

18 ACTS. 

19 Nothing in this Act shall limit any right, procedure, 

20 or remedy available under the Constitution or any other 

21 Act of the Congress. 

22 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS. 

23 If any provision of this Act of the application thereof 

24 to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remain25 der of the Act and the application of the provision to other 


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1 persons not similarly situated shall not be affected there2 by. 

Æ 


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