Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 661 - Public Safety Department › Chapter 302 - State Building Code-accessibility of Buildings and Facilities Available to the Public › Rule 661-302.20 - Making Apartments Accessible and Functional for Persons With Disabilities

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
			 Multiple dwelling unit buildings. This rule shall apply to all multiple
			 dwelling unit buildings that consist of four or more dwelling units, if such
			 buildings have one or more elevators. In such buildings without an elevator,
			 all ground floor units must be accessible. The requirements of this rule shall
			 apply to the individual dwelling units and the common use spaces which are
			 accessible to persons with disabilities in multiple dwelling unit buildings.
Exception 1: A multiple dwelling unit building shall be deemed
				to be in compliance with this rule if it is located in a local jurisdiction
				which has enacted accessibility rules which have been recognized by the U.S.
				Department of Housing and Urban Development as providing a safe harbor for
				compliance with the accessibility requirements established in the federal Fair
				Housing Act and if the building has been found to be in compliance with those
				requirements, unless the building is required to comply with the requirements
				of the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, or other applicable standards
				which may be more restrictive than the provisions of this rule.
Exception 2: Certain multiple dwelling unit buildings are
				required to comply with the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, published
				by the U.S. Access Board, 1988. Compliance with the provisions of this rule
				does not substitute for compliance with any applicable provision of the Uniform
				Federal Accessibility Standards, or any other applicable standards which may be
				more restrictive than the provisions of this rule.
Note: Compliance with the Uniform Federal Accessibility
				Standards is generally required for buildings and facilities constructed with
				federal financial assistance.
"Dwelling unit"
means a single unit of
				residence for a household of one or more persons. Examples of a dwelling unit
				covered by these rules include a condominium, an apartment unit within an
				apartment building, and another type of dwelling in which sleeping
				accommodations are provided but toilet or cooking facilities are shared by
				occupants of more than one room or portion of the dwelling. Examples of the
				latter include dormitory rooms and sleeping accommodations in shelters intended
				for occupancy as a residence for homeless persons.
"Ground floor"
means a floor of a building
				with a building entrance on an accessible route. A building may have one or
				more ground floors. Where the first floor containing dwelling units in a
				building is above grade, all units on that floor must be served by a building
				entrance on an accessible route. This floor will be considered to be a ground
				floor.
a. The individual dwelling units
			 shall contain an accessible route into and through the unit.
(1) All doors intended for use as passage
			 through the dwelling unit shall have a clear opening of at least 32" nominal
			 width with the door open 90 degrees, measured between the face of the door and
			 the stop. Openings more than 24" in depth are not considered doorways.
Note: A 34" door, hung in the standard manner, provides an
				acceptable 32" opening.
(2)
			 Except at doorways, the minimum clear width of the accessible route shall be at
			 least 36" wide.
(3) In single-story
			 units, special features such as lofts or sunken or raised areas are not
			 required to be on an accessible route provided the areas do not interrupt the
			 accessible route through the remainder of the dwelling unit.
(4) In multistory dwelling units in buildings
			 with elevators, the story of the unit that is served by the building elevator
			 shall be the primary entry to the unit and such entry/accessible floor shall
			 comply with the requirements of subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3) above. The
			 entry/accessible floor shall contain a bathroom or powder room which complies
			 with paragraph
"c "
below.
(5) Exterior deck, patio, or balcony surfaces
			 shall be no more than
½"
below the floor level of the
			 interior of the dwelling unit, unless they are constructed of impervious
			 material such as concrete, brick or flagstone. In such case, the surface shall
			 be no more than 4" below the floor level of the interior or lower if required
			 by local building code.
(6)
			 Thresholds at exterior doors, including sliding tracks, shall be no higher than
¾"
. Thresholds and changes in elevations as in
			 subparagraph (5) above shall be beveled with a slope no greater than
			 1:2.