CABO Seeks HUD Review of Fair Housing Code Requirements
August 1997
CABO and its three member model code organizations -- Building
Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), International
Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building
Code Congress International (SBCCI) -- recently met with representatives
from HUD to request a review of current and proposed model codes
for equivalency with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.
Current editions of all three model codes contain technical provisions
intended to mirror the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines
(FHAG) for dwelling units covered by the Act.
Code Officials Assist FHA Compliance
Upon completion of this process, HUD will have effectively
engaged the assistance of thousands of code officials in jurisdictions
across the country who will determine that buildings achieve
compliance with local building codes that are at least equivalent
to the FHAG. State and local building code enforcement will increase
the accessible housing stock far more effectively than the enforcement
mechanism available under the Fair Housing Act, without reducing
HUD's authority to pursue enforcement through its current channels.
Additionally, confusion and unpredictability for the industry
will be substantially reduced as architects, builders and developers
will encounter requirements written in traditional code language
and can operate within the code enforcement system with which
they are familiar.
Dissemination of Results
The review will be mutually beneficial to HUD, the model code
groups, state and local jurisdictions, architects, builders,
developers and, most importantly, people with a disability. HUD's
review of these provisions will serve a number of purposes, all
of which will further the goal of increasing the accessible housing
stock.
The results of the review of the current model codes can be
disseminated by BOCA, ICBO and SBCCI to state and local jurisdictions
that are currently using model codes, or that will be adopting
model codes in the near future. These jurisdictions can then
adopt and enforce the current codes with the knowledge that the
provisions are at least equivalent to the FHAG or, if amendments
are necessary, they can amend those codes with confidence that
the amendments will result in their code being at least equivalent
to the FHAG.
Codes and Standards Revisions
In addition, most of the codes for which a review is requested
are in the process of being updated. BOCA and SBCCI will be conducting
a code development cycle in 1998, and any revisions that may
be necessary to those codes to achieve equivalence with the FHAG
can be addressed during the update.
The International Code Council is in the process of developing
the International Building Code (IBC) with the expectation of
issuance of a first edition in 2000 (see related story on page
6). The results of HUD's review of the IBC can also be fed into
the IBC development process and incorporated into the first editions
of the IBC.
Finally, the revision of CABO/ANSI A117.1 is nearing completion
(see sidebar) and will contain comprehensive provisions for dwelling
units that are intended to comply with the FHAG. The 1997 A117.1
will be referenced in the IBC and in the next editions of the
BOCA National Building Code and the SBCCI Standard Building Code,
and will eventually be adopted and enforced by states and local
jurisdictions.
©1997 Council of American Building
Officials
The CABO Newsletter
Volume 4 Number 2
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