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ADA requirements are for public accommodations & for entities who get state or federal funding or get state or federal classifications (so private schools & churches have to have accommodations) but a privately owned building does not have to. Now they do have to be fire & safety compliant & your local fire dept should have done inspections for this.
As an aside on this, my mom was in IL in a tiered community (IL, AL, NH & hospice unit). Now the IL was a 3 story small apts building & with a lawn & garden between apts and the main building where meals & activities done. Every month, they had fire drills where all IL residents needed to be able to do the stairs independently and get outside. If they couldn't, then they would be asked to move from IL. The IL had ramps, handicapped grab bars throughout the hallways, entry's, in the laundry room; automatic wide doors but residents were expected to be able to be ambulatory. And this was a place where all residents were all over 75 and most had some sort of wheeled chair/walker that accompanied them to daily lunch.
If hubs is unable to safely do what is needed to live at the condos, then it's time to look for another living situation. it's unfortunately the harsh reality of the situation.
Woodmont, your profile states that your husband is living in your home, so, perhaps you can find some other means to address the difficulty of stairs to the second floor.
I agree with Igloo that it's time to consider a more accommodating living environment; perhaps you could move to a condo unit that's all on one floor, within the same condo complex.
In the meantime, think about ways to move the bedroom to a downstairs room, perhaps study, or even a portion of the living room. At this point, accommodations are more important than appearance, so I would consider what's workable so that he can live on the first floor without having to face going up the stairs.
If there are outdoor steps, read the condo by-laws and covenants; they should have been provided to you when you purchased the condo. If not, ask the condo management for copies.
They might address what accommodations you can make to the exterior to allow him to safely get in and out of the condo, so you can address that issue as well as the interior challenges.
If you have an attached garage, you can add a handrail and/or ramp from the living portion into the garage. But it wouldn't hurt to also check the condo rules to make sure that they don't prohibit accommodations inside the garage.
Best solution would be to move. Asking a homeowner's association to spend money on anything that only benefits one unit, is just not going to work. You can try, but I doubt your efforts will be successful. Instead, turn your energy to finding a suitable living situation that will meet your needs for the next 10-15 years.
I am on my condo's board. We have a woman living on the property who is a quadraplegic. She asked & was granted permission to build a ramp to the front door of her condo building. However, she bore the entire cost & she must maintain the ramp. She also lives on the first floor.
She even sued the condo association for permission to install an automatic door to the lobby of her building. We had to get the city & fire department involved to explain that that would be against fire code.
Gardenartist, it was many years ago & the president of the association was way more involved with the situation than I (as a mere board member) was. It was a security door. She was not the only resident. Other residents also needed access to the entry. Residents needed a key to enter the common hallway. I don't think the woman had taken that into consideration. So we could not just replace the security door with a automatic door. It had do do with city building & fire codes. That is all that I know.
Thanks for the explanation. I can understand that a door to common entries would need to be secure. I think perhaps a way around the issue might have been to install a coded access, somewhat away from the door so the woman could enter her code, as could others, eliminating the need for keys. But, as you write, that was sometime ago and perhaps it's no longer even an issue.
Actually ADA applies to anything public - it was Section 504 and 508 that was Federal funded only. Accessibility benefits more than just the one person in the long run, I think. The exceptions to ADA are "undue burden" (i.e. extreme expense that could bankrupt a small business) ones for the most part, or unfeasibility or no way to do it without altering the historic nature of a structure. There is probably a win-win way to do it - see if a local Center for Independent Living (CIL) offers consultation. And sometimes there may be tax breaks for the owner or builder too.
cheribob, I'm curious why an automatic door would violate the fire code. They're in hospitals and many medical facilities and very helpful to folks with walkers and/or wheelchairs.
Quite a few of my rehab patients get on wait lists for first floor accommodations with public or private housing, and usually get priority on those. Stair lifts are possible in some situations, but are often not feasible and are very expensive solutions. A lot of public places put them in for just one flight of steps to access a building from the outside just because they are more compact than ADA accessible ramps.
Is the condo in question a Public Housing, or privately owned? My own home does not need to be handicapped accessible. And if I put it up for sale to the general public, I would not have to make it handicapped accessible to a disabled potential buyer -- it is the responsibility of disabled people to make their own homes outfitted to their own needs. Same goes for my neighbors -- they do not need to spend a dime on my own needs, even if I were to become disabled, it is no concern of theirs. It's not any different when you own a condo in a 10 story condo building.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
As an aside on this, my mom was in IL in a tiered community (IL, AL, NH & hospice unit). Now the IL was a 3 story small apts building & with a lawn & garden between apts and the main building where meals & activities done. Every month, they had fire drills where all IL residents needed to be able to do the stairs independently and get outside. If they couldn't, then they would be asked to move from IL. The IL had ramps, handicapped grab bars throughout the hallways, entry's, in the laundry room; automatic wide doors but residents were expected to be able to be ambulatory. And this was a place where all residents were all over 75 and most had some sort of wheeled chair/walker that accompanied them to daily lunch.
If hubs is unable to safely do what is needed to live at the condos, then it's time to look for another living situation. it's unfortunately the harsh reality of the situation.
I agree with Igloo that it's time to consider a more accommodating living environment; perhaps you could move to a condo unit that's all on one floor, within the same condo complex.
In the meantime, think about ways to move the bedroom to a downstairs room, perhaps study, or even a portion of the living room. At this point, accommodations are more important than appearance, so I would consider what's workable so that he can live on the first floor without having to face going up the stairs.
If there are outdoor steps, read the condo by-laws and covenants; they should have been provided to you when you purchased the condo. If not, ask the condo management for copies.
They might address what accommodations you can make to the exterior to allow him to safely get in and out of the condo, so you can address that issue as well as the interior challenges.
If you have an attached garage, you can add a handrail and/or ramp from the living portion into the garage. But it wouldn't hurt to also check the condo rules to make sure that they don't prohibit accommodations inside the garage.
She even sued the condo association for permission to install an automatic door to the lobby of her building. We had to get the city & fire department involved to explain that that would be against fire code.
Thanks for the update!