HUD Sets One-Year Multifamily Accessibility Complaint Deadline

HUD has changed when the clock begins for administrative complaints alleging that multifamily housing was designed or constructed without the accessibility features required by the Fair Housing Act.

Under guidance effective August 31, 2026, HUD will treat an alleged design-and-construction violation as a completed -or “discrete” - act rather than a violation that continues for as long as an inaccessible feature remains in place.

For an administrative complaint filed with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the one-year limitations period now begins when the initial certificate of occupancy is issued.

That creates a much clearer deadline for developers and building owners, but the guidance is narrower than it may initially appear.

The Clock Starts at the Certificate of Occupancy

The Fair Housing Act gives an aggrieved person one year to file an administrative complaint with HUD after an alleged discriminatory housing practice occurs or terminates.

Previous federal guidance treated an inaccessible design or construction feature as a continuing violation. Under that interpretation, the filing period could begin when a person encountered or was injured by the inaccessible condition - even years after construction was completed.

HUD has now rejected that approach for administrative claims brought under the Fair Housing Act’s design-and-construction provision.

The department’s new position is that the allegedly unlawful practice ends when construction is completed, as demonstrated by issuance of the building’s initial certificate of occupancy.

A complaint alleging that a covered multifamily property was designed or constructed without required accessibility features must therefore be filed with FHEO within one year of that date.

The continued existence of an inaccessible feature does not, by itself, restart or extend the administrative filing period.

Which Buildings Are Covered?

The Fair Housing Act’s design-and-construction requirements apply to covered multifamily dwellings first occupied after March 13, 1991.

The requirements generally cover:

• Every dwelling unit in a residential building with an elevator and four or more units.

• Ground-floor dwelling units in a building without an elevator that contains four or more units.

Covered housing must incorporate accessibility features required by federal law, including an accessible building entrance on an accessible route, usable doors, accessible routes through units, accessible environmental controls and reinforced bathroom walls capable of supporting grab bars.

Kitchens and bathrooms must also provide sufficient space for individuals using mobility devices.

The new guidance changes HUD’s interpretation of the filing deadline for design-and-construction complaints. It does not remove those underlying accessibility requirements.

Why HUD Changed Its Position

HUD and the Department of Justice issued joint guidance in 2013 stating that a design-and-construction violation could continue until the building was brought into compliance.

HUD now says that interpretation was inconsistent with the Fair Housing Act’s statute of limitations and with federal appellate decisions treating the design and construction of an inaccessible property as a completed act.

The department formally rescinded the conflicting portions of the 2013 guidance in August 2026.

HUD’s new memorandum adopts the position that the unlawful act described by the statute is the design and construction itself. Once construction is completed and the initial certificate of occupancy is issued, the act has terminated and the limitations period begins.

HUD’s September 1 announcement said its previous enforcement approach had imposed more than $110 million in repair costs on building owners during the preceding five years, including owners who were not responsible for the original design or construction.

That figure represents HUD’s characterization of costs associated with its earlier policy.

What the Guidance Means for Current Owners

The change may significantly reduce the risk that a subsequent purchaser will face a new HUD administrative complaint based solely on an alleged accessibility error made during the property’s original construction many years earlier.

HUD’s memorandum states that the Fair Housing Act’s design-and-construction provision does not create a perpetual duty for an innocent subsequent owner to correct every alleged original construction defect.

However, owners should not interpret the guidance as a complete defense against every accessibility claim.

Separate legal duties may still apply under:

• The Fair Housing Act’s reasonable-accommodation and reasonable-modification provisions.

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act.

• State and local accessibility laws.

• Regulatory agreements or other HUD program requirements.

• Contractual obligations assumed during an acquisition or financing transaction.

A current refusal to provide a legally required accommodation may constitute a new act with its own filing period. The new memorandum addresses claims based specifically on the original design and construction of covered multifamily housing.

Private Lawsuits Require Separate Analysis

Private Fair Housing Act lawsuits generally carry a two-year statute of limitations.

HUD said it supports measuring that two-year period from the initial certificate of occupancy for design-and-construction claims. However, the memorandum acknowledges that courts independently interpret the statute and are not necessarily bound by HUD’s position.

The guidance also does not change the timeframe or authority governing civil actions brought by the U.S. Attorney General.

HUD further noted that timely conduct forming part of an alleged pattern or practice may allow consideration of related conduct that would otherwise fall outside the ordinary limitations period.

Owners facing an active complaint or threatened litigation should therefore obtain legal advice based on the specific claims, jurisdiction and history of the property.

Documentation Just Became More Important

The initial certificate of occupancy is now a critical compliance document.

Developers and owners should preserve:

• The original certificate of occupancy and any phased certificates.

• Architectural drawings and specifications.

• Accessibility reviews and inspection reports.

• Construction contracts and change orders.

• Records identifying the original developer, architect and contractor.

• Acquisition agreements and indemnification provisions.

• Documentation of subsequent accessibility work.

• Records of accommodation and modification requests.

For an older acquisition, missing construction records could make it harder to establish when the limitations period began or which entity controlled the original design.

Accessibility due diligence should remain part of every acquisition and refinancing even when the original certificate of occupancy was issued more than one or two years ago. A property can still face operational, contractual and programmatic accessibility obligations outside the design-and-construction claim addressed by this guidance.

The Bottom Line

HUD has replaced an open-ended administrative enforcement theory with a defined one-year filing period tied to the initial certificate of occupancy.

The change gives builders, developers and later owners greater certainty about potential Fair Housing Act design-and-construction complaints.

It does not make inaccessible conditions irrelevant, eliminate other accessibility laws or prevent claims based on current conduct.

The most important first step is simple: locate and preserve the certificate of occupancy. Under HUD’s new position, that document starts the clock.