What is ADA compliance? Is it relevant for me?

Your office, your private office is a “public accommodation”. Not the way that most physicians think of their office, but according to the Americans With Disability Act (ADA) it is.

This means that you have a responsibility to see to it that your office and access to your office in compliance with ADA. And this means that you must remove barriers in existing buildings where it is “readily achievable”, meaning that removing the barriers is easily accomplice and able to be carried out without much difficulty and without much expense. Title III of the ADA Title III of the ADA.

The operative words are “without much difficulty and without much expense” should, on one hand, allow you to give a sigh of relief, but on the other hand, how difficult and how expensive are not defined. In new construction and with major renovations, those that require permits, it is to be expected that compliance will be necessary. In considering major renovations, compliance will be expected, and that cost is baked into the cost of the renovation, even if it adds to the expense.

With existing space, there is an obligation to try to bring it into compliance, where it is readily achievable. This means not ignoring the ADA because you can’t do it all, it means doing what you can.

That may be moving furniture out of hallways to make them more accessible, changing signage to be compliance, adding handrails in bathrooms. There’s are easy accommodations to the regulations. Others, such as widening doorways, building wheelchair ramps, raising toilets, while more extensive, can be not much of an expense depending on the size of the practice.

While both the tenant and property owner are responsible for ADA compliance within the area occupied by tenants. Who is responsible when it comes to making it happen and the expense should be in the lease. The lease rules, and while the lease may not spell out ADA compliance unless otherwise stated, general operational issues within the space occupied by the physician will be the responsibility of the physician as the tenant. If the physician as the tenant is planning renovations, and the landlord is granting permission for such, then both have the responsibility to for compliance of the physical space.

If the lease prohibits changes to the physical space, the physician is still responsible to do what can be done to seek compliance. Again, this could be as simple as signage, or a raised east in a toilet.

Now the regulations indicate that individuals must have access to places of public accommodation from public sidewalks, parking or public transportation by installing an entrance ramp, widening an entrance, or creating accessible parking. 28 C.F.R. Section 36.304. Who is responsible for the cost of compliance here is again found in the lease. If it is, for example, a triple net lease, (Sometimes when a full building is rented out) meaning that the physician as the tenant pays for all costs associated with occupancy of space, then the cost is the physicians. If it is a building where there are multiple tenants, the responsibility falls to the landlord.

With existing space, remember it is trying to accommodate reasonably the requirements of ADA. When renovating, or building, compliance fully become an obligation. And the costs, in any case, are determined by the lease. And in locating or relocating, avoid ADA compliance from becoming your problem, by making sure space is ADA compliant when you take occupancy.