I have a house for rent and got a question asking

"Is it handicap accessible and/or do you mind a ramp to make it accessible?"

It's not (there are stairs going to the exterior doors). I just wanted to make sure that saying "The house is not currently handicap accessible" didn't violate ADA or Fair Housing

Stating that it is not handicap accessible is not a violation. They are asking you TWO questions so when answering be VERY CLEAR on them.

"Is it handicap accessible" … No, it has (# of stairs) into the apartment.

"Do you mind a ramp to make it accessible"? - Here is where you have to watch yourself in the answer. NO is the correct answer. However - YOU do not need to make it that way. THEY can at THEIR EXPENSE (install a ramp) - unless you WANT to do it.

HOWEVER - when they move they can take the ramp back down. It also should not impede any others from entering the building (so if they make the ramp so ONLY THEY can use it - and it's the only way of entering or exiting the building - then they can't do it). It also should be (required) to have a professional build / install the ramp to ADA requirements. The last thing you need is to have something installed and it's not safe - someone falls, trips, etc and now you are on the hook since it is your property (but that's with anything, of course).

A ramp and handrail must have a slope that can make a disabled person capable of rolling himself up and down and make a 360 turn on a dime. Doors must be 36" wide or more. Shower must be wheelchair friendly to roll right into (no curb).

Get the specs from your building dept or the fire dept, to determine if your house can meet regulations.

A ramp can be made of concrete or wood.

In addition to the good things others have already said: Consider this - if they are otherwise good, qualified tenants - and you allow them to make the house suit their needs, they may become good, LONG-TERM tenants.

Need to talk to them and find out if it is someone who uses a cane, or a quadriplegic who is wheelchair bound. One may just want a ramp and a couple grab-bars. The other may need wide doors & all sorts of things.

AllyM,

I've converted a few homes to ADA approved homes. The bathroom door was not the only door which had to be 36". All doors had to be widened, including the front door. Also, a disabled person's bedroom had to have an emergency egress, again, 36" door with a ramp.

To do this, I had to open walls, redo the framing to pass inspection (install a wider header), install new doors, re-do the drywall and finish with compound and paint. Your engineer was incompetent.

Then there were ramps.

Like Fred, I have made a couple of homes accessible. Widened doors, removed the bathtub and installed a shower with no -- I don't remember the name of that part, but we used an inverted V-shape so the wheeled shower-chair could climb over it without a problem, but the water would remain in the shower. We visited a local nursing home and examined how they designed their bathrooms.

We have installed front door ramps on two houses. We preferred to do the job ourselves, to make sure that they were well-built. That is not a good idea, because it makes us responsible if there is a problem, but it is what we wanted to do. A LL is NOT required to build the ramp or wide doors or change the bathrooms.

A real pain is the maximum slope allowed by federal regulations. Sometimes, there is simply not enough room for the proper ramp.