Accessibility - Issue Summary
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| What is the fundamental issue? |
| Visitable Housing is designed and built to allow guests with mobility impairments to visit someone in their home without architectural barriers impeding their ability to move in and out of the home or use facilities a guest, such as for dinner, would need. Such housing also makes it easier for residents to adapt their house as they age and develop mobility impairments. A significant number of local governments have required or encouraged new housing to be built with visitable features. There are some national voices calling for greater inclusion of visitable features in new homes as well. |
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| I'm a Realtor®. What does this mean to my business? |
| Housing which is visitable may be more attractive to buyers who have friends and relatives with mobility impairments. The costs associated with adding basic visitable features, such as no-threshhold steps, wider doors, larger guest bathrooms, add little to the cost of housing at the time of construction. Such housing could be marketed as visitable to buyers. |
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| NAR Policy: |
| NAR supports the Fair Housing Act's requirement that new multi-family housing be accessible to persons with disabilities. NAR also opposes actions which place liability for incorrectly constructed housing on subsequent owners and REALTORS® marketing the housing. NAR has no policy concerning visitable housing. |
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| Legislative/Regulatory Status/Outlook: |
| Legislation not yet introduced |
 Link to Thomas
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