New App Helps Builders Meet Accessibility Requirements of Fair Housing Act

Codes and Standards
Published

NAHB unveiled the Pocket Guide to the Fair Housing Act, a free app designed to help home builders, contractors and designers meet the accessibility requirements of the act, during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas this week.

“HUD welcomes the efforts of this important housing industry partner in working to meet the needs of persons with disabilities,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson. "This new app represents an exciting new tool in our collective effort to help ensure that home builders meet their Fair Housing Act obligations.”

“Through this free tool, NAHB strives to increase Fair Housing Act compliance within the housing industry and facilitate greater access to multifamily housing for persons with disabilities,” said NAHB Immediate Past Chairman Greg Ugalde.

The app was partially funded by an educational grant from HUD through the Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Staff from NAHB’s legal, codes and technology departments made substantial in-kind contributions to the project. The app will enable builders and developers to determine if the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements apply to their housing project and, if so, provide a quick reference guide to the seven basic accessibility requirements for compliance with the law.

“The more informed a home builder is, the easier it is for them to create the kind of housing they want to build while also complying with the nation’s fair housing laws,” said Anna María Farías, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “This phenomenal new app is just the resource that can make that possible.”

The information contained in this app is intended to provide a basic, non-exhaustive guide to understanding and conforming with the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act. It is not a safe harbor for compliance with the Fair Housing Act.

The app can be downloaded from the App Store (for iPhone and iPad) and from Google Play (for Android devices) by searching “FHA Guide” or “NAHB.”

More details can be found at nahb.org/fhaguide.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Business Management

Apr 21, 2026

NAHB Publication Offers Housing Professionals Tools to Help Boost Customer Satisfaction and Sales

BuilderBooks, the publishing arm of NAHB, released a new edition of its popular home buying resource, Buying Your New Home: A Guide to Home Buying, Second Edition.

Safety

Apr 20, 2026

Electrical Safety is Important to Everyone on a Home Building Site

Electrical safety on jobsites can often be overlooked by many workers whose primary jobs do not include electrical work. But all workers and visitors on a home building jobsite can be exposed to electric risk if proper safety procedures are not followed.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Apr 21, 2026

Population Growth and Housing Supply Dynamics at the County Level in 2025

U.S. population growth slowed notably in the latest Vintage 2025 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, with the nation expanding by just 0.5% in 2025, roughly half the pace of the prior year. The deceleration was primarily driven by a sharp decline in net international migration (NIM), which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million, while natural change remained relatively stable.

Economics

Apr 20, 2026

Construction Workforce Shifts: Fewer Tradesmen, More White-Collar Jobs

The long-running shift in the construction labor force away from construction trades and toward management, business, and technical roles is ongoing and gaining momentum, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest 2024 data from the American Community Survey (ACS).

Economics

Apr 17, 2026

Count of Second Homes Declines in 2024

In 2024, the number of second homes in the U.S. was 6.2 million, accounting for 4.3% of the nation’s housing stock, according to NAHB estimates. This reflects a modest decline from 2022, when the number reached 6.5 million. This decline suggests some cooling following the pandemic-era surge in second home demand.