HUD Limits FHA Design-Defect Claims Window
New guidance treats Fair Housing Act accessibility violations as discrete acts, starting the one-year administrative and two-year private statutes of limitation upon a building's certificate of occupancy.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has rescinded its 2013 'continuing violation' theory for Fair Housing Act (FHA) design-and-construction accessibility claims. New guidance treats such violations as discrete events, with the statute of limitations beginning when a multifamily dwelling receives its initial certificate of occupancy. This change significantly reduces long-tail liability risk for developers, builders, and subsequent owners of multifamily properties. Under the prior interpretation, the statute of limitations never effectively expired as long as a building remained non-compliant, exposing owners to costly claims years after construction. The new rule provides certainty by establishing a clearer timeline: one year for administrative complaints to HUD and a supported two years for private civil actions. The guidance aligns federal administrative enforcement with the 9th Circuit's en banc decision in Garcia v. Brockway. Counsel for multifamily developers and owners should reassess potential liabilities on existing properties and update compliance advice for new projects based on these new timeframes. The change does not affect the timeline for enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Attorney General.