When are alterations required to bring an existing facility into compliance?

When are alterations required to bring an existing facility into compliance?

• A. Alterations are never required.
• B. Only cosmetic changes are required.
• C. Alterations are required only during major renovations.
• D. When alterations affect usability of the facility or the altered portion; preserve access in non-altered areas.

Answer: (D)

When altering an existing facility, accessibility requirements apply to the parts you modify and to how people must travel to and through those parts. The rule is that if the alteration affects usability, you must bring the altered portion to the maximum extent feasible and preserve access in the non-altered areas. This means that changes should be usable for people with disabilities, and you shouldn’t disrupt existing accessible routes or features in parts you didn’t change. If the alteration doesn’t affect how usable the space is, extra accessibility updates aren’t required. Cosmetic changes, for example, wouldn’t trigger modifications to accessibility features. It’s not correct to say alterations are never required, or that they only apply to cosmetic changes, or that they only occur during major renovations.

When altering an existing facility, accessibility requirements apply to the parts you modify and to how people must travel to and through those parts. The rule is that if the alteration affects usability, you must bring the altered portion to the maximum extent feasible and preserve access in the non-altered areas. This means that changes should be usable for people with disabilities, and you shouldn’t disrupt existing accessible routes or features in parts you didn’t change.

If the alteration doesn’t affect how usable the space is, extra accessibility updates aren’t required. Cosmetic changes, for example, wouldn’t trigger modifications to accessibility features. It’s not correct to say alterations are never required, or that they only apply to cosmetic changes, or that they only occur during major renovations.