Handicap Accessible Bathroom (ADA)

What is ADA Accessible?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in life. Enacted in 1990, the ADA ensures equal opportunities and accessibility for all people with disabilities, and we have to follow Handicap Accessible Codes in New York City.

NYC is one the most restricted and complicated Cities in the world in the case of Building Codes and Handicap Accessibility regulations.

General Key points of the ADA Accessible Law:

Against Discrimination: The ADA strongly prohibits any discrimination based on disability categories like in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.

Handicap Accessible Requirements: Any businesses, public entities, and Multifamily buildings and complexes must provide the minimum requirements of accommodations to make sure it is accessible for individuals who have disabilities.

This is the point related to Architectural Design and Building Codes and regulations. In this blog post, I investigate the details of the ADA Accessible Bathroom in New York City.

More Protections for Employees: Employers must provide minimum accommodations per ADA Law to qualified employees with disabilities, promoting equal opportunities in the workplace.

The ADA emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and equal participation for people with disabilities across various spheres of life, fostering a more accessible and equitable society.

Handicap Accessible Building Code and Regulations

In NYC, you must follow all the DOB guides to ensure your design and projects are based on the code and comply with all regulations. Which is complicated and tricky, and I recommend you find a knowledgeable Architect.

Powder Room VS 3-fixtures Bathroom

The powder room or 2-fixture Bathroom has 1 lavatory and 1 toilet, which we call a water closet, too, and it doesn’t include any shower or tub, so the size is smaller.

3-fixtures Bathroom or full Bathroom is the regular Bathroom in residential and habitable places and includes a lavatory, toilet, shower, or tub.

But as a general idea, I mentioned before, residential buildings with more than 2 families or any commercial facilities need to comply with ADA accessible bathrooms, which means bigger assize and dimensions.

Additionally, for the buildings that you want to have any alteration and occupied on or before March 13, 1991, you need to follow the Bathroom and Powder room design by prototype design requirements according to RCNY 1101-01, But for any alteration after March 13, 1991, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities per ANSI A117.1 and NYC building code, especially Building Code Chapter 11.

The other thing you need to keep in mind during the design and construction Per the NYC Building Code, a building that has a cellar instead of a basement cannot have 3 fixture bathrooms, and 3 piece bathrooms are just allowed in habitable spaces. You can have a powder room or two fixture bathrooms.

If you want to read more about the difference between a cellar and a basement in New York City, Per the Department of Buildings Code, you can click here and read the article.

Handicap Accessible Bathroom or ADA Accessible Bathroom 

In general, to avoid any confusion for people who don’t have a clear vision of NYC Building Codes and Regulations, we have 3 Major types of Bathrooms, as you can see below.

Type A Bathroom:

A Type A bathroom in New York City adheres to specific regulations outlined in the city’s building codes. Notable considerations include maneuvering clearance requirements on both sides of Handicap Accessible bathroom and toilet room doors. The NYC Building Code mandates these provisions to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities. The code emphasizes the importance of adequate maneuvering space, enhancing residents’ usability.

Type A bathrooms promote inclusivity and comply with accessibility standards within New York City’s building regulations. These requirements contribute to creating environments that accommodate diverse needs and prioritize universal design principles.

Type B ADA Bathroom

A Type B bathroom in New York City must adhere to specific regulations outlined in the city’s building codes, particularly under the Type B+NYC Unit Toilet and Bathing Rooms category. This designation encompasses toilet and bathing rooms within dwelling or sleeping units.

*there is another type of bathroom design, PROTOTYPES, that I explained earlier in the Powder Room VS 3-fixtures Bathroom section. You need to follow a minimum size for each of them.

Generally, based on the NYC Code, there is no minimum size for the Bathroom except the Prototype version. However, it will be affected by the ADA, the Building Code, and how it would be designed in the layout.

Key considerations for Type B bathrooms include:

Comprehensive Compliance: Toilet and bathing rooms in Type B+NYC dwelling units must comply with the specified sections of the NYC Building Code, ensuring its Handicap Accessible and have the required functions.

Fixture Standards: At least one lavatory, water closet, and bathtub or shower within the facility must meet specific standards outlined in the building codes.

Type B Handicap Accessible bathrooms are crucial in promoting standardized facilities within dwelling units, contributing to a uniform and accessible built environment in New York City.

Regular or Non-ADA Accessible Bathroom

Regular or Non ADA Accessible Bathroom just follow the design requirements, as I mentioned above, and there is no need to comply with any ADA Accessibility regulations.

If you want to renovate your Apartment, Especially Co-Op apartments that have Management Boards, you can read the Co-Op Renovation in NYC post.

Conclusion and Design Tips for ADA Accessible Bathroom

As I mentioned earlier, a Type A bathroom with 5′ clearance in it is the biggest ADA bathroom. In Residential units with more than one Bathroom, if one of the bathrooms is Type A, the rest of the bathrooms can be regular or non-ADA and have smaller sizes, which in some NYC apartment projects is helpful to add more space to the hallway or bedrooms.

In some cases, you, as the owner or designer, cannot or decide not to have a type-A Bathroom and need a smaller one. You Can use Bathroom Type B, But the main difference is that the rest of the bathrooms in the unit need to follow Type B regulations with the minimum clearance for each fixture.

Besides clearance and space for each fixture, when it comes to ADA Accessible Bathroom design, you need to keep in mind that if you want to have a Shower (Because showers normally have a Curb to prevent water from going out of the shower area), Bathtubs, Toilets, and Lavatory (need to be clear under them for a person with wheelchair to use it easily), you need to follow sufficient height and distance from the floor and wall, and need to have place Handicap Grab Bars to be more useable.

Complying with ADA and Building Codes in NYC needs to be reviewed individually and make sure the design and renovation follow the regulations to get any objection in the plan exam level or Violation and Stop Work Order during the construction phase

This article is just for educational purposes and to familiarize you with Bathroom Regulations in New York City. 

It’s not a design lead because each project must be reviewed individually and has different characteristics.

There is another blog post about the Building Renovation Process in NYC. It will give you a clear idea about NYC architecture.