If you own or operate a business in an older building, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires you to remove physical barriers to access whenever doing so is “readily achievable” — that is, achievable without much difficulty or expense. The ADA barrier removal requirements for existing buildings apply to every place of public accommodation, from restaurants and retail stores to hotels and medical offices, no matter when the building went up.1eCFR. 28 CFR 36.304 – Removal of Barriers The standard flexes with your resources, but it does not go away, and failing to meet it can put you in front of a federal judge.
What Readily Achievable Actually Means
Readily achievable is a lower bar than what applies to new construction, which must meet the full 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design regardless of cost. For existing buildings, the law accepts that perfect accessibility may not be realistic and instead asks whether a given fix can be done without much difficulty or expense.
The analysis is multi-factor and specific to your business and the specific barrier. It looks at the cost of the modification, the financial resources of the facility (revenue, number of employees, effect on operations), and the overall financial resources of any parent entity.2Legal Information Institute. 42 USC 12181(9) – Readily Achievable No single factor decides it.
The parent-entity piece is where businesses miscalculate. A single franchise location with slim margins might argue an elevator is unreasonable, but if the franchisor is a billion-dollar corporation, courts will look at that corporate relationship when deciding what counts as readily achievable. Administrative and financial ties to a parent matter more than the local profit-and-loss statement alone.
In practice, inexpensive fixes like rearranging furniture, adding grab bars, or installing a portable ramp will almost always be readily achievable. Major structural work like installing an elevator or reconfiguring load-bearing walls usually will not be, especially for small independent businesses. Most disputes land somewhere in the middle, which is why documentation matters.
This is also not a one-time obligation. A modification that costs too much today may be required next year if your business becomes more profitable, if construction prices drop, or if technology makes the fix cheaper. The DOJ has emphasized that businesses should reassess accessibility annually.
One boundary worth knowing: the barrier removal duty covers areas open to the public, not spaces used exclusively by employees. Work areas that only staff enter are exempt from the readily achievable removal rule, though disabled employees have separate rights under Title I, which the EEOC enforces.3ADA.gov. ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual
Which Barriers to Fix First
The DOJ sets a four-tier priority order for barrier removal. Skipping a tier will not automatically trigger liability, but the priorities reflect how regulators and courts expect you to allocate an accessibility budget.1eCFR. 28 CFR 36.304 – Removal of Barriers
Priority 1 — Getting through the door. Provide access from public sidewalks, parking, and transit to the entrance. Typical measures: entrance ramps, accessible parking spaces, and widened entryways. If a customer using a wheelchair cannot reach the front door, nothing inside matters.
Priority 2 — Access to goods and services. Once inside, customers need to reach the areas where they can shop, eat, or receive services. Think clear paths through display racks, wider interior doors, and lowered counters or an alternative service point.
Priority 3 — Restrooms. Widen stalls, install grab bars, and insulate exposed pipes under sinks.
Priority 4 — Everything else. Drinking fountains, accessible signage, public telephones, and other remaining features.
The regulation lists specific examples: installing ramps, cutting curbs, repositioning shelves, rearranging furniture, adding raised-character signage, widening doors, and installing visual alarms. These are illustrative, not exhaustive. Any structural change that improves access and meets the readily achievable test qualifies.
Landlord or Tenant — Who Has to Do the Work
Both parties share legal responsibility. A lease can allocate who pays for and performs each modification, but from the ADA’s perspective, both landlord and tenant remain liable to the public. A tenant cannot defend a lawsuit by saying “that’s the landlord’s job,” and a landlord cannot escape by pointing to the lease. If you operate in leased space, address barrier removal explicitly in the lease and document which party handles what.
Historic Properties Get Less Flexibility Than Owners Think
Buildings listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places still have to be made accessible to the maximum extent feasible. A full exception is available only when compliance would threaten or destroy the building’s historic significance, and only after consulting the State Historic Preservation Officer.4eCFR. 28 CFR 36.405 – Alterations: Historic Preservation Even then, the property must provide at least one accessible entrance, an accessible route to public spaces on the entry level, and an accessible restroom if any exist. Historic status is not a blanket exemption.
When You Can’t Remove the Barrier
If you can genuinely show that removing a barrier is not readily achievable, the obligation does not vanish. You have to provide access through alternative methods that are themselves readily achievable.5eCFR. 28 CFR 36.305 – Alternatives to Barrier Removal The regulation gives examples: curbside service, home delivery, retrieving merchandise from inaccessible areas, and relocating services to an accessible part of the building.
If a service is normally offered on an upper floor with no elevator, offer it on the ground floor when asked. A portable ramp can substitute for a permanent one. Train staff to bring items to customers who cannot reach them. These alternatives have to preserve the person’s dignity and independence to the greatest extent possible.
You cannot charge extra for these alternatives. The ADA prohibits surcharges on people with disabilities to cover accommodation costs.6eCFR. 28 CFR 36.301 – Eligibility Criteria One narrow nuance: if you charge every customer for home delivery and also offer a free accessible alternative like curbside pickup, the delivery fee is fine because it applies to everyone.
The Safe Harbor for Elements Already Compliant
Elements built or altered in compliance with the original 1991 ADA Standards do not need to be upgraded to the 2010 Standards until the next time those specific elements are altered. The DOJ calls this an element-by-element safe harbor.7ADA.gov (Archive). Fact Sheet: Highlights of the Final Rule to Amend the Department of Justice’s Regulation Implementing Title III of the ADA A restroom made accessible under the 1991 Standards and untouched since does not have to be retrofitted to the 2010 Standards as part of ongoing barrier removal.
The safe harbor does not protect elements that were never compliant in the first place, and it resets the moment you undertake a planned alteration. Once you touch the element, it has to meet the current standards.
How Renovations Raise the Bar
The readily achievable standard is the floor for existing buildings you have not touched. The moment you undertake an alteration that affects a primary function area — a place where the business serves the public — the requirements jump. Any such alteration must include making the path of travel to that area accessible, along with the restrooms, drinking fountains, and telephones serving it.8eCFR. 28 CFR 36.403 – Alterations: Path of Travel
There is a cost cap. Path-of-travel obligations top out at 20% of the total cost of the alteration to the primary function area. If a restaurant spends $100,000 remodeling its dining room, it must spend up to an additional $20,000 making the route accessible. When 20% is not enough to reach full accessibility, the priorities are: accessible entrance, accessible route to the altered area, accessible restroom, then telephones and drinking fountains.
This is where owners stumble. A renovation that looks routine — new flooring, moved walls, an updated sales counter — can trigger path-of-travel obligations that reshape the project budget. Plan for it before signing a construction contract.
Building a Compliance Plan
The DOJ recommends every business develop a written barrier removal implementation plan. It is not legally required, but it is powerful evidence of good faith if a complaint or lawsuit arises. A business with documented assessments and steady progress sits in a far better position than one that did nothing and tries to argue after the fact that removal was not achievable.
A solid plan has four parts: a completed accessibility survey of the facility, a summary of barriers with proposed solutions, a timeline for each modification, and a record of work already finished. Where a fix is not readily achievable, document why and describe the alternative methods you use instead.9ADA.gov. ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal
To support a claim that a specific fix is too expensive, get written cost estimates from contractors or suppliers. Keep financial records showing facility revenue, operating costs, and any parent-organization relationship. The more specific the analysis, the stronger the defense. Reassess annually. A court will not be sympathetic to a business that stopped evaluating five years ago.
Tax Incentives That Change the Math
Two federal tax provisions offset the cost of barrier removal and can shift the readily achievable analysis in favor of doing the work.
Small businesses with gross receipts under $1 million or no more than 30 full-time employees can claim the Disabled Access Credit under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code. The credit equals 50% of eligible access expenditures that exceed $250 but do not exceed $10,250, producing a maximum annual credit of $5,000.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 44 – Expenditures to Provide Access to Disabled Individuals Eligible expenses include removing barriers, providing interpreters, and acquiring adaptive equipment. Elect it year by year.
Any business, regardless of size, can deduct up to $15,000 per year for qualified architectural and transportation barrier removal expenses under Section 190.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 190 – Expenditures to Remove Architectural and Transportation Barriers to the Handicapped and Elderly The two provisions can be used together, though you cannot double-count the same dollar. A small business spending $12,000 on a ramp installation could claim the Section 44 credit on part and deduct the remainder under Section 190.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
ADA Title III is enforced through two channels. Any person with a disability who encounters a barrier can file a private lawsuit in federal court. Private plaintiffs can obtain injunctive relief — a court order requiring you to remove the barrier or provide an alternative — and can recover attorney’s fees if they win.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12188 – Enforcement Private lawsuits do not produce monetary damages to the plaintiff under federal law, though some states allow damages under their own disability rights statutes.
The more financially consequential path is a DOJ enforcement action. The Attorney General can sue when there is a pattern or practice of discrimination or when a case raises issues of general public importance. Courts can award monetary damages to affected individuals and assess civil penalties. The statute sets baseline caps at $50,000 for a first violation and $100,000 for subsequent violations, with the regulation adjusting those figures for inflation each year.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12188 – Enforcement13eCFR. 28 CFR 36.504 – Relief
For most businesses, the practical risk is the private lawsuit, not the DOJ action. ADA accessibility filings have grown significantly in volume, often driven by plaintiffs’ attorneys who file dozens or hundreds of cases against noncompliant businesses. Attorney’s fees alone can run into tens of thousands of dollars in a relatively simple case. A documented compliance plan showing ongoing good-faith effort is the best shield against both.