Practice Management Member Conversations

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

The biggest red flag for this request is the open-endedness of the request.  The ADA is a civil rights law, and anyone can sue for having been discriminated against - whether or not the disability was covered specifically by the ADA. So, it would be risky to certify anything that isn't specific about what is covered.

An acceptable middle ground might be to say that the documents were produced to comply with ANSI A117.1, or whatever your referenced standard is. 

That sort of "certification" has been known to satisfy some lenders.

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My attorney says never "certify". A suggestion would be to start your sentence with "To the best of my knowledge, and as required...."

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My attorney says never "certify". A suggestion would be to start your sentence with "To the best of my knowledge, and as required...."

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?

My attorney says never "certify". A suggestion would be to start your sentence with "To the best of my knowledge, and as required...."

My boss and mentor always said to avoid certifying anything as broad and all encompassing as the "project meets building code" or "project meets ADA requirements".  This is really beyond the capability of any mortal man or woman.  Sometimes these requirements even have conflicts within themselves or even more exciting, the actual requirements can be open to multiple interpretations.  When necessary, I have made statements that include some qualifying language. Something like:

"I certify that to the best of my knowledge and as required by the legally required standard of care this project has been developed and completed in accordance with the applicable (insert whatever standard), but due to the complexity of the (standard) I cannot attest that it fully complies in all instances."

I am sure there is better wording that this, but I create the statement to specifically suit the situation.  This covers the general idea.

We have been requested by the Lender for an Affordable Housing project to provide a letter certifying the project meets ADA requirements.  Does the AIA have any language related to this?