2013 California Standards for Accessible Design Pocket Guide

a)         Enforcement.  A Building Code is enforced by governmental authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), who are empowered to interpret and/or modify its requirements.  Their enforcement is exercised through a permitting and certification process that usually includes reviews of the documents needed for construction, and inspections of the work performed during construction and at completion.  This process is imperfect.  Building Officials, regardless of how conscientious, knowledgeable and hard-working, cannot be expected to find and correct every Building Code shortcoming any more than traffic enforcement can be expected to issue a citation to every driver who exceeds the speed limit.  Making the job more difficult, Building Code requirements must be written to cover every conceivable situation, and often are not as definitive as a speed limit.  Interpretation and judgment are inescapable, and these may differ from one AHJ to another.

There is no comparable mechanism for enforcing ADA requirements.  They are enforced solely through the legal system.  Risk management is the responsibility of the architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, product manufacturers, building owners and managers, service personnel, and others who are involved in the creation and maintenance of the built environment.  There is no governmental review or enforcement unless and until a lawsuit is filed.