The Disability Discrimination Act The Disability Discrimination Act brings in new laws and measures aimed at ending the discrimination which many disabled people face. The act gives disabled people new rights in many areas including the right of access. For the first time owners and property managers will be required by law to make provision for people to gain access to the buildings they manage whether private or public. Although the Act was drafted in 1996, time was provided to allow managers to plan the action they must take. By 2004 compliance will be mandatory. Obviously lifts and escalators will clearly fall within the legislation but, especially with older buildings, it may not be simply a case of putting in lifting equipment where there was none before. For instance, the Building Regulations 1991 state that "....a wheelchair user needs sufficient space to manoeuvre into a lift and, once in, should not be restricted for space....." Move forward to see how the requirements affect you.