Based on the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) version 2.5 (Rev 508).
Update (2026-06-17): the local web app is built and gated for accessibility.
habitable appships with semantic landmarks, a skip link, a singleh1, programmatically labelled controls (the resolve action usesaria-describedby),lang/title/viewport, anaria-livestatus region, visible focus, no positivetabindex, and full English/Spanish parity. These are enforced two ways in CI: structural tests (tests/test_app_accessibility.py,tests/test_app_i18n.py), a realaxe-corescan of the running app in both languages (blocking on any moderate/serious/critical violation,tests/test_app_axe.py), and keyboard + reflow tests that verify the skip link is first in tab order, every major control is reachable without a trap, and the layout reflows at 320px with no horizontal scrolling (tests/test_app_keyboard.py; WCAG 2.1.1, 2.4.3, 1.4.10). All run in thea11yworkflow and the app currently reports zero axe violations. The remaining step for a full conformance claim is the one part automation cannot do — a recorded human screen-reader (NVDA/VoiceOver) announcement pass, permanual-testing.md; none has been recorded yet.Packet accessibility. ReportLab's open-source API has no marked-content, so a fully tagged PDF/UA structure tree is not produced. Instead: (a) the PDF declares its language (
/Lang, matching the configured locale), sets DisplayDocTitle, and carries a navigable outline/bookmarks with selectable text; and (b) every packet also shipspacket.html— a self-contained WCAG 2.2 AA rendering (landmarks, oneh1, a captioned appendix table with header scopes, meaningful imagealt, the document language) that passes the same axe-core gate (tests/test_htmlpacket.py). The machine-verifiablebundle.jsonremains the canonical record.
packet.htmlis the conformant accessible rendering of a packet, and the PDF is a best-effort print/presentation convenience that makes no PDF/UA conformance claim (decided in ADR 0004). A fully tagged PDF/UA file is revisited only if a suitable open-source tagging toolchain becomes available; the PDF rows below describe its current best-effort behaviour, not a conformance target.
habitable — version 0.2.0 (alpha / concept stage).
2026-06-17
habitable is a court-ready, offline-first, end-to-end-encrypted habitability-evidence tool for tenant unions. Tenants and organizers document repair and habitability problems — dated photos, condition notes, and a timeline — each captured with a trusted timestamp (RFC 3161), a content hash (SHA-256), and an append-only chain of custody, then assembled into a paginated, court-and-inspector-ready packet PDF with an evidence appendix. Everything is local-first and end-to-end encrypted; there is no central server holding personal data.
- Project: habitable (independent personal open-source project, AGPL-3.0)
- Issues, source, and accessibility feedback: the project's GitHub repository (file an issue, or use
the alternate contact in the repository's
SECURITY/CONTRIBUTINGdocuments)
This is a concept-stage project. The design is documented but the installable application has not been built yet. To avoid overclaiming:
- Criteria that depend on the application (the capture flow, timeline, review list, sync UI, settings, and the desktop/PWA client) are marked "Not Evaluated — planned target: WCAG 2.2 AA." These are honest forward-looking targets, not statements of current conformance. Nothing in the app has been built or tested against these criteria.
- Criteria that the packet PDF renderer touches are assessed against current behavior, because
that component exists (
src/habitable/pdf.py). Those rows describe what the code does today, including its known gaps.
- Source inspection of the PDF packet renderer (
src/habitable/pdf.py) and the project's accessibility commitments (README.md, "Accessibility and Section 508 conformance"). The renderer sets the PDF document title, author, and subject metadata; sets the document language toen; emits real, selectable/searchable text (not rasterized text); and renders the evidence appendix as a text table. It does not yet emit a fully tagged PDF/UA structure tree (headings, table header associations, reading order, figure alternate text); that work is tracked. - No application testing was performed, because no application exists yet. No automated scanner (axe), no manual screen-reader pass (NVDA, VoiceOver), and no keyboard-only walkthrough has been run against an installable build. Those evaluations are part of the planned release gate (see Roadmap).
This report covers the following standards and guidelines.
| Standard / Guideline | Included in report |
|---|---|
| Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 | Level A (yes) · Level AA (yes) · Level AAA (no) |
| Revised Section 508 standards (36 CFR Part 1194) — Chapter 3, Functional Performance Criteria | Yes |
| Revised Section 508 standards — Chapter 5, Software | Yes |
| Revised Section 508 standards — Chapter 6, Support Documentation and Services | Yes |
On Section 508 applicability. habitable is a tenant-union tool, not federal ICT, so the Revised Section 508 Standards are not legally required here. The project adopts them anyway as a values and usability position: disabled tenants face housing discrimination and habitability harms at high rates, a tool meant to give tenants power that a disabled tenant cannot operate has failed at its purpose, and conforming to the standard governments audit to also makes the packets usable to the legal-aid workers and inspectors who receive them. WCAG 2.2 AA is the primary target; the Revised 508 chapters are mapped here for completeness and to keep the discipline auditable.
The terms used to describe each criterion's conformance level are:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Supports | The functionality of the product has at least one method that meets the criterion without known defects, or meets it with equivalent facilitation. |
| Partially Supports | Some functionality of the product does not meet the criterion. |
| Does Not Support | The majority of product functionality does not meet the criterion. |
| Not Applicable | The criterion is not relevant to the product. |
| Not Evaluated | The product has not been evaluated against the criterion. Used here for app functionality that is not yet built; the planned target is WCAG 2.2 AA. |
Throughout the tables below, two scopes are distinguished:
- App (planned target): the not-yet-built installable client. Conformance level is Not Evaluated; the design target is WCAG 2.2 AA.
- Packet PDF (current): the existing renderer in
src/habitable/pdf.py, assessed against current behavior.
Notes describe the planned target for the application and the packet PDF's current behavior where the PDF is the relevant artifact.
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 302.1 Without Vision | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App planned target: full screen-reader operation (NVDA, VoiceOver) of capture, timeline, and review; every evidence-status indicator has a text equivalent. PDF current: text is real and selectable so a screen reader can read it, and the document language is set; however the PDF is not yet PDF/UA-tagged, so reading order, heading structure, and the appendix table's header associations are not yet programmatically conveyed. Tracked work. |
| 302.2 With Limited Vision | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App planned target: reflow, resize to 200% without loss of content, and AA contrast. PDF current: real text reflows/zooms in a conforming reader; the appendix header cell uses white-on-dark (#222222) which meets contrast, but a fixed page layout limits reflow and tagging is incomplete. |
| 302.3 Without Perception of Color | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | App planned target: no status conveyed by color alone — hashed, timestamped, and custody-intact states are stated in words. PDF current: evidence status is rendered as words ("timestamped" / "awaiting timestamp", "verified" / "awaiting") in captions and the appendix table, not by color. Supports. |
| 302.4 Without Hearing | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | The packet PDF has no audio. App planned target: any captured video evidence presented in-app will offer captions/transcript affordances; no audio is required to operate the product. |
| 302.5 With Limited Hearing | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | Same as 302.4 — no audio is required to operate the product or read a packet. |
| 302.6 Without Speech | Not Applicable | The product requires no speech input. |
| 302.7 With Limited Manipulation / Strength / Reach | Not Evaluated (app) | App planned target: full keyboard operability and capture without precise pointer control, so a tenant documenting one-handed or with limited dexterity can operate the tool. Not yet built. The packet PDF requires no manipulation to read. |
| 302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength | Not Evaluated (app) | Covered by the keyboard-operable, no-precise-pointer target above; not yet built. |
| 302.9 With Limited Cognition, Language, or Learning | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App planned target: a familiar photo-and-note flow, plain-language evidence status, no account to create under stress, avoidable time limits, and Spanish parity in v1. PDF current: the packet uses plain-language status words and a stated, non-legal-advice disclaimer; full plain-language review of the app is pending a build. |
For each success criterion, the table gives the planned target for the app and the current status for the packet PDF. Where a criterion does not apply to a non-interactive PDF, that is noted.
The packet PDF's central honest caveat: it emits real selectable text with document language and title/author/subject metadata, but it is not yet a tagged PDF/UA document — headings, table header cell associations, figure alternate text, and an explicit reading-order structure tree are not yet emitted. That gap is tracked work and affects several rows below.
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: text alternatives for all non-text content. PDF current: evidence photos are embedded as images without programmatic alternate text; however each image is immediately followed by a real-text caption (capture time, hash prefix, timestamp status) that conveys its evidentiary meaning. Tagged figure /Alt is tracked. |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only / Video-only (Prerecorded) (A) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | The PDF carries no time-based media. App target covers captured video where present. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (A) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | App target: captions for any prerecorded video evidence shown in-app. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (A) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | App target as above. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: semantic structure exposed programmatically. PDF current: visual structure (title, headings, appendix table) is present and reads as real text, but the document is not yet tagged, so heading levels and table header-to-data associations are not programmatically determinable. Tracked. |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | PDF current: visual/content order is logical (issue → timeline → photos → appendix) and selectable text follows that order, but no explicit tagged reading-order tree is emitted yet. |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: instructions and status do not rely on shape, size, or location; status is stated in words. |
| 1.3.4 Orientation (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: no orientation lock (mobile-first PWA). N/A to the PDF. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: programmatic input-purpose identification on relevant fields. N/A to the PDF (no inputs). |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: no information is conveyed by color alone; evidence status is words. |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control (A) | Not Applicable | No auto-playing audio. |
| 2.1.1 Keyboard (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: all functionality keyboard-operable; manual NVDA/VoiceOver and keyboard-only review at the release gate. N/A to the static PDF. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | App target: time limits avoidable so a tenant documenting under stress is not rushed. PDF current: static document imposes no time limit. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | No moving/auto-updating content in the PDF. App target where applicable. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold (A) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | No flashing content in the PDF. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: skip mechanisms/landmarks. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: the document title metadata is set (e.g. "habitability evidence packet — unit 4B"), so assistive tech announces a meaningful title. |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the static PDF. |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. The PDF has no hyperlinks. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: no reliance on multipoint/path-based gestures; capture works without precise pointer control. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: no motion-only actuation. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.1.1 Language of Page (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: the document language is set to en (lang="en") in the renderer, so assistive tech selects the correct pronunciation/voice. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.2.2 On Input (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF (no input). |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF (no input). |
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: all UI components expose correct name/role/value/state. PDF current: content is real text but, untagged, structural roles (heading, table header) are not yet programmatically exposed; tracked with the PDF/UA work. |
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) (AA) | Not Applicable | No live media. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) (AA) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | App target where video evidence is shown in-app. |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | App target: all text/UI meets AA contrast, verified by axe + manual review. PDF current: body text is black on white; the appendix header row is white on #222222, both exceeding 4.5:1. |
| 1.4.4 Resize Text (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: 200% resize without loss. PDF current: text is real and zooms in a conforming reader without rasterization, but fixed-page layout limits reflow. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: text is rendered as real text, not images of text. Evidence photos are content, not text. |
| 1.4.10 Reflow (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: reflow to a single column at 320 CSS px equivalent. PDF current: a paginated letter-size PDF does not reflow; mitigated by the machine-readable bundle.json companion that carries the same data in a structure-agnostic form. |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: the appendix table grid uses a grey line that, with surrounding contrast and adjacent text labels, conveys structure; no meaning rests on a low-contrast graphic alone. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Not Applicable (PDF) | App target. A fixed-layout PDF does not support author-overridable text spacing. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA) | Not Applicable (PDF); Not Evaluated (app) | No hover/focus content in the PDF. App target. |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to a single PDF document. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: descriptive headings/labels. PDF current: headings are descriptive in their visible text ("Evidence appendix", "Issue: …", "Timeline"), but are not yet tagged as headings programmatically. Tracked. |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the static PDF. |
| 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target: no drag-only operations. N/A to the PDF. |
| 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target: minimum 24×24 CSS px targets, supporting limited manipulation. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Partially Supports (PDF) | App target: per-part language (relevant to Spanish parity). PDF current: document language is set; per-part language tagging (e.g. Spanish content within an English document) is not yet emitted. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to a single PDF. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Supports (PDF) | PDF current: status terms are used consistently across captions and the appendix. |
| 3.2.6 Consistent Help (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target: consistent help/contact placement. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target. N/A to the PDF (no input). |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (AA) | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: confirmation before sharing/exporting (the README's "show exactly what a packet will disclose"). N/A to the static PDF. |
| 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target. N/A to the PDF. |
| 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA, 2.2) | Not Evaluated (app) | New in WCAG 2.2. App target: no cognitive-function test required for authentication; note the product has no central account by design. N/A to the PDF. |
| 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA) | Not Evaluated (app); Not Applicable (PDF) | App target: evidence-status changes announced to assistive tech via live regions. Static PDF has no status messages. |
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 501.1 Scope — Incorporation of WCAG 2.0 AA | See WCAG tables | The application targets WCAG 2.2 AA (a superset of the 2.0 AA that 508 incorporates). App rows are Not Evaluated pending a build; the packet PDF rows are assessed above. |
| 502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: expose platform accessibility APIs so AT can operate capture/timeline/review. Not yet built. |
| 503 Applications | Not Evaluated (app) | App target: user-controllable preferences, no override of platform accessibility settings, accessible alternative-content affordances. Not yet built. |
| 504 Authoring Tool | Not Applicable | habitable is not an authoring tool for third-party content in the 504 sense; it documents the user's own evidence. (The packet PDF it produces is the relevant content output and is assessed in the WCAG tables.) |
| Criteria | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 602.2 Accessibility and Compatibility Features | Supports (planned/current docs) | Project documentation (README, threat model, this ACR) is authored in accessible Markdown and rendered as accessible HTML on the repository host, with semantic headings, real text, and no information conveyed by color alone. Accessibility features will be documented as the app is built. |
| 602.3 Electronic Support Documentation | Partially Supports | Current documentation conforms to WCAG-equivalent practices as Markdown/HTML (real text, heading structure, link text). The not-yet-written end-user docs for the app are a planned target at WCAG 2.2 AA. |
| 603.2 Information on Accessibility Features | Supports | Accessibility commitments and status are documented openly (README "Accessibility and Section 508 conformance" and this committed ACR). |
| 603.3 Accommodation of Communication Needs | Supports | Support is via the GitHub repository (issues, written channels) with an alternate contact in SECURITY/CONTRIBUTING; written, asynchronous channels accommodate a range of communication needs. |
This ACR is published in good faith to document accessibility status honestly. habitable is a
concept-stage, independent open-source project: the installable application is not yet built, and
the rows marked "Not Evaluated" are forward-looking targets, not claims of current conformance. The
packet-PDF rows describe the current behavior of src/habitable/pdf.py, including its known gaps
(notably that the PDF is not yet PDF/UA-tagged). This document is not legal advice and not a warranty.
WCAG 2.2 AA is a merge-blocking CI gate once the app exists; releases run axe automated checks plus manual NVDA and VoiceOver review and keyboard-only walkthroughs; the packet PDF gains full tagged PDF/UA output (heading structure, table header associations, figure alternate text, explicit reading order); and this ACR is regenerated and re-committed on each release — the same audit-as-artifact discipline the project applies to its evidence method.