Accessible homes are healthy homes: why we need to build health into housing | #ForAccessibleHomes News

Lauren Walker (pictured right) is Professional Practice Manager at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) – the professional body for occupational therapy (OT) practitioners in the UK, representing over 36,000 members. OTs help people of all ages overcome challenges completing everyday activities due to injury, illness and disability. They work in health, social care and housing services and are experts in understanding how the built environment can be both a barrier and an enabler to participation in daily life. Read Lauren’s blog to find out why she and her colleagues at RCOT believe we should be talking about housing and health at the same time, which is what many people refer to as a ‘health-in-all-policies’ approach.

Let me ask you a question. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘health’? Is it hospitals and GP appointments? Maybe it’s medication, food or exercise. Whatever it is, for most of us, our homes are unlikely to be the first thing to spring to mind, but where we live influences almost every aspect of our health and wellbeing.

Our homes affect our safety, our ability to look after ourselves and others, how well we can manage health conditions and recover after illness, and even our ability to access work and education. This is why Accessible Homes Week is so important: it’s about what an accessible home can do for a person's wellbeing, independence and overall quality of life.

It's also why, at RCOT, we’ve recently launched our Building Health into Homes project. Through this work, we've explored a simple but important concept – if we want healthier communities and sustainable public services, we need to stop treating housing and health as separate conversations.

Housing isn't a niche issue  

One of the biggest misconceptions about accessible housing is that it’s only relevant to a small number of people. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Inclusive housing design supports people at all stages of life. It helps parents with pushchairs, older people experiencing changes in mobility, disabled people, people recovering from injury and those managing long-term conditions. Crucially, it enables people to remain active participants in their families, workplaces and communities.

The housing challenges in the UK are well documented, and Habinteg has done great work to shine light on the specific difficulties created by the lack of accessible homes. Millions of people live in buildings that are unsuitable, unsafe or difficult to adapt.

At the same time, we have an ageing population, increasing numbers of people living with long-term conditions and growing pressure on health and social care services. These challenges are deeply connected. When somebody lives in a home that doesn't meet their needs, it becomes harder to stay healthy, manage daily activities and remain independent. 

Too often, housing only enters the conversation after a crisis – a fall, a hospital admission, a breakdown in care or a failed discharge home. That's not good for people and it's not good for public services.

Prevention starts at home

Across housing, health and social care, we're hearing more about prevention than ever before. Policymakers want to shift support closer to home, help people stay well for longer and reduce demand on overstretched services.

This is a commendable ambition. But we need to be honest about the fact that a prevention strategy that overlooks people's homes isn't really a prevention strategy.

If we want people to maintain and manage their health in their homes and communities, those homes and communities need to be safe, suitable and accessible. 

At the moment, that simply isn’t the case. Home, Sick home Frontline Views on the Public Health Crisis of Unhealthy Homes (a report by UK-based public health charity and membership organisation Medact) reveals that at least three quarters of health professionals support people whose poor housing is affecting their health. Meanwhile the National Housing Federation’s research briefing Supported housing and the NHS: reducing delayed discharge, reveals that housing is the single largest cause of discharge delays from mental health inpatient settings, and acute hospital housing delays tripled between 2022-2024.

If we’re to change this, increasing the availability of accessible and adaptable homes is one of the most powerful preventative interventions available to us.

That's why Accessible Homes Week should matter to everyone. It's not simply about housing design. It's about taking a proactive and preventative approach to health, inclusion, equity and quality of life. We all live somewhere. And every one of us will, at different points in our lives, rely on our home to support our health, independence and participation in daily life.

Seizing a shared opportunity

Through the Building Health into Homes project, we've found that the most impactful work happens when organisations stop seeing housing as a standalone service and start recognising it as part of the wider health and care picture. Because if we get housing right, everybody wins.

The evidence is increasingly clear that accessible homes deliver social and economic benefits alongside health benefits. They reduce pressure on public services, lower future adaptation costs and support better outcomes for individuals and families.

One of the most important messages from Building Health into Homes is that meaningful change won't come from one sector acting alone. Housing providers, local authorities, planners, health leaders, social care organisations and policymakers all have a role to play.

If we're serious about prevention, reducing inequalities and helping people live well for longer, housing has to be part of the solution. Because accessible homes aren't a specialist issue - they're health infrastructure.

If we invest in accessible homes, the benefits won't just be felt by disabled people or older people. They'll be felt by every community, every public service and every generation that follows.