Inclusion London: It’s time to raise accessibility standards for all new homes | #ForAccessibleHomes News

This Accessible Homes Week, we at Inclusion London, an organisation run by and for Disabled people, are calling on the Government to finally raise accessibility standards.

Three years ago the last Conservative Government promised to raise minimum accessibility standards for new-build homes in England – a promise they never delivered.  

To raise awareness of this, we at Inclusion London, alongside Habinteg, other Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations and housing allies, marched in Westminster and handed a joint letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. We wanted the new Government to take action on accessible housing. Our asks were:

•   Make the M4(2) ‘accessible and adaptable’ standard the minimum requirement for all new build homes, as the previous Government committed to on 29th July 2022
• Set a minimum target of 10% of new build homes to meet the M4(3) wheelchair user standard
• Ensure that the majority of accessible homes are built in the social rented sector.

A year has passed but nothing has changed. Since the new Labour Government took office, they have not raised accessibility standards.  This means that inaccessible homes which cannot be adapted still continue to be built across the country.  

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Disabled people are stuck waiting, often for decades, for an accessible social rent home, waiting for the safety and stability we need to be able to build a life. 

Failed by the current system 

Across England, Disabled people are still being denied an independent life due to inaccessible housing: 

• 1 in 5 Disabled social housing tenants live in unsuitable homes [1]

• Only 13% of homes have basic accessibility features [2]

• Over 400,000 wheelchair users live in unsuitable accommodation [3]

• There is an average wait of 47 years for a new wheelchair-accessible social rent home [4]

These aren’t just numbers or statistics on a page. These are real people, trapped in unsafe homes where they cannot access basic facilities or carry out everyday tasks like showering or cooking independently. This is unacceptable, undignified, and inhumane. 

We cannot wait for goodwill to bring us the accessible homes we need.  

It’s time for the Government to act. All new homes must be accessible, or we risk locking another generation of Disabled people out of the housing they need and deserve.

Government overlooks key role of accessible housing 

Much of our current housing stock is inaccessible, but new-build homes give us a real opportunity to get it right from the start.

The Government is focused on its promise to “get Britain building again” aiming to build a record 1.5 million new homes for the next five years. But here is the problem:  there is still no guarantee these homes will be accessible. 

Who are these new homes for, if Disabled and older people are excluded from living in them? 

Recent planning reforms gave the Government the opportunity to raise minimum accessibility standards nationally. Instead, they have chosen to attack Disabled people’s rights by proposing cuts to disability benefits under the false claim of pushing people into work. All while ignoring that inaccessible housing locks millions of Disabled people out of work in the first place.  

If the Government were serious about supporting Disabled people who can work into work, they would make accessible housing a priority, before they rush to build a new generation of inaccessible homes. 

Minimum standards needed urgently 

This Accessible Homes Week we once again call on the Government to take urgent action by ensuring that:  

• all new-build homes meet the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard 

• at least 10% of all new-build homes meet the M4(3) wheelchair user standard. 

Living in a home that meets our needs helps us to stay well, provides stability and helps us build up our lives. But current regulations for new housing lock us out of the safe housing that we need.  

This Government pledged in their manifesto to champion the rights of Disabled people. They promised to work with us and put our voices at the heart of decision-making. This is their opportunity to deliver by taking concrete action on accessible housing.  

Continued delays to raising standards only mean that more and more people will be forced to live in unsuitable conditions, unable to meet the basic needs we all have for a good life.  

As Habinteg highlights this Accessible Homes Week, ten years on from the introduction of M4(2) and M4(3) in Building Regulations Part M, far too many Disabled people are still being locked out of the homes they need. It is time for the Government to work with Disabled people and make sure the homes we build are truly accessible, adaptable, and fit for everyone’s needs.