Insights from our Accessible Homes Week 2025 webinar | Latest news

As part of last week’s Accessible Homes Week, Habinteg hosted a live webinar, joined by an expert panel to discuss the current state of play in the world of accessible housing and take a deep dive into the findings of our Forecast for accessible homes 2025 .

The forecast is based on analysis carried out by Habinteg’s policy team on data gathered using a bespoke AI tool to assess 311 English local plans.

2025 marks 10 years since the introduction of the two optional accessibility standards, M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard and the M4(3) wheelchair user standard, which are outlined in the Part M of the Building Regulations. The application of these standards through local plan housing policies is the key driver for the number of new accessible homes that are built.

The Accessible Homes Week 2025 webinar panel featured:

•  Dr Mark Fosbrook, Disability Inclusion Manager at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA)
•  Ruth Hunter, Property Developer, Veredus Property
•   Suzanne Tate, Architect, Kia Designs
•  Chris Hicken, Habinteg Insight Group member
•  Fara Muneer, Head of Business, Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE).

The session was attended by almost 100 professionals, including from the care and nursing services sector, government bodies and ministries, home improvement companies, housing associations, architects, and designers; as well as local authority professionals such as occupational therapists, architecture and building surveyors; and disability equality campaigners and professionals.

Our forecast explained

Habinteg’s Director of Social Impact & External Affairs, Christina McGill opened the one-hour session by introducing Habinteg’s Accessible Homes Week and its aims. She talked about the M4(2) and M4(3) being optional standards, and about the challenges presented by the M4(1) ‘visitable’ standard, the current default standard for all new homes.

Next our Policy and Research Officer, Rosie Tunnadine explained the main findings from the report which uncovers a widening postcode lottery for wheelchair user home seekers over the next decade.

Ms. McGill then introduced our first panellist, Ruth Hunter, who develops homes in multiple occupancy, or HMOs.

Creating inclusive communities

Ms. Hunter said: “I’m pretty new to developing homes…but I’ve been part of a huge network of property developers for a while, and I’ve never heard of accessible homes being discussed. So, I set out on a journey to learn more, and it's been an amazing journey so far.”

“To create accessible homes, I do think working with the right builder is key… that's a real challenge for developers like me, finding the right people to work with,” Ms Hunter said.

“I've got strong views about how we, as investors, and certainly HMO investors, should be providing properties that allow wheelchair users to live in HMOs. Accessible housing is not just about newbuilds, there are hundreds of developers across the country retrofitting properties.”

Ms. Hunter said that people’s negative attitudes towards disability remains a big issue. “I was shocked to hear landlords saying: ‘we can create ground floor bedrooms and wetrooms but will people want to live with disabled people?’… this needs to change.”

Increasing wellbeing by design

Next to talk was Suzanne Tate who spoke about her practice which focuses not only on accessibility, but on the equity of experience in the built environment and home design, whether that’s for older people or young families with prams and pushchairs.

Ms. Tate said: “It’s important to look at what the experience of the space is. Our view is that good design increases human functioning overall. When we design spaces, our first question is: how many people's wellbeing can we impact by what we're designing?

“For us, aesthetically pleasing spaces and trends are important, but it’s not a primary function of space, that inquiry has to be met right from the beginning of the design.”

Wider benefits of accessible homes

Speaking next was Dr. Mark Fosbrook of the WMCA, which recently commissioned Habinteg and the CAE to create a review into accessible housing provision in the West Midlands.

Speaking about the review, Dr. Fosbrook said: “It predicted the region will require 11,500 accessible homes by 2040, and in current plans, we will still only achieve around about half of that by 2034.

“We need to be a much more data-driven region that says: we now know where the gaps are, how do we start to address and flood those gaps? It potentially only costs around £20,000 to £25,000 more to build an [wheelchair] accessible home, but the return on that is over £100,000.

Dr. Fosbrook pointed out that accessible homes reduce pressure on social care and enable people to have greater independence, so they are more likely to be economically active.

“If we get it right from a home perspective, there’s not only an economic benefit but a significant shift in wellbeing of disabled people across the region,” he added.

Futureproofed, adaptable living

Habinteg tenant Chris Hicken, who is a wheelchair user, spoke about his accessible housing experience. “I had an accident in 1986 and at the time my family and I were living in a two-story house. I had to learn to use the stairs again and the only way to get up them was to sit on them backwards move up them, one step at a time.

“It took until 1999 for our council to find us an accessible bungalow with Habinteg. It has made a huge difference to my daily life, improving it by about 100%... it meant I didn’t have to worry about whether I could get into the kitchen or to the bathroom on time. Having everything all on one floor allows me to move around freely and do what I want to do, when I want to do it, not just when circumstances allow me to.”

Mr. Hicken said he would like to see housebuilders and developers build homes that are future proofed for people’s changing needs. “Illnesses and accidents can happen at any time. If homes were built so they could easily be adapted if people’s needs changed, it would save a lot of time and upset.”

Accessibility training is key

Our final panellist, CAE’s Fara Muneer, spoke about the work CAE does in relation to accessible housing. “We offer bespoke and public training courses on accessibility building standards and what they mean, working with local authorities, architects, and others.

“As a department within Habinteg, we work with them on their new developments to ensure accessible, adaptable, homes are being delivered. But a large part of our work externally is conducting access design appraisals for large residential developments, often with local authorities as the client. We check to see if the scheme is delivering on what they say they’re delivering.

“We also undertake projects, like the WMCA one, which provided insight, data analysis, user consultation and surveys, and we run the Pathways Academy inclusive design course, which helps disabled people to upskill to provide the confidence and technical expertise for access and inclusion roles.”

Ms. Muneer added: “It is essential that accessibility is embedded from stage one in housing  design. Our Inclusive Housing Design Guide is an essential read as it provides invaluable guidance on how accessible housing can be designed for all.  The RIBA Inclusive Design Overlay is also a good resource to look at. Bringing on board an access consultant or a specialist housing occupational therapist is also key as they will provide essential insight to your project.”

If you know of anyone who would be interested in watching our webinar, please share this story with your network or the weblink to the webinar on our YouTube channel .