The right home at the right time: how accessible housing can unlock a life | Latest news

Glyn Hayes is the Parliamentary and Public Affairs Coordinator at the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) and a member of our Insight Group panel of campaigners. In this blog, Glyn explains how, following a lifechanging accident that left him using a wheelchair permanently, he was moved into unsuitable temporary accommodation that made carrying out basic daily activities virtually impossible. And how finally getting an accessible home has enabled him to return to work and forge a new career.

In 2017, my life changed in an instant following a road traffic accident. After being flown to hospital to get initial treatment, I was transferred to another hospital for spinal rehabilitation. I was a bus engineer, used to practical, physical work. Now, as a T5 paraplegic permanently using a wheelchair, with no core strength, I had to figure out a completely new way of living.

Rehabilitation teaches you how to manage your body, but it can’t prepare you for the systemic barriers waiting outside the hospital gates. And the biggest barrier of all? Housing.

Temporary hardship

Returning to my home wasn’t an option because making it truly accessible wasn’t financially viable for me or structurally possible. But getting social housing proved difficult because I’d previously been a homeowner. My stay in rehab had to be extended as it took so long to sort out.

The council eventually offered me temporary accommodation: a ground-floor, one-bedroom flat that wasn’t suitable for a wheelchair user.

It took two weeks of frantic adjustments just to make it safe, including rehanging the bathroom door so I couldn’t be blocked inside if I had a fall. The bathroom’s doorway was 680mm wide (the average wheelchair width is 610mm - 685mm) while its dimensions were 1.4 metres by 1.8 metres, making it very difficult to manoeuvre around inside.

In the galley kitchen, there was no space to turn my wheelchair around, so I would have to go in forwards to start a cup of tea, reverse out and turn around in the narrow hallway, reverse back in to get milk out of the fridge, then do everything again to pour milk and return it to the fridge.

With the best will in the world, it’s impossible to get yourself up, dressed, and ready in a decent timeframe when your environment is fighting you at every turn. When your home is an obstacle course, just surviving takes all your energy.

Rebuilding from scratch

Because of my injury, I was eventually made redundant. My entire working life had revolved around engineering, and suddenly I had to reinvent myself.

I was an elected Councillor in Hertfordshire’s Welwyn Hatfield Borough, and I fought to continue that role because the evening meetings allowed me enough time to get ready. But I wanted more. I taught myself how to type and how to use a computer, determined to find a new path.

After eight months of living in the one-bedroom flat, the council offered me a bungalow in a sheltered accommodation scheme.

The accessible home catalyst

While the bungalow meant being surrounded by much older residents (I was in my late thirties when I moved in), requiring a bit of proactive friendliness to weave myself into their community, the physical space was a revelation. As it was a purpose-built wheelchair user home, suddenly, the daily friction vanished. 

Making a cup of tea is now quick and easy because the kitchen is wide enough to turn in without having to leave the room. Meanwhile, getting showered doesn’t require an exhausting marathon of logistical planning because it had an accessible bathroom.

It felt amazing to be offered a home built for wheelchair users. Following a few small adaptations, the bungalow really works for me and has enabled me to return to work knowing that I don’t need to spend hours longer each day just getting ready.

In 2022, I started volunteering with spinal cord injury charity Aspire , visiting patients in hospital to help them navigate the terrifying initial weeks of waking up to a life-changing injury. This led to an employed role at Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) working in public affairs. Today, I work full time, advocating for systemic change at the highest levels.

Why “good enough” isn’t good enough

My story isn’t just about personal resilience; it’s also about infrastructure. If I’d remained in housing that didn’t fit, I wouldn’t have been able to work full time.

Having a suitable home:

• enables people to get ready for work in the quickest possible time that their disability allows.
• shifts the focus from mere survival to personal aspiration.
• gives people the literal platform they need to enter the workforce and contribute to society, rather than rely on benefits.

This is why we need the right homes in the right places at the right time in people’s lives. When we build accessible housing, we aren’t just creating wider hallways and doorways, we’re building the foundations for people to reclaim their lives.

Image: Glyn Hayes.

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If you want to find out about the number of accessible homes being planned in your region, read our recent insight report:  A forecast for accessible homes 2025: Accessible housing in local plans.

Habinteg has an inclusive design consultancy, the  Centre for Accessible Environments  (CAE), which provides professional consultancy and training for developers on M4(2) and M4(3) housing. Habinteg and CAE’s  The Inclusive Housing Design Guide  and the  Wheelchair User Housing Design Guide  give clear advice on how to meet and surpass the requirements for M4(2) and M4(3) housing.