Accessible Homes Week 2025: celebrating progress and pushing for change | Tenant news

Last week was Accessible Homes Week, an annual campaign where we highlight why accessible housing matters and what still needs to change.

This year’s campaign was a particularly special one as it marked 10 years of the Part M optional accessibility standards. These building regulations dictate how accessible build homes need to be.

So, what did we do during the week? Here are some of the highlights.

Our new forecast report

We kicked off the week on Monday with the launch of our Forecast for Accessible Homes 2025 report. This research looked at 311 local plans across England to see how councils are planning for accessible homes.

The findings showed that while there has been some progress, there is still a long way to go before accessible homes become the norm.

The report revealed wide regional differences, with some areas planning far fewer wheelchair user homes than others.

The launch of the report caught national attention:

• The Observer covered our findings, pointing out that while all new homes will soon be “visitable,” 41% will not go beyond the basic minimum.
• Inside Housing reported on the “postcode lottery,” showing that some areas have many accessible homes while others have very few.
• Housing Quality Network  and  Housing Today  also covered our findings and highlighted the need for more accessible housing across all regions.

Events throughout the week

Despite the London tube strike, our Communications team held a launch event on Tuesday in Westminster for housing professionals and other stakeholders. Using the report as a starting point, attendees discussed the findings, shared ideas, and connected with others working on improving accessible housing.

At the event, Mik Scarlet, a wheelchair user and member of Habinteg's Insight Group, shared his experience and highlighted the decline in accessible housing, asking, “How is it that in the 1980s and 1990s we were building properties that were accessible and now they are rarer than hen’s teeth?”.

We hosted a well-attended webinar on Wednesday with almost 100 participants. A diverse panel explored the perspectives of planners, architects, and disabled people on delivering and benefiting from accessible homes.

We ended the week with a “Lunch and Learn” session on Thursday, where staff, tenants and housing providers came together. People spoke about the importance of solving the accessible homes crisis, reminding everyone why this campaign matters.

Throughout the week, we also shared blogs from tenants, building planners, and local authorities, amplifying more voices and highlighting people’s lived experience of accessible homes.

Our Interim CEO, Martin Warhurst, drew on his sister’s recent experience of becoming a wheelchair user and shared his perspective on the challenges of living in a home that isn’t fully accessible.

“Visiting my sister and her friends showed me just how hard it can be to get around a home in a wheelchair,” said Martin. “This shouldn’t have to be the case, and it’s why we need more homes built to accessible standards.”

You can read more blogs on our website at www.habinteg.org.uk/foraccessiblehomes-news.

What happens next

Accessible Homes Week 2025 may be over, but the work continues.

At Habinteg, we know how much difference a suitable home makes, which is why we will continue to call for stronger building regulations and greater awareness of what accessible design means for real people.

You can help us keep the momentum going by sharing the news of our report and by signing up to our updates on the Habinteg website.

If you have your own accessible housing story to share or would like to be more involved in our campaign please get in touch on comms@habinteg.org.uk or fill in the form on our website at www.habinteg.org.uk/group. 

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