Letter to the Government

Our open letter to the Government demanding they raise accessibility standards for new build homes.

Accessible Housing Day of Action. Join us to demand that the new Government commits to creating accessible and affordable housing. #AccessDenied Monday 29th July, 12pm. Westminster, London. With BSL interpreters. Inclusion London logo. A cartoon of a wheelchair user in front of a building with steps up to the entrance. The doors are chained shut with a padlock and a No Entry sign to show that the building is inaccessible and access is denied.

This letter was handed in to 10 Downing Street on 29th July 2024.

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Dear Prime Minister,  

We, Inclusion London and the undersigned, are writing to urge you and your government to take immediate and decisive action to address the chronic shortage of accessible and affordable homes in our country. 

At the moment 1 in 5 Disabled people in social housing and 1 in 3 Disabled private renters live in inaccessible homes. The previous Government’s inaction coupled with decades of underinvestment in social housing has meant that an average wheelchair user in England now joining the social housing waiting list can expect to wait up to 47 years for a council home that meets their needs. 

It’s not just wheelchair accessible homes we need though, accessible housing takes many forms. The homes that are currently being built do not allow people to eventually adapt their homes to suit their needs over the course of their lifetime. Raising the accessibility standards would change this. 

Inaccessible homes are homes that are not built to enable people with varied needs to use all facilities or access all rooms. Too many of us cannot wash, cook or sometimes even get in and out of our home independently.  This not only drastically impacts our physical and mental health, but also limits our ability to work, study, connect with others and live a full life.  

Accessible homes instead save money and lives.  

We welcome your party’s commitment to build 1.5 million new homes and deliver the biggest increase in social housebuilding in a generation.  We know you, like us, want to make sure those homes are accessible and adaptable.  Accessible homes will increase our choice and control, make us less dependent on care, reduce a risk of being hospitalised and overstaying beyond our discharge dates. This will enable us to live an equal life. 

We urge you therefore to take urgent steps to ensure new homes meet everyone’s needs. 

On 29th July 2022 the previous Government committed to raise accessibility standards for new build homes, announcing their intention to make the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard the new housing regulatory baseline. Nothing happened since then and as a result new build homes are not accessible and cannot be adapted to meet our needs.  

We know local planning authorities have also failed to act to increase the supply of accessible homes, with more than half of all local plans in England having no requirements to build accessible or adaptable homes.  This shows that action at national level is urgently needed.   

Disabled people have been waiting for too long and expect action now.  As a Prime Minister committed to deliver change, you have the opportunity to genuinely transform the lives of millions of Disabled people by building more accessible social rent homes.  

We urge you to champion accessible and affordable housing by: 

  • Mandate the M4(2) adaptable and accessible homes as the baseline standard for all new build homes by the end of 2024; 
  • set a minimum target of 10% of all new build homes to be M4(3) wheelchair user homes by the end of this year; 
  • Ensure that the majority of accessible homes are built in the social rented sector. 

Our organisations stand ready to meet with you and your ministers at your earliest convenience to discuss other steps that should be taken to deliver the housing changes Disabled people want and need. 

Time for action is now.

Sincerely,

ACORN Union
Action on Disability
Advice for Renters
Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE)
Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL)
Bromley Experts by Experience
Buckinghamshire Disability Service
Centre for Ageing Better
Deaf Ethnic Women’s Association (DEWA)
Defend Council Housing
Difference North East
Disability Advice Service Lambeth
Disability North
Disability Resource Centre (Birmingham)
Disability Rights UK
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)
Disabled People’s Action Group (DPAG) – Bradford and District
Doctors in Unite
Fairer Housing
Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP)
Greater Manchester Long Covid Support
Greater Manchester Tenants Union
Harrow Association of Disabled People
Harrow Law Centre
Harrow MS Therapy Centre
High Peak Access
Homes for All UK
Inclusion Barnet
Inclusion London
London Fire Brigade Community Forum
Manchester Disabled People’s Access Group
Medact
Merton Centre for Independent Living
Metro GAD
National Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK)
National Network of Older People’s Housing Champions
New Economics Foundation
Pathfinders Neuromuscular Alliance
Real DPO
Richmond AID
Ruils Independent Living
Salford Disabled People Against Cuts
Social Housing Action Campaign
Stay Safe East
Universal Basic Income Lab Leeds