The missing 250,000 homes: Campaigners count the cost of two years of inaction on minimum accessibility standards

A quarter of a million more people could now be living in accessible and adaptable homes if legislation requiring higher minimum standards in new build homes had been delivered as promised, new analysis from the Centre for Ageing Better reveals.
 
Today [Monday 29 July] marks the two year anniversary of a government announcement confirming plans to require all new homes to have entrance level step-free access and other accessibility features as a minimum requirement.
 
A second round of consultation required to finalise the new regulations never materialised, leaving 1.8 million people in the UK in limbo with little hope of finding a home to meet their accessibility needs.
 
In the two years since the announcement, Centre for Ageing Better analysis indicates that just 82,000 accessible and adaptable homes have been built based on industry average that only one in four new build homes have a minimum level of accessibility.  
 
At the current rate, it would take 44 years to build sufficient homes to meet the existing needs of 1.8 million people in England who currently need an accessible or adaptable home - never mind the growing number of people over that time period who would come to require an accessible home.  
 
Around a third of people 65 and over currently have a disability according to the latest census - a total of 3.7 million people in this age group. If this proportion stays the same, there will be 4.8 million people 65 and over with disability in 2036.  

If the whole of England had minimum accessibility standards similar to London, where 90% of all new-build properties should be to accessible and adaptable standards and 10% to the higher wheelchair user standards, up to an additional 250,000 accessible and adaptable homes could have been built in the two years since the government announcement – going a significant way to reducing the current unmet demand.  
 
The Housing Made for Everyone (HoME) coalition, chaired by the Centre for Ageing Better and Habinteg Housing Association, is calling on the new government to complete the formalities that would bring in minimum accessibility standards as soon as possible.  
 
The new government has already shown a willingness to take forward policy ideas from the previous parliament that were halted by the calling of this summer’s general election such as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the Football Governance Bill.
 
If Labour were to raise minimum accessibility standards, and meet their promise of delivering 1.5 million new homes within this parliamentary term, they could potentially eradicate a significant proportion of the unmet demand for accessible homes in this country. 

“The scale of the unmet demand for accessible new homes in this country, and the glacial rate we are currently building to meet that demand, is appalling. It is leaving nearly two million people with substantial barriers just to use their own home every day and putting their health at risk.

“Raising the standard of accessibility has the potential to change millions of lives. Homes with higher accessibility standards benefit everyone, particularly Disabled people and older people, and disadvantage no one.
 
“At present, fewer than one in ten homes in England are suitable for older or Disabled people to visit, never mind live in. The need for accessible homes is only going to grow significantly over the next 20 years as our population ages and at the current rate of building we have no chance of ever getting close to meeting the needs of everyone.”
 
New data from analysis conducted by BRE (Building Research Establishment) on behalf of the Centre for Ageing Better reveals the scale of the growing unmet need for accessible housing:  

• More than five million households in England containing an adult aged 55 or over report a long-term illness or disability (44%).   
• The majority of older households with a person aged above 55 (77%) live in pre-1980 housing not built to modern accessibility standards.  
• Half (49%) of households in England with a person aged 55 who need an adaptation currently do not have one.

Ninety-eight per cent of those responding to the government consultation supported the proposal to raise minimum accessibility standards in England, including developers, architects and local authorities.  

Benefits cited in doing so included reducing pressures on the NHS and social services, paid and family carers; helping to support Disabled people to work, socialise and contribute to society as fully as possible; and future proofing new homes for successive generations, as well as saving on the substantial costs of having to adapt homes at a later stage.

“We're glad that the new Government has set itself a challenging housing target. But to make the most of this commitment in a way that truly meets the practical, daily living needs of the population, it must implement the M4(2) accessible and adaptable dwelling standard as the regulatory baseline for all new homes. It requires just one further short consultation with industry stakeholders on implementation details.

“At Habinteg we hear all too often from new tenants about the struggles they’ve had in finding a suitable home. People tell us how ‘making do’ in an inaccessible place has impacted their physical and mental health and overall wellbeing.

“By taking swift action to ensure all new homes built in England meet the M4(2) standard, the Government could improve health and wellbeing outcomes, support better community and economic participation among Disabled and older people, and save millions in health and social care costs.”