Are adaptable, flexible and functional homes already in your supply? | Latest news

Our tenants are diverse, with varying household sizes and needs, ranging from wheelchair users living alone, families with a disabled child or older people managing age-related conditions like dementia, arthritis or cardiovascular disease.

Having 100% accessible and adaptable stock helps us provide a service for each of these households long term, even if their circumstances change.

While our tenants’ experiences are unique, the common factor is they can all enjoy the benefits of homes designed to meet their requirements for flexibility throughout their lives.

This should be the experience of the more than 13m disabled people currently living in the UK.

An accessible home is a straightforward concept: a living space that is either designed or can be adapted to facilitate independent living for as long as needed – or is practical.

We, in the housing sector shouldn’t make it complicated.

New build homes should be designed with accessibility in mind. Local authorities, social and open market housing providers could deliver new housing stock which can be adapted if the household’s needs change, and will allow residents to maintain a level of independence and a continued sense of ‘being at home’.

What makes a home accessible, and do landlords as well as tenants recognise the potential to adapt living spaces to make them better fit for purpose?

Local plans in London require all new build homes to meet an accessible and adaptable standard or higher (previously referred to as Lifetime Homes, now categorised as M4(2) of the building regulations). Homes built to these standards make them more future-proof and we would like this approach to become the default across England and Wales.

Adaptations are not quick fix solutions housing providers use to paper over serious concerns about adequate housing.

Adaptations can be as simple as adding a grab-rail or specialist toilet seat to a home, but properly implemented, they can be low cost, simple additions which improve the usability and quality of the home.

When adaptations are implemented by listening to the individual’s needs, and employing the expertise of an Occupational Therapist, they empower a landlord to create a home which fits an individual’s personal circumstances.

Additional features should be well-considered and comprehensively designed to allow disabled people to care for their own needs and enjoy their environment with minimal support.

Adaptations contribute significantly to elderly people being able to stay at home for longer.

This can translate into cost-savings for housing and local healthcare providers because an appropriate home can negate the need for prolonged stays in hospital or transfers to care homes.

The housing sector has an opportunity to define the future of housing.

Homes built to be adaptable to represent current potential and a sustainable future to allow housing to be inclusive for everyone.

 

This blog was previously published on 24Housing.