With most older people likely to age in mainstream housing, Government must act now on M4(2)/M4(3) homes | Policy blog

Age UK’s Housing Policy Manager, Lisabel Miles, discusses the transformational effects of wheelchair user homes, and why, unless accessible building standards are mandatory, developers incorporating accessibility will not have a level playing field as they bid for land, and the system will continue to encourage a reduction in standards.

Age UK’s recent report, Fixing the Foundations, highlights the extreme pressure facing adult social care and the NHS.

Twenty one per cent of people in their 80s are living with an unmet social care need, and with an ageing population, this pressure is likely to increase. The number of people over the age of 85 is forecast to more than double to 3.1 million between 2020 and 2045. Given that fact, it’s important for older and disabled people to live in homes that enable independent living with efficient access to any aids or adaptations they need.

Around 59% of people over the age of 80 report having a disability. Some might need a shower instead of a bath, some just a grab rail. Others will need wheelchair accessible homes. Whatever their needs, suitable housing is essential if our health care system is going to cope with increasing demand.

Accessible housing is transformative

If a home allows someone to move around safely and easily, wash on their own or cook, it will reduce the need for social care visitors to help them with daily tasks. The average cost of having two hours of home care each day adds up to £16,800 pa. Meanwhile, home falls cost the NHS £378m per annum in first year treatment costs.

Much of the £634m annual budget for the Disabled Facilities Grant is spent on adaptations that wouldn’t be needed or would be cheaper to install if homes were accessible. For those living in homes which aren’t possible to adapt, the average cost of residential care in England and Wales in 2023 is £39,520.

Failure to provide accessible housing is costly. It’s also detrimental to the wellbeing of the many individuals who live in inappropriate housing.

If you can wash, dress and cook independently, you can remain in control of your life and it’s easier to remain connected to your local community. You’re also likely to remain active, and consequently be fitter and less prone to loneliness or isolation. Accessible housing can transform a person’s quality of life.

Current housing stock

We know that there’s currently an extreme shortage of accessible homes. Much of our housing stock has bathrooms and bedrooms on an upper floor, steep narrow staircases and steps up to a front door. Only 19% of homes in England and Wales have step free access and 400,000 wheelchair users are living in homes that are neither accessible nor adapted.

Yet, we continue to build homes that do not meet the basic features required. Homes, currently, don’t have to be built with walls strong enough to take a grab rail, for example or plumbing which can accommodate a shower as well as a bath or level access for a wheelchair. 

Habinteg’s Forecast for Accessible Homes 2020 analysis shows that 52% of local authorities do not have any requirement for accessible housing in their local plans and under a third of new homes to be built between 2020 and 2030 are likely to incorporate accessibility. Meanwhile, only 1.5% of new homes to 2030 will be suitable for wheelchair users and less than 20% of local plans include any requirement for wheelchair user homes.

Government action needed

Addressing this shortage economically and efficiently, requires accessibility standards to be mandatory and set at a national level. Mandatory standards will mean designs become standard, costs are reduced, there is less back and forth with planners, less delay and all builders are working to a similar cost base.

On many sites the same number of homes can be designed into a plot but where this is not possible, the larger footprint of accessible homes creates an additional cost. Unless the standards are mandatory, developers incorporating accessibility will not have a level playing field as they bid for land and the system will continue to encourage a reduction in standards.

Age UK therefore welcomed the Government’s commitment in July 2022 to raise the accessibility standards for all new build homes, by making Part M4 Category 2 the new mandatory baseline. However, we’re still waiting for the technical consultation, and we also need to ensure more M4(3) homes are built for wheelchair users.

It’s important that this commitment is implemented quickly and that policies are also put in place to make sure that renovation incorporates accessibility. Those renovating, particularly those in their 50s and 60s likely to age in place should be encouraged to think ahead and incorporate features that make their homes suitable for ageing.