1.8 million disabled and older people have unmet housing needs

Research has outlined 1.8 million disabled and older people are without suitable and accessible housing – their housing needs are not being met.

The No Place Like an Accessible Home study was launched by Papworth Trust, a charity that supports disabled and older people, alongside Habinteg, a housing association for disabled people. The research was founded by teams at the London School of Economics and Ipsos MORI.

The report, which aims to shed light on the wider appeal of accessible facilities and housing for disabled and older people, suggests that out of the 11.6 million disabled people in the UK, 1.8 million people are living in housing without the necessary features.

Of those, a staggering 580,000 people are of working age, which also suggests that due to unmet housing, these individuals are “four times more likely to be unemployed”.

Speaking to The Planner, Vicky Papworth, chief executive of Papworth Trust, said: It has been very widely assumed that disabled people do not have the means or money to purchase their own home. This report clearly dispels this myth and shows the demand for buying accessible homes, and the opportunity for developers to look again at their market.”

No Place Like an Accessible Home has also highlighted that 19 per cent of the British public would like to find and move to a property that is designed for independent, later life living. This will provide the opportunity for a home stair lift to be integrated into the home if the individual would benefit from this addition immediately or in the future.

Paul Gamble, chief executive of Habinteg added: “New homes that are accessible, affordable and available must play a part in addressing the long term demands of UK housing policy, especially as the population ages. We’re hoping to see a new commitment to this from the government, local authorities and developers from now on.”