Revealed: Major cities failing to plan for any wheelchair accessible homes

Some of England's large cities person nary plans for providing wheelchair-accessible homes, the BBC has found.

Three of the 10 largest cities person nary requirements beyond the nationalist guidelines, which lone accidental homes should let wheelchair users done doors and hallways connected the entranceway level.

Disabled radical accidental they look agelong lodging searches, immense other costs and mediocre homes which harm their health.

The authorities said it intends to fortify the nationalist standards.

The nonaccomplishment to program for afloat accessible homes was uncovered by BBC Freedom of Information requests to hundreds of section councils, underscoring what the Equality and Human Rights Commission has called a "hidden crisis" successful lodging for disabled people.

Local councils tin necessitate housebuilders to guarantee a percent of homes conscionable higher standards of accessibility, ensuring that bathrooms and kitchens are usable and that each rooms connection capable abstraction for wheelchair users to determination around.

But the FOI responses revealed cities specified arsenic Sheffield, Coventry and Bradford presently person nary quotas. After the FOI request, Coventry introduced an "optional requirement" which applies to immoderate affordable homes.

As the fig of disabled radical increases, it is estimated that 400,000 wheelchair users successful England unsocial are surviving successful unsuitable accommodation, according to accessible lodging experts Habinteg.

Wales and Northern Ireland travel their ain accessibility regulations, but similar England successful galore cases these are optional oregon not applicable to each lodging stock. Scotland is readying to present targets for wheelchair-accessible homes from 2025.

The shortage of accessible homes means galore disabled radical are held backmost from starting to unrecorded independently, look immense costs for adaptations and specializer accommodation, oregon are blocked from utilizing parts of their ain homes - including indispensable rooms specified arsenic bathrooms - without other support.

Disability question blogger Carrie-Ann Lightley lives successful a location successful Cumbria, which meets the existent nationalist guidelines for accessibility. But portion she tin bring her wheelchair done the beforehand door, she finds the stairs expanding hard and the apical level does not person capable space, forcing her to crawl from country to room.

"My wellness is taking the strain," she says. But the outgo of surviving situation and the spike successful involvement rates has made moving to an accessible location unaffordable for Carrie and her partner.

Under the government's plan, announced successful July, each aboriginal caller physique homes would beryllium required to conscionable the adaptable homes standard, meaning they are step-free, much spacious and connection wheelchair entree into each the rooms.

But these homes inactive necessitate adaptations for wheelchair users, specified arsenic access-level showers and stairlifts, which outgo an mean of £9,000 to install.

Funding is disposable done the UK Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which was accrued to astir £500m a twelvemonth implicit the past 5 years to boost the fig of adaptations successful homes.

But the assistance is babelike connected income, leaving galore moving disabled radical ineligible and facing the other costs alone.

The rules besides necessitate the applicant to authorities an volition to enactment successful the spot for astatine slightest 5 years, thing Carrie-Ann could not hold to fixed her home's different accessibility issues. It means she has been incapable to money a stairlift.

For galore wheelchair users, the champion enactment is lodging that meets the wheelchair-accessible standard. These either already person each the adaptations successful spot (usually successful societal rented homes) oregon tin easy beryllium adapted astatine the constituent of acquisition oregon occupation.

But the BBC FOI requests recovered that large cities specified arsenic Birmingham, Leicester and Manchester bash not marque immoderate proviso successful their section lodging plans for wheelchair-accessible homes astatine the constituent of purchase.

Manchester is readying to alteration this successful 2023, taxable to authorities approval.

Nick Apetroaie, CEO of the accessible lodging relation Habinteg, says the state "desperately needs" much wheelchair-accessible homes.

"Without a committedness to gathering them, we volition proceed to spot a postcode lottery, wherever radical are forced to marque bash successful places that bounds their independency and harm their health," helium says.

Standard homes - Current nationalist standards, successful spot since 2015, necessitate new-build homes to connection wheelchair entree into the spot and into entrance-level rooms. But these rooms whitethorn inactive beryllium excessively tiny to beryllium usable and those connected different floors whitethorn inactive beryllium inaccessible

Adaptable homes - these are step-free, much spacious and whitethorn connection constricted wheelchair access, but volition apt necessitate costly adaptations, specified arsenic a level entree shower. Space whitethorn inactive beryllium constricted for genuine wheelchair access

Wheelchair accessible - these are either afloat accessible (usually lone societal rent) oregon easy adaptable astatine the constituent of acquisition oregon occupation

Of 271 councils extracurricular London that responded, astir 60% either person nary entree standards successful place, oregon are moving to outdated policies.

Councils that bash connection wheelchair-accessible homes typically bash truthful astatine nether 10% of their lodging stock, according to the FOI data.

London is the exception: since 2004, Greater London Authority argumentation has required 90% of new-build properties to beryllium adaptable homes and for each properties to conscionable definite abstraction standards.

The remaining 10% of lodging nether London's program needs to beryllium wheelchair-accessible astatine the constituent of purchase.

As yet determination are nary plans to necessitate for a quota of wheelchair-accessible homes extracurricular London.

Sam Morton, who has been looking to rent successful London, likens searching for a afloat wheelchair accessible location amid confusing spot listings and mendacious advertizing to "surviving successful the Wild West".

Some homes advertised arsenic accessible adjacent had steps preventing him from entering, helium found.

After an isolated puerility with fewer transport options successful agrarian Salisbury, the afloat accessible halls of residence astatine assemblage showed him the possibilities of autarkic living.

"When I left, I abruptly realised this accessibility conscionable isn't the norm successful mundane life," helium says. "I couldn't judge however hard it was to find accommodation successful England, adjacent London."

Analysis by Habinteg of London's plans for housing recovered that the superior is not gathering its people for 100% of caller homes to beryllium adaptable oregon wheelchair accessible. Only 74% of homes owed to beryllium built by 2030 are planned to accessible standards, down from 88% the twelvemonth before, it found.

With nary enactment to level share, Sam besides has to wage azygous tenant prices, which are sometimes implicit £3,000 a period for an adaptable flat.

He yet recovered a "life-changing" afloat wheelchair-accessible flat, with the assistance of lodging institution Abode Impact, which maintains a database of homes suitable for wheelchair users to rent.

In enactment with the higher accessibility standards for 10% of caller London housing, each country - including the bath - tin accommodate his wheelchair.

There are nary raised ledges to the shower, allowing Sam to easy participate aft transferring to a ablution chair, with drawback rails astir the country to assistance him entree the washbasin and toilet.

All enactment surfaces are besides height-adjustable, meaning helium tin navigator for himself, with an oven astatine wheelchair height.

"I'm lone arsenic disabled arsenic my surroundings," Sam says. "If I was successful a truly inaccessible level the authorities would person to wage much for carers to navigator for maine - truthful successful the agelong tally this makes nary sense."

The authorities told the BBC that this summer's pledge to rise the nationalist accessibility modular underlined its committedness to improving accessible housing.

LISTEN: You tin perceive much from Minister for Disabilities, Tom Pursglove, connected the BBC Access All podcast. Plus, the world's archetypal disabled astronaut, John McFall, talks weightlessness, cramming for his country exams and however his children reacted erstwhile the European Space bureau announced him arsenic the archetypal ever "parastronaut".

It said "anyone tin use to their council" for DFG backing to marque their location much accessible, with £4.8bn invested since 2010 to present astir 490,000 adaptations specified arsenic ramps, stairlifts and lighting oregon heating systems that are easier to use.

"Someone's disablement oregon postcode should not find wherever they are capable to live," a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.