It is time that we develop new homes that are made for everyone

It is time that we develop new homes that are made for everyone, and that we tackle the inequalities that many disabled people face in getting a home that is safe and suitable. That is what the Housing Made for Everyone (HoME) coalition is aiming to do.

The current pandemic has given a new and sharper focus on the quality of the homes and neighbourhoods we have, in particular on the long-term impact for our physical and mental health and wellbeing. It has reinforced the importance of safe, affordable and accessible homes. So, the publication by government of its long-awaited consultation on how to make the new homes we build more accessible is really welcome. It is time that we made higher accessibility a standard feature of all new homes we develop.

Poor housing already costs the NHS an estimated £1.4 billion a year in England, largely due to the risk of falls and the impact of cold homes. Its overall cost to society is even more extensive, costing an estimated £18.6 billion when factoring in wider impacts such as lost educational and employment opportunities; what that might be post-COVID 19 we have yet to see.

As well as a housing shortage, we are suffering from what the Equalities and Human Rights Commission termed a hidden housing crisis. With only 91 per cent of existing homes having the most basic accessible features (which makes homes more visitable rather than liveable), many disabled people face significant additional challenges in fully taking part in education, employment and social activities - for example; disabled people of working age living in an inaccessible home are four time more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people. In spite of this less than half of Local Plans have set any requirement for a proportion of new homes to be developed to any accessible standard and, outside London, only 1 per cent of new homes will be suitable for someone in a wheelchair.

The extra cost of including adaptations and the impact on overall delivery is often cited against delivering homes to higher standards – whether of access or higher efficiency. It is argued that it will lead to fewer homes being delivered. We need more homes, but these also need to be the right homes; building to poor standards will only lead to greater personal and societal costs later on, as research into new homes delivered through permitted development rights demonstrates. The additional cost of better accessibility standards is a relatively small percentage of the cost of a new home (an estimated additional £1,387 for an average 3 bed semi, for example), particularly in comparison to the cost of adaptation (an average disabled facilities grant is around £7,000, and the cost of residential care for a year is £29,000). Making higher standards mandatory for all new homes will tackle current challenges around viability, by building in these costs from the outset.

CIH is a member of the HoME coalition, and will be responding to the consultation. We welcome comments and case studies from members (contact Sarah Davis). The coalition has also developed a simple guide to the consultation and evidence useful for responses, which you can find on the Habinteg website. The closing date for responses is 1 December; let’s use it to make sure we build homes fit for everyone in the future.