CIH welcomes new mandate on accessible and adaptable standards

CIH welcomes the government’s announcement that it will mandate higher accessibility and adaptability standards in the new homes we develop.

Today’s announcement commits to requiring all new homes to be built to higher accessibility standards (Building regulations Part M4(2)), with very limited exceptions. This is something CIH has been calling for over many years and has been our focus as part of the Housing Made for Everyone (HoME) coalition.

We need this to happen with urgency so we can make sure we are building the homes our aging population needs, and to support working aged disabled people; housing is a critical foundation to enabling people to participate fully in society and live as independently as possible. Currently, only 9 per cent of existing homes have the most basic accessibility features (making homes visitable for disabled people but not liveable) so the need for more accessible new housing is pressing. The lack of options for people is part of our housing crisis, but is all too often forgotten, with Habinteg estimating that 1.8 million people require more accessible homes.

We look forward to working with government on further guidance as quickly as possible so that we can get on with building the new accessible homes we need.