Written evidence submitted by Habinteg Housing Association [DPH 031]

About Habinteg

Habinteg is a housing association with more than 50 years’ experience providing homes and services to disabled and non-disabled tenants. Habinteg operates across more than 80 local authorities and manages more than 3,300 homes. Of these, around a third are designed to meet the needs of wheelchair users with the rest being designed to Lifetime Homes standards or similar.

Habinteg champions inclusion by working to:

• influence policy and promote good practice in relation to inclusive, accessible housing and independent living for disabled people;
• provide and strengthen research expertise and guidance on all aspects of housing and disability.

Habinteg is a founding member and co-chair of the Housing Made for Everyone (HoME) coalition, a group of nine charities and NGOs working together to make the case for more accessible and inclusive housing.

Further information on Habinteg and the work we do can be found at: http://www.habinteg.org.uk.

Disabled people need homes that are accessible, available and affordable. Habinteg’s submission will attempt to highlight challenges and solutions aligned with these three factors.

We have included some anonymous quotes from disabled people about their housing experience from our latest research with LSE as well as from Habinteg’s Insight Group Members.
 

1. What can the Government do to ensure disabled residents across England have access to accessible and adaptable housing?
    

“I started to use a wheelchair in 1997, and at the time I was living on the 13th floor of a block of flats. So, I just moved to a ground floor property, it just wasn’t enough space for everything. I wasn’t working at the time and certainly I wouldn’t be able to work in the job I am now at if I still lived in that property. I wouldn’t have the space for all the equipment that I need. So, it’s not just the quality of accommodation and its suitableness for living, but it’s affecting everything else to do with my life.” LSE research participant

Increasing accessible and adaptable new homes is critical for disabled people to access housing that meets their needs.

At present the ‘visitable’ standard, M4(1) is the default standard for new homes. Whilst it offers some basic accessibility features it does not offer the adaptability that many households will need over their lifetimes, nor does it guarantee true ‘visitability’ to all.

The two higher standards set out in building regulations offer an ‘accessible and adaptable’ standard, M4(2) and a ‘wheelchair user dwelling’ standard, M4(3). This latter standard has two subdivisions. M4(3) a which meets the special layout for a wheelchair accessible property, and M4(3) b which is fully fitted to allow a wheelchair user to occupy straight away with minimal personalised adaptations.

Provision for new homes to be built to the two higher standards is currently ‘optional’ and is prompted by Local Planning Authorities through policies established in each of England’s 324 local plans. The default standard is set to be changed to the M4(2) Accessible and adaptable dwellings standard following a July 2022 announcement from government to this effect.

The default standard is set to be changed to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable dwellings standard following a July 2022 announcement from government to this effect. This will mean more inclusive homes that are easily adaptable to changing needs. Features include level access, bathroom walls suitable for grab rails, stairs that will easily accommodate a stairlift etc. M4(2) homes not only support peoples' independence but reduce pressure on DFG and some aspects of social care spending.

At the Habinteg Housing Summit in March 2022, six expert panellists from across the sector identified seven barriers to delivering new accessible housing.

They also recommended ways to overcome those barriers, resulting in a Roadmap for Accessible Housing.

The barriers they identified are:

1. The lack of an effective national baseline for accessibility
2. Concerns about viability restrict local plans’ ability to deliver accessible homes
3. A lack of specialist knowledge around accessible housing.
4. The perception that accessible homes are more expensive
5. Society’s lack of awareness around the benefits of accessible housing
6. The perception that accessible means an institutional or medical feel
7. The challenge for registered providers of allocating vacant accessible homes in light of turnaround targets.

Additional evidence on the value of wheelchair user homes in particular has been published by Habinteg in its 2023 report, Living not existing: the social and economic value of wheelchair user homes. The report, which resulted from research conducted by the London School of Economics found that the overall positive value of the benefits of new wheelchair accessible housing is far greater than the costs of building such homes. Over a ten year period the value of benefits can outstrip the additional build cost by up to five times, with potential value of over £100K for a household that includes an older wheelchair user.

2. Does the National Planning Policy Framework ensure the Equality Act 2010 is complied with when building housing?

The NPPF is a key document that sets the tone and direction for local planning policies. As such it can play a strong role in ensuring that housing plans comply with the equality act in that they "advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it".

Habinteg believes that the current wording of the NPPF does not sufficiently promote this goal. For example, a search for the term ‘inclusive’ shows that it is used twice but is not listed as one of the fundamentals of good planning (par 126).

Given that disabled people, and particularly wheelchair users are disproportionately disadvantaged by the built environment if it is not designed in an inclusive way it is disappointing that the NPPF does not use the term ‘wheelchair user’ at all and mentions only in a footnote (footnote 49) the optional standards set out in part M of building regulations. The reference in footnote 49 is unhelpfully general, referring to ‘accessible and adaptable’ housing in a loose way, which taken in conjunction with the Part M document itself could be misunderstood to be referring to M4(2) only.

We also believe that Paragraph 133 in could be strengthened to set expectations that local community engagement be conducted in as inclusive a manner as possible with references to associated useful guidance documents (see response to ‘what local authorities should do’.

We urge that every opportunity is taken to ensure that Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) opportunities are maximised and that more emphasis is given in the wording of the NPPF to promote the impact of inclusive and accessible design on disabled people.

3. Since the Government consultation ‘Raising accessibility standards for new homes’ (July 2022), what has been done to improve housing provisions for disabled residents in England? And has it been sufficient?

“An accessible home can enable greater independence. The accessible adaptable standard will make adaptations more achievable and in the long term will ease pressures on health and social care services, and budgets. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress that comes from these changes because living in an accessible home shouldn’t be seen as a luxury.” Habinteg insight group member

The consultation on raising the accessibility standards for all new homes concluded in December 2020. The Government response was published over eighteen months later in July 2022, announcing the plan to establish M4(2) as the regulatory baseline for all new homes. Since then there has been no additional action to initiate this regulatory change.

As part of the announcement government outlined its intention to consult further on ‘the detail of the regulatory changes, including updates to statutory guidance as well as the circumstances where exceptions to applying the higher standard will apply’. This consultation has not yet been forthcoming.

As stated in its’ announcement the initial consultation responses were significantly in favour of raising the minimum accessibility standard. with 98% supported government’s intention to raise accessibility standards of new homes. Habinteg is therefore extremely disappointed that action has not been taken to move forward on this vital policy area.

Meanwhile Following on from its’ 2020 Forecast for Accessible Homes report, Habinteg examined all 324 local plans in England for a third time in the summer of 2023. We found that around a third (111) of local plans still contain no policy setting expectations for a percentage of new homes to be built to the M4(2) or M4(3) standard. Of those that do contain a policy, targets vary from as little as 4% to 100% of new homes to M4(2) standard, with M4(3) standard targets ranging from 1% to 15% in certain types of affordable housing developments.

Table: summary of local plan policy inclusions 2023

Whilst we await action to implement the new regulatory baseline more and more homes are being planned based on the current default M4(1) ‘visitable’ standard, missing an opportunity to future proof them through the use of the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard.  

Therefore, Habinteg recommends:

1. Government should, without delay, implement its plan to introduce the higher regulatory baseline for accessibility of all new homes (M4 Category 2). This will provide a level policy playing field across the country and the certainty that developers want.

2. Homes England should give priority to current development bids for homes that meet M4 (2) standards. These should also include a number of M4(3) wheelchair accessible properties. If necessary, the additional costs should be recognised in the Value for Money assessment and grant awarded for affordable housing.

4.               What role should the Government, Local Authorities and developers have for ensuring the delivery of suitable housing for disabled people?

“I called my local authority persistently every week to tell them my flat was unsuitable for my needs. I was unable to use my wheelchair inside to move and the bathroom was now almost unusable. The unfortunate truth is some councils may tell you that, even if you are disabled, if you’re under the age of 65 you don’t fit the criteria needed to get an accessible home.” Habinteg insight group member

Government

Provision of accessible homes supports other areas of government policy such as the National Disability Strategy and the DWP goals for seeing more disabled people in employment. Therefore, the Government should set clear national rules for local authorities and developers to follow and should create a golden thread between these and the role of bodies such as Homes England and the Planning Inspectorate to ensure a coherent and aligned policy context for delivering the homes that disabled people need.

Right now, government should implement the preparatory steps to establish the M4(2) accessible and adaptable homes standard as default regulatory baseline without delay, with any exceptions to the standard kept to an absolute minimum.

As mentioned earlier, government should require the Planning Inspectorate to strengthen its approach to examining planning policies for accessible homes, rejecting any that fail to set a policy for M4(3) homes on the basis that every local plan should address the current and anticipated need for homes to meet the needs of disabled people. A default target of 10% if should be applied if no other target is established.

Central Government should collate and make publicly available data from every planning authority on the number of new homes built to each of the access standards and should resource planning authorities to effectively monitor this.

Government should work with the Estate Agents and their membership body ARLA and others to create and deliver standard accessibility information on property listings and develop ratings, like the environmental rating, which is displayed for every home sold or rented. 

Local Authorities

It should also be noted that according to the LSE research commissioned by Habinteg, if more wheelchair user homes are built the biggest financial gains accrue to local authorities in the form of reduced social care expenditure. This is because accessible properties can reduce people’s ongoing requirement for social care support at home as well as major costs incurred if a person requires residential care. The Living not existing report finds that, for example for a working age wheelchair user the potential annual saving for a local authority is around £5,000, and for a later years wheelchair user this rises to a £9,000 potential saving per annum. 

We recommend that every local planning authority should use the benefits valuation analysis provided by the LSE team in its report for Habinteg, to help set a target for delivery of new M4(3) wheelchair accessible homes. Plans should specify accessible housing across a range of tenures and house types and sizes.

Local Authorities should also maintain data on the accessibility of stock in their area as well as monitoring the accessibility of new homes built, using this information to enrich their lettings systems and sing posting services to make finding the right home easier for people with specific requirements. The appointment of a specialist Housing Occupational Therapist  can support high quality planning and development responses that meet the needs of disabled people. Landlords and local authorities should follow the recommendations set out in the Equality and Human Rights 2018 commission toolkit for improved allocations practice.

Local authorities should actively consult disabled and older people in the development of local plans and the Planning Inspectorate should require evidence of this in the local area plan. Officers planning consultation events and activities can use The Equality and Human Rights Commission event planning guide for consultation with disabled people (2018).

Local authorities should ensure that their specialists such as Building Control teams and Planning teams are thoroughly trained on the requirements of the M4(2) and M4(3) standard to ensure new homes accurately deliver the specified access standard. Habinteg’s technical team, the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE) provide public and bespoke training that can be a cos-effective route for this.

Developers

Developers should ensure that all relevant staff are thoroughly trained on the M4(2) and M4(3) standards. Training from recognised access experts such as CAE can help professionals understand the reason for specific access requirements which can make them much more likely to be met. Developers should also seek expert feedback on their designs from a suitably qualified access expert (eg member of the National Register of Access Consultants.)

So developers should also consider the surrounding context of homes within healthy accessible and inclusive neighbourhoods. We recommend liaison with transport, parks and play teams to ensure that neighbourhoods are conceived to be inclusive of disabled people’s varying needs.

To enable disabled people to access information about suitable properties, developers should include access and adaptability details in marketing information. They should also target their advertising of M4(3) homes through suitable channels for a specified period of time when new developments come on stream. This will help support development of M4(3) homes across a range of tenures. (Local Authorities can support this by making targeted marketing a condition of planning permission.) Marketing material and hoardings should include images of disabled people so that disabled households identify new properties as 'for them'.

4. Does the Disabled Facilities Grant fully support housing adaptations?

Disabled and older people frequently report the challenges of applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). Complex systems and long delays can mean that by the time an adaptation is made the individuals needs have already changed. Approaches to management of the DFG can also vary between local authorities.

In 2018 Foundations published a review of the DFG system commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care form University of West of England and developed in partnership with Foundations and others. Many of its recommendations remain relevant to the challenges presented by the DFG. Habinteg endorses this report and its recommendations overall and would highlight in particular recommendations to:

• Establish integrated teams in all areas to simplify and speed up the process for customers

• Revise the means test for DFG’s aligning it to eligibility for social care

• Raise the maximum allowable grant from £30,000 in line with inflation and allow regional weighting to reflect price variations for build costs and professional fees
   
• Local authorities and home improvement agencies to provide advice, information, and handyperson services for people outside the DFG

The committee may also find it useful to review a second Foundations report co-sponsored by Habinteg looking at how Housing Associations can improve their practice on adaptations and DFGs.
 

5. How can the Government ensure it provides sufficient provisions to support disabled residents who do not live in new build homes?

“Even though I’ve got live-in care, I can go to and from as much as I want to, I can go outside. I don’t need to ask people every time to open the door for me or to move this out the way, so that is a real peace of mind. It just gives you more freedom and more ease, yeah, to live your life… it’s not an existence. Then it becomes a bit more of a life, really.” LSE research participant.

Given the potential savings that local authorities can accrue by building new adaptable and accessible homes the two areas of policy (ie new homes and older homes) should be seen as strategically linked. It is critical that sufficient funding is available to provide adaptations to older properties that can support people to live safely and with maximum independence in their home.

Additionally we’d draw attention to the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched its report, Housing and Disabled People: Britain’s Hidden Housing Crisis. (2018) Among other things the report found that:

The following recommendations from the report are particularly pertinent to supporting disabled people who are not living in new-build homes:

• Local authorities to urgently address the bureaucratic hurdles and delays that exist within adaptations systems, to ensure that low-cost, minor adaptations can be installed quickly and easily.
• Government to provide additional funding to disabled people’s organisations and advice agencies, to increase the supply of independent advice and information regarding housing options, including adaptations, with a particular focus on the private-rented sector.

6. What can the Government do to support disabled tenants in the private rented sector?

Disabled people in the private rented sector (PRS) experience significant barriers in identifying and renting accessible homes.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Housing and Disabled People: Britain’s Hidden Housing Crisis. Addressing challenges in the private rented sector the report made two key recommendations which are still relevant five years later:

• The UK Government to implement the duty to make reasonable adjustments to the common parts of leasehold premises, as set out in the provisions of section 36 of the Equality Act 2010 (This matter was consulted on in 2022 with government promising a response in 2023 which appears not yet to have been published.)

• The UK Government should review and address the barriers to installing adaptations in the private rented sector, with a particular focus on security of tenure.

Disability Rights UK has also set out a number of recommendations which address what the Government should do to support disabled tenants in the private rented sector. Habinteg would draw particular attention to:

• To to use the Decent Homes Standard to ensure that all homes in the private rented sector become at least M4 (1) Category 1: Visitable dwellings. And look to significantly increase the number of M4 (2) Category 2: Accessible and adaptable dwellings.

• Government should encourage Local Authorities to take proactive steps to improve the PRS and support advocacy for Disabled tenants
• To address the affordability of suitable housing, and given the number of disabled people reliant on support for housing costs government should unfreeze the local housing allowance (LHA). The decision not to increase local housing allowance from the levels set in 2020 has led to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) reporting that the freeze, combined with an increase in private sector rents by "more than a fifth on average", had reduced the number of private rental properties affordable to households reliant on LHA to "the lowest level on record. The government must immediately raise LHA levels to ensure no gap between rent costs and support levels.

We would also like to see government proactively encourage private landlords to take a positive approach to permission for adaptations to their properties and support them in navigating their role in use of the DFG. The National Residential Landlords Association has produced very useful guidance on this topic which the Governmetn should endorse and promote.

Conclusion

We would be happy to provide oral evidence if the committee would find this helpful. We could offer either a member of our Insight Group (Disabled people with lived experience of accessible and inaccessible homes) or a senior member of the Habinteg staff team or Board.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or points of clarification you may need.

September 2023

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Recommended reading:

1. Living not Existing: the social and economic value of wheelchair accessible homes, Habinteg & LSE 2023
    
2. A Forecast for Accessible Homes: Habinteg, 2019, 2020
    
3. A Roadmap for Accessible Housing, Habinteg 2022
    
4. DFG review 2018, UWE, Foundations et. al
    
5. Housing Associations And Home Adaptation: Finding Ways To Say Yes, Foundations et al, 2022
    
6. Housing and Disabled People: Britain’s Hidden Housing Crisis, Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2018

7. Housing and disabled people: A toolkit for local authorities in England: Allocations. Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2018

8. Adaptations Guidance, The National Landlord’s Association, 2021

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