TheHouseShop.com has partnered with Disability Horizons to launch a free 32-page downloadable guide to help disabled people get to grips with the accessible housing market.
The Ultimate Guide to Finding an Accessible Home gives a detailed overview of accessible housing categories, housing policy and legislation, accessible housing providers, and useful practical advice on what home-hunters should consider when looking for an accessible home.
Thousands of disabled people are currently living in unsuitable accommodation, which has a serious negative impact on their day-to-day lives.
When TheHouseShop.com spoke to Paralympic and Team GB para-athlete Hannah Cockroft last year, she explained her personal struggles finding an accessible home and the difficulties she faced.
She said: “In my second year at university, I had to find somewhere with friends and it was a massive struggle. I still ended up paying the earth to live somewhere that was far from suitable. […] Every day it was a marathon just to get inside my house, and it saw me avoiding going outside unless I really had to because it was such hard work. But, it was the closest we could find to something suitable in the area we went to university.
“Although we found a house where my bedroom, kitchen and bathroom could all be on one floor and a place where there was a ramp up to the house, there was a step at the end of the ramp. There were also five stairs after the ramp to get into the house and no handrail. I slipped and fell so many times – it was amazing I never injured myself.”
Nick Marr, co-founder of TheHouseShop.com, said: “We are really pleased and proud to launch our new accessible housing guide with Disability Horizons and we hope that this free resource will provide crucial help to the millions of disabled people struggling to find a home that allows them to live independently.
“With a rapidly ageing population, the demand for accessible and adaptable housing is set to increase dramatically over the next few decades, and we need to start paying attention to this important and undervalued sector of the market. A total of 16% of working-age adults identify themselves as disabled, but this figure jumps significantly to 45% for adults over state pension age – showing quite how large the market for these types of properties has become.”
“Estate agents, property developers, government and anyone involved in the housing market should start paying attention to this huge untapped market and we hope that by starting the conversation we can create a bright future for accessible housing in the UK.”
The Ultimate Guide to Finding an Accessible Home is available to download free of charge from the Disability Horizons website, which can be found here.
