300,000 disabled people waiting for housing living in unsuitable homes

About 300,000 disabled people are stuck on housing waiting lists across the UK, forced to make do in accommodation that does not meet their needs, according to a charity report.

In No Place Like Home, published on Monday, Leonard Cheshire Disability accused the government and housing developers of failing disabled people.

The charity wants the government to make housing developers build all new homes so they are easy to adapt (so-called “lifetime homes”) if a resident was to become disabled, and for 10% of large developments to be fully wheelchair accessible so that disabled people can live independently and pursue job opportunities across the country.

Chief executive Clare Pelham said: “While most of us will spend Christmas day visiting friends and family and sharing food with our loved ones, thousands of disabled people will be unable to get in the door to visit the people they love. Even worse, many face the reality of having to wash in the same kitchen sinks where they peel their brussel sprouts because they can’t get upstairs to their bathrooms, or having to use commodes in the same dining rooms where they ate their Christmas lunch.

“Councillors need to show some understanding about what this feels like – and take steps to ensure houses in their area are suitable for all the people who live there, including disabled people.”

The charity sent freedom of information requests to 305 councils and 151 authorities responded, saying they had a total of 162,910 disabled people on their housing waiting lists. Extrapolating the results across the country would mean over 300,000 disabled people are waiting for suitable accommodation.

Carlene Evans, 33, from Bolton, Greater Manchester was born with cerebral palsy. The welfare benefits officer has been on the disability housing register for eight years and has lived since 2007 in a bungalow she says is intended for old people and in a community without people of her own age.

“I can’t access my front door, I have to use the side entrance,” she said. “Not all internal doors have been made wide enough for a wheelchair and the kitchen units are too high for someone who’s a full-time wheelchair user. On the basis that my house doesn’t meet all my needs that means there’s a costly social care package for everything I can’t do.”

Leonard Cheshire also found 84% of councils had no information about wheelchair-accessible housing, leaving people languishing in unsuitable accommodation with little hope.

Nigel Househam’s seven-year-old son David has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive condition that causes immobility. David struggles to use the stairs in their house, in Boston, Lincolnshire and health professionals have advised the family they need to move but they have been told they face a wait of years. “It’s quite upsetting to find in this day and age this council and its partners have put nothing in place to help people like us,” said Househam. “He [David] has told us a number of times, all he wants for Christmas is a new home. When you hear things like that you just go quiet.”

The Local Government Association said councils were doing what they could amid huge demand. “Councils need to be able to build and provide more social housing as well as the infrastructure we need,” a spokesman said. “They desperately want to build new homes and do more to support accessible and adaptable homes, but are hampered in work to build new homes by centrally set Treasury restrictions on investment in housing.”

Stephen Williams, the communities minister, said local authorities should plan for a mix of housing, based on the community’s needs and added: “The government is introducing new building regulations to help ensure many more disabled friendly homes are built to high standards of accessibility. This includes the first ever building regulation for fully wheelchair accessible housing, along with an intermediate standard similar to lifetime homes.”