Disabled people in the housing sector

Disabled people are not a homogeneous group with a single set of housing needs. Rather, Government policy must seek to address the many barriers which disabled individuals face, which vary widely. Too often too many disabled people are failed by current housing policy. We have been particularly pained to hear of the impact on disabled people’s dignity, health and wellbeing of living in unsuitable accommodation. It is intolerable that many disabled people are living in unsuitable accommodation for years without hope. It is essential that the Government, local authorities, and the housing sector work together to prioritise disability inclusion and address the barriers that disabled people are currently facing.

We have found little evidence that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is fully recognising the housing needs of disabled people, let alone treating disabled people’s needs as a priority in housing policy. In particular, it is deeply concerning that the Government’s new Disability Action Plan fails to directly address housing at all, despite clear evidence of the knock-on effect of housing on all aspects of disabled people’s lives. Moreover, the only substantive reassurance that the Minister for Housing and Homelessness was able to provide us with was that she had “heard from lots of people on the ground” in her capacity as the Ministerial Disability Champion. We recommend that the Government should take action based on the concerns that the Minister has heard. (Paragraph 15) Increasing the supply of accessible homes

We welcome the Government’s announcement that it intends to make the M4(2) accessibility standard mandatory for all new build homes. This amendment to building regulations is an important policy change which will greatly increase the availability of accessible homes for disabled people. However, we are deeply concerned that the Department has made little progress towards implementing this policy in practice.

Moreover, it is unclear why the Department did not seek to launch the further ‘technical consultation’ soon after its July 2022 announcement of its M4(2) policy change. The delay to implementation continues to afflict the daily lives of thousands of disabled people who are searching for accessible new build homes, while stakeholders from across the sector remain “left in the dark”, with little clarity as to the timeline for implementing the M4(2) policy change.

The Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) timeline to run a full technical consultation process for six months, starting on an undecided date between May and July 2024, would make it unlikely that the M4(2) baseline policy could be implemented until spring 2025, at the earliest. This is an excessively long timeline considering the sector’s demand for certainty and the evidence that there is likely to be widespread consensus among responses. (Paragraph 28) 30 Disabled people in the housing sector

It is imperative that the Government’s M4(2) policy commitment is now implemented as soon as possible. If this is not done, thousands of disabled people will continue to be left with their housing needs unmet. Accordingly, we recommend that: • The BSR should launch the technical consultation immediately with an expedited timeline that is made public; • The BSR and the Department should allocate additional resources to ensure that the consultation response is published within a maximum of six weeks of the consultation closing date, rather than the planned 12 weeks; and • The BSR should complete the full technical consultation process within four months, rather than the six months currently planned.

We support the Minister for Housing and Homelessness’s call for local authorities to assess their local need for M4(3) wheelchair user standard homes. However, we do not believe that the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) goes far enough to match this ambition. At the next NPPF review, the Government must include an explicit requirement for local authorities to assess the local need for homes at M4(3) wheelchair user standard. The NPPF should also encourage local authorities to include a required minimum percentage of M4(3) standard homes in their local plan, with the precise figure based on their local need assessment. If the Government does not make these changes at the next NPPF review, the Department must set out in writing to us, upon publication of the revised NPPF, how it plans to increase the supply of new homes built to the M4(3) standard to meet the needs of wheelchair users.

We are concerned that most local authorities do not keep a register of the accessibility of their own housing stock, despite some disabled people living in temporary accommodation for years while waiting for accessible social housing. The Government must require all local authorities to keep a register of accessibility of homes in their own housing stock and require local authorities to keep a detailed record of all accessible social housing within their local authority area. Local authorities should be encouraged to publish this information so that disabled people can access this information in appropriate accessible formats.

The proposed new Property Portal presents a compelling opportunity to improve information about the accessibility of properties in the private rented sector. This would provide a clear benefit to disabled people. Once the Renters (Reform) Bill comes into force, the Secretary of State must use its provisions to require landlords to include information about the accessibility of their property/properties in their entries in the private rented sector database. This must include any specific accessibility features or adaptations that are already installed, in order to better support the housing needs of disabled people in the private rented sector.

We are surprised that the Department does not hold any data on the number of new builds completed to the M4(2) and M4(3) standards in England, especially given that local authorities are already required to provide data on the supply of new homes to central Government annually. The Department must require local authorities to report on the supply of new homes at [a] M4(2) standard and [b] M4(3) standard Disabled people in the housing sector 31 specifically in their annual data submission to the Department. The Department must publish this data annually as part of the ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings’ statistical release.

The Government should provide funding, in line with the new burdens doctrine, to local authorities to ensure that they can carry out these additional requirements and duties to the best of their ability. (Paragraph 43) Adapting homes: the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)

The Government-commissioned External Review of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) in 2018 made several appropriate and valuable recommendations on DFG funding, eligibility, and the delivery process, based on comprehensive evidence. It is therefore deeply disappointing that the Government has not published a response to the Review and has not acted upon its main findings, despite prolonged calls for it to do so. The Government, in response to this Report, must therefore set out: • its response to each of the External Review’s recommendations in full; • what action it has already taken to address each recommendation in the Review since it was published in 2018; and • a timeline for the future implementation of each of the DFG reforms in line with those External Review recommendations which the Government accepts.

The £30,000 upper limit on individual DFG applications is sufficient to cover the cost of most DFG applications. However, the fact that the upper limit has not changed since 2008, despite recent rising construction costs, means the DFG does not meet the needs of some applicants whose adaptations cost more than £30,000. Consequently, a small number of disabled people who require more complex adaptations may struggle to afford to self-fund the home adaptations they need. The Government should immediately review the £30,000 upper limit on individual DFGs, with consideration for regional variation in construction costs, and set new regional upper limits. Going forward, the new upper limits must also take account of inflation and construction costs.

Whilst we recognise the need for the DFG means test to be a well-evidenced process, the current DFG means test is unnecessarily complex and leads many applicants to drop out of the DFG process entirely. We are also concerned that the means test’s passporting provisions can result in unfair ‘cliff-edges’ for applicants when they move into work. The Government should reform the means test to ensure it does not disproportionately penalise working disabled people, by introducing more gradual tapering of personal contributions for disabled people when they move into work.

The Government must also simplify the means test. The Government should consider including assessment for the DFG as part of a reformed social care means test, as recommended by the External Review in 2018. (Paragraph 58) 32 Disabled people in the housing sector

We welcome the Government’s decision to increase overall DFG funding allocations to local authorities in 2023/24 and 2024/25. However, the current DFG distribution formula is unfair and does not distribute funds according to local need. Oxford City Council sets a good example for how local authorities across England should develop local policies to offer small discretionary grants to support the wider needs of disabled people. The Government must establish a new distribution formula which is clearly based on local need and therefore fairer. In particular, the new formula must distribute funding with consideration for the current and projected number of disabled people; average income; and regional building costs in each local authority area.

The current provision of local authority support for disabled people seeking to adapt their homes is inconsistent across England. This can result in additional barriers for disabled people as they navigate the DFG process. The Government should expand Foundations’ remit to improve its DFG guidance and self-assessment tools for disabled people, to improve public awareness of the DFG and to support applicants and their advocates as they navigate the process. These updated resources should be developed to account for the specific needs of neurodivergent people.

It is unacceptable that any landlords should refuse disabled tenants permission for reasonable accessibility adaptations, especially where these adaptations have been approved as part of a DFG application. The Government must continue its work with landlord associations and housing associations across England to issue DFG guidance to landlords, to reduce instances of refusal of accessibility adaptations. Once the Renters (Reform) Bill comes into force, the new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman must consider all complaints involving a landlord’s refusal to grant permission for accessibility adaptations, and must ensure that this service is properly communicated to disabled people. This would empower disabled people with greater access to redress without the need to go to court, thereby reducing the pressure on the justice system and the costs to the residents. (Paragraph 73) Disabled people in the housing sector 33