According to valuable research by Abode Impact, 91% of wheelchair users have experienced barriers to accessing the PRS, with 62% saying this was due to a lack of accessible properties. Yet 50% would still like to move to a privately rented home. Concerning is the fact that 4 out of 5 of the survey respondents stated that their present homes do not meet their needs.

For some excellent and thorough knowledge on the subject of your rights for housing and disabled people, have a look at the information pages set up by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which covers both private and social housing and separates its guidance into PDFs for England, Scotland and Wales.

Searching for a wheelchair accessible rental home is gruelling, so here's our checklist to optimise your search.

Searching online is a major challenge because most listings have no thought for accessibility. The majority of lettings listings do not include floor plans. Additionally, many of the images show a property in it’s best marketing light but do not provide the specific detail that informs the searcher, at a glance, whether a property is likely to be suitable, nor whether a viewing will be productive, or even possible.

From a cold start, we launched The Accessible Letting Scheme in December 2021 with Chestertons! Now we're working across the sector and have got Government backing, via what's called Material Information updates, introduced by National Trading Standards, which include how agents must provide information about accessibility and adaptations. This is pretty hot off the press (30-Nov-23) and will take some time to implement across all agents and property portals. Read our page on Finding Wheelchair Accessible Properties via Estate Agents and Property Portals to learn what is changing and what you can do! Our work supports letting (and sales) agents to get on board with providing clear, online information to pass the 3am test so that the process of searching for a suitable home with accessibility features is easier.

Your Online Search: 

Reference the video below, click here for more information on Material Information Updates.

Accept your reliance on letting agents. Breathe deeply. Know that the rights and wrongs of any conversation or situation won't help you. Stay focussed on the objective of finding your next home - and not trying to change the mindsets of anyone along the way who isn’t interested. 

Meanwhile, practical advice to help you get the best out of agents - understand their constraints and pressures, and manage them accordingly:

As crazy as this sounds, there is a (very) little known shared ownership scheme for people on disability benefits, called Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities. If you are a first time buyer, with a household income of less that £80,000 per year, and no outstanding credit issues (such as CCJs) then you may be eligible. This is not for everyone, and there are several parts to it, including, finding a home, securing a mortgage, considering care or support. 

We've written an article on the Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities scheme with information and links to relevant organisations.

This is a tough one, especially in expensive cities, like London. For example, if you need to live in an area close enough to work which ties in with your care packages, but which is also unaffordable. London is a classic example of this.

If you have a funding gap - i.e. you can afford a chunk of the rent, but not the full amount, or you need it for a set period of time only - have you considered applying to grant giving organisations for help? Livery companies are philanthropic organisations, each with their own set of criteria for giving. And many professions have their own benevolent funds. This route requires a lot of research, but keep in mind that money is given out.

If this is you, we’d like to hear from you with details of your story. We are having some interesting conversations in potentially useful places, and evidencing our narrative with real case studies is incredibly helpful. Get in touch.

If you’re a tenant and your mobility needs are changing, it may be preferable (and more cost effective) to stay where you are and have minor or major building works done. You will need to speak to your landlord and agree everything in writing. Who will fund and be responsible for the works? Before speaking, it’s a good idea to research some of the issues.

If your landlord is a member of the National Residential Landlords Association, they can seek advice on this as part of their membership services. There is guidance specific to this issue. 

Landlords may take different approaches ranging from keen and involved (understanding of the benefits to them), consenting but at arms length (i.e. you organise and fund all the work which is approved in advance by them), to not amenable to any works on their property. Your rights and legislation are a grey area, and a good place to start your reading on this subject is the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

You could receive grant funding in the form of a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). This is means tested on the tenant and not the landlord. There is eligibility criteria, a payment size cap and an application process, as you'd expect. Responsibilities are devolved to local authorities, so there's variation between them. However, Foundations is an organisation that we know, which is currently funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. They have regional advisors who can provide expert advice and support, and are an excellent place to start. It's worth noting that some local authorities have discretionary grants for tenants of private landlords, which can top up a DFG or be used as an alternative funding source for adaptations, and is sometimes a faster process.

Otherwise, if you're accepting of your position and can fund any works, then talk to your landlord. Be very clear about what you want to do and why, so they can buy in to the concept. Agree what happens at the end of your tenancy (i.e. if you need to return the property to how it was before your works) and illustrate how any works could benefit the landlord, improve their property, and therefore positively impact the value, and remember above all: write down and agree all conversations with your landlord. This should be an open process with you both having access to the same records, to avoid painful issues later.

We thought it worth adding some context on this difference, just in case it’s relevant to your search. New build properties should be built to certain planning standards. Remember that designs and standards are open to the mis/interpretation of the designers and Building Control (who are responsible for upholding the standards) do not always pick up on issues, particularly ones to do with accessibility.

That said, you should be able to find out to what standard a new build property is built. Ideally, as a wheelchair user, you'll look for M4(3) Category 3: Wheelchair User Dwellings. Unhelpfully, the language around these categories is confusing, so M4(2) lists as accessible and adaptable dwellings, but they're really not suitable for independent living for a wheelchair user. 

And of the M4(3) properties, these are usually not fitted out as wheelchair accessible, but have certain features which make them cheaper to adapt, including, but not limited to:

Second hand homes is the term referred to for old and existing properties. This is a total lottery in terms of what you might find. An advantage of these can be the flexibility to do works when they are freehold and independently owned - meaning fewer people involved in a decision making process. 

London is a crazy expensive place to live, but it is essential for many because of proximity to work. London has an advantage for buyers in that in 2015 the GLA made mandatory, optional planning legislation that states that 10% of all new build schemes (over ten units) must be M4(3) Wheelchair Accessible or Adaptable. Whilst this is positive, as ever, we face the reality of implementation. The house builders market these units as wheelchair accessible before they are fitted out, but if no buyer steps forward, they are fitted out as adaptable. Adaptable seems to mean different things to different designers #justsaying. In theory this should mean that they are cheaper to convert, BUT (1) I’m not sure who’s keeping tabs on which properties across London are adaptable, (2) that doesn’t help renters - this is a need that Abode Impact recognised and was working to solve, and (3) this is not throughout the nation (yet?).

Some other cities are considering following London's lead.