Levelling Up Committee Launches Accessible Housing Survey

A new online survey has been launched by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (LUHCC), with the aim being to gather the views and experiences of disabled people when finding or adapting suitable homes to meet their needs.

The inquiry will look into the roles that governments, local authorities and developers have to play in making sure that suitable housing is delivered for disabled people, as well as what government support can be provided for disabled tenants in England’s private rented sector.

The LUHCC will also look at the National Planning Policy Framework to assess whether it ensures that housebuilding complies with the Equality Act 2010, as well as how far the government is able to ensure provision is provided to support residents who don’t live in new build homes and whether the disabled facilities grant is sufficient to deliver housing adaptations.

This new online survey includes questions that relate to finding or adapting suitable housing, the experiences that people have had when applying for the disabled facilities grant and what further action could be taken to support the accessibility of suitable housing.

Chair of the LUHCC Clive Betts commented on the news, saying: “We have received a wealth of written evidence submissions for our inquiry but I hope this survey will help us hear directly from disabled people on their views and experiences of finding or adapting suitable housing.

“In this inquiry we want to examine what the government can do to ensure disabled residents have access to accessible and adaptable housing in England and how far the planning system is helping to deliver suitable homes.”

The closing date for survey responses is February 15th, so there’s still plenty of time to make your views known. It is entirely anonymous and survey respondents are discouraged from sharing any details that might identify them when answering the questions.