Bathrooms Feature


Interiors


Safe, inclusive bathrooms are the future


Bathrooms can be a danger zone and entirely unsuitable for disabled people in many homes across the UK. Stuart Reynolds from AKW, explores the challenges facing both landlords and tenants and considers solutions to the problem


W


hen is a house not a home? When the layout or fittings could put a tenant in danger of accidents or prevent them from performing basic tasks, such as washing and toileting. Inaccessible


bathrooms, in particular, rob people of their right to independence and dignity, and yet this is the reality for thousands of disabled people living in unsuitable housing across England.


THE STATISTICS One in five British people is disabled, with 49% of them experiencing mobility impairments, including the country’s 1.2 million wheelchair users. More than


half of socially rented homes (55%) have at least one household member with a long-term illness or disability. In the private rented sector, that figure is almost a third (29%). However, just 9% of all homes across the country feature the main


requirements to make them even visitable, such as a flush threshold, sufficiently wide doorways, and a toilet at the entrance level. Te Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the problem even further as people were told to stay in their homes during lockdowns. Research at the time showed that almost one in four disabled people did not have a home that met their access needs. Bathrooms proved especially challenging, with disabled people 22 times more likely than


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMMDecember/January 2023 | 31


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