London Assembly Housing Committee Chair writes to the Mayor of London about the lack of accessible housing in London

London Assembly Housing Committee Chair writes to the Mayor of London about the lack of accessible housing in London

Following the Assembly Committee’s investigation into the lack of accessible housing in London, Zoe Garbett has written to the Mayor stating: “The investigation left us in no doubt of the scale of the challenge Deaf and Disabled people face in finding suitable homes in London – and the profound impact of living in unsuitable, and often unsafe, accommodation”, making several recommendations.

As highlighted in HLINks – Housing LIN e-bulletin – back in June, the investigation found huge gaps in understanding of accessible housing need, such as how many Londoners require wheelchair-adapted homes.

The Committee’s recommendations include:

• The next Strategic Housing Market Assessment should place a much greater focus on accessibility. 
• The GLA should improve the accuracy of data on accessible home completions and approvals in the London Planning Datahub. 
• The GLA should take a co-production approach to developing housing policy and programmes – involving Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations in key decision-making processes on an ongoing basis. 
• The GLA should ensure a larger proportion of homes meet the wheelchair accessible standard, to avoid downstream costs associated with adaptation.