Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) challenges disabled (i) renters and (ii) buyers face on the private housing market and (b) adequacy of support available to disabled people in finding suitable properties with accessible features.

Government is committed to helping disabled and older people to live independently and safely. People of all ages and all tenures can apply to their local authority for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is a capital grant administered by local authorities in England that can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting an eligible person’s home. Since 2010 Government has invested over £4 billion into the DFG (2010-11 to 2021-22), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations. We have developed a range of consumer guides to help make buying, selling and renting more straightforward to navigate.

Government consulted on options to raise the accessibility of all new homes, recognising the importance of suitable homes for disabled people. We are currently considering responses and will publish a government response and set out next steps in due course.