Nearly 2 Million Disabled People Have An Unmet Housing Need

A new report reveals the extent of demand for accessible homes to rent and buy.  The report says 1.8 million disabled people having an unmet housing need – 580,000 of working age. Conducted by teams at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Ipsos MORI for Habinteg and Papworth Trust, the ‘hidden housing market’ report is pitched as challenging assumptions about the potential for disabled people to buy their own home. The report also sheds light on the wider appeal of homes that deliver higher quality accessible features.  Download a copy of the report from the Habinteg website.

Councils Fail To Prioritise Disabled Bedroom Tax-Hit Tenants

Councils are ignoring government guidance and failing to prioritise disabled people for payments to help cope with the bedroom tax, a study has claimed. Freedom of information requests issued by the Papworth Trust reveal 67 per cent (10,656 out of 15,938) of applications from non-disabled people are successful when applying for discretionary housing payment, compared with 59 per cent (3,670 out of 6,200) of applications from disabled people. The charity’s ongoing research also shows nearly 90 per cent of disabled people refused a DHP are cutting back on essentials like food and drink or household bills. Download a copy of the research report from the Papworth Trust website.

Disabled People Cutting Back On Food or Bills to Pay Bedroom Tax

Nine in 10 disabled people in social housing are cutting back on buying food and medical supplies as the government's controversial bedroom tax begins to bite, a new survey has revealed.  The report, from charity the Papworth Trust, says that disabled tenants are making cuts across a range of essentials if they are refused discretionary housing payments (DHPs) to help them cope with the under-occupancy policy.  And data collected from 24 local authorities shows that three in ten (29%) disabled people hit by the charges have been refused DHPs so far. Of those refused DHPs:

• 90% are cutting back on food or bills.

• 37% are cutting back on specialist mobility transport.

• 27% are cutting back on medical expenses such as medication, therapies and monitoring health conditions.

Read more on the Papworth Trust website.