A delegation of the European Disability Forum met with the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen to discuss the need for more accessible housing.
The meeting focused on the European disability movement’s demands for inclusion of accessibility in the upcoming Affordable Housing Act.
The delegation pointed out several issues, including:
- The provision of accessible housing remains scarce across all types of housing – either to buy, rent or as social housing or student accommodation.
- Persons with disabilities are more likely to live in substandard housing. For example, 18.9% of people with disabilities lived with a leaking roof or damp walls and/or floors, compared to 13.8% of people without disabilities.
- People with a disability more likely to be overburdened by housing costs.
Our member of the Executive Committee, Nadia Hadad, highlighted the potential for current EU plans to address the lack of accessibility in housing. For that, the Commission must:
- Set obligations on accessibility for all EU funding going towards housing, especially in the next EU Budget.
- Ensure that the upcoming Affordable Housing Act guarantees more accessible housing for people in all stages of life. It includes affordability measures and tackles specific housing settings, such as social housing and student housing.
- Involve organisations of persons with disabilities in the next steps on the implementation of the Affordable Housing Plan, such as the EU Housing Summit and the European Housing Alliance.
She listed our priorities in these initiatives:
- binding accessible standards in housing;
- mandatory accessibility requirements linked to EU funding;
- accessible evacuation plans;
- integration of housing with community-based support services;
- specific measures addressing homelessness among persons with disabilities;
- safeguards to ensure that simplification does not weaken accessibility standards.
Nadia Hadad, Member of the Executive Committee of the European Disability Forum, said:
Only by implementing accessibility and independent living principles into housing policies can the EU ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind in efforts to address the housing crisis. We will prioritise engagement with the Affordable Housing Act, Housing Simplification Package, Construction Services Act and Citizens Energy Package to ensure that accessibility requirements are binding, EU funding supports community-based housing, and housing policies contribute to deinstitutionalisation.