Tempory housing rights on facilities for a disabled person.

Mutters63

HI OT, I have homeless status and live in tempory accomodation under the homeless act. The council want to move me into another temporary accommodation. 
The thing is the personal care area only has a bath. I'm very heavey at 145  kilos. The only option for me to take a bath is a chair that raises into and out of the bath. 
I have raised this with the council thst my housing needs report says I need a wet room with a chair beside the shower. 
Have I the right to refuse this property under tempory housing. The homeless officer says that she only has to provide to the housing report when I'm issued settled housing and she dose not have to accommodate my needs when it's tempory. 
Please can you advise. 

Jean_OT

Hi @Mutters63

Thanks for posting.

I can't claim expertise in housing law with regards to temporary housing status.  Perhaps Shelter's legal advice could give clarification on that: https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal

However, my understanding is that temporary accommodation will not be adapted to meet a disabled persons needs, other than very basic things that can be easily removed again, such as the loan of a commode or perhaps putting in a handrail.

I believe that the offers of temporary accommodation have to be 'reasonable' but that only has to be in a minimal way because of the supposedly short term nature of the stay there. So for example: I don't think it would be reasonable to offer somewhere that didn't have facilities for the disabled person to toilet or wash but that those facilities could be as basic as a commode or a strip wash at the sink.

If/when you get an offer of of more permanent accommodation it is possible that the home won't be fully adapted to the standard stated as being necessary in the OT report. However, it should be sufficient that you can cope there until the necessary adaptations have been made. If this adaptations are being arranged by the local authority under the Disabled Facilities Grant Scheme they should, in theory, be completed within a year.

Best Wishes
Jean


  

cracker

@Mutters63, I was homeless without access to a shower or bath. You can get very clean with a sponge bath from the sink.