Disabled bathroom & Housing advice

Sprout
Sprout Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
edited September 12 in Housing and independent living

Hi

I'm currently in a council house, disabled adapted, wetroom, stairlift, level access. I'm a wheelchair user. Condition worsened over the years and struggling with transfers as my wife has health issues now too.

Applied to local council for help, and they put us on the housing list for an adapted bungalow, great. We had to have an occupational therapist visit to get this done.

It's been a few months, but we've just been to see a bungalow with the housing officer and housing association.

Bungalow is lovely with a couple of exceptions, the main one being the bathroom.

It's got a shower cubicle as opposed to a true level access shower that the OT says I need and currently have.

The bathroom is also only 1.8m x 2.5m with a shower, toilet and basin. I can only just get my powered wheelchair in, no room to turn around, let alone have a stool for using catheters at the toilet, or having my carer help with transfers to the toilet or shower. There is definitely not room to turn around in the bathroom. OT report says turning circle needed in every room

The other issues are, there is only level access to the front door, not the back garden, the housing association says, go out the front door and go around the back. OT report says level access needed front and back.

OT report says accessible switches and sockets needed, they're not.

I don't want to sound ungrateful, as it is still a bungalow, but I don't want to be forced to move somewhere that we're going to struggle with.

Can the council force us to move here, or will it adversely affect our chances if we refuse this one?

Thank you for any replies

Sprout

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Comments

  • Albus_Scope
    Albus_Scope Posts: 11,120 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Hey there @Sprout and welcome to the community. 😊

    This sounds like a tricky situation, but I'd be trying to work with the council and try to come to some compromises, although they cannot force you to move into the new place, rejecting the bungalow could well affect your chances of getting a new place if the council thinks the current bungalow meets your needs. The council has a duty to provide suitable housing if you are eligible, and the OT report should confirm that you require a fully accessible home, not just any accessible bungalow.

  • Sprout
    Sprout Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1061699#Comment_1061699

    Thank you so much for your reply.

    We are willing and hope to work with the council, they are going to ring later next week to discuss, but at the viewing we felt very pressured already to take this property.

    It clearly does not suit me or my disability needs and does not meet the requirements set out by the OT.

    We are currently in a 3 bed house and even though we could technically ask for a 3 bed bungalow, we have said we are willing to downsize to free up a larger house, and we are willing to compromise, indeed we expect to on certain things, but when it comes to things that ease my disability i will find that hard to compromise on especially if they will make my life harder than they already are.

    We don't believe the housing officer is acting in the best interests of us as tenants, but time will tell. Hopefully they will not make an official offer as we would have to turn it down.

  • Sprout
    Sprout Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Happy to report that we were able to come to an agreement with the council that the property was unsuitable.

    It seems that on the day of the viewing the lady from the council was not quite herself, but was feeling much better when we spoken to her since, so all is sorted now. She is going to continue looking for a suitable property for us.

    Thank you for your comments

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