Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 October 2025
Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 15 October 2025 concerning accessibility standards in new homes
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Inquiry: Housing Conditions in England
Summary
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Chair writes to the Minister for Housing and Planning requesting urgent clarification on whether the Government will mandate Part M4(2) accessibility standards for all new homes. Six months after promising a policy update, the Government has not confirmed its position despite the previous Government's July 2022 commitment to this standard. The Committee notes that only 13% of English homes currently meet basic accessibility criteria, leaving disabled people facing severe housing barriers.
Key findings
- Only 13% of homes in England meet accessibility criteria to make homes visitable for most people; an estimated 885,000 people could be living in accessible homes if Part M4(2) had been mandated three years ago.
- The previous Government committed to adopting Part M4(2) as the minimum standard for all new homes in July 2022; the current Government has not clarified whether it supports this policy despite six months passing since March 2025.
- The Committee requests the Government's assessment of: added costs to housebuilders, potential impact on the 1.5 million new homes target, implementation timeframe, and risks of retaining current standards including costs to local authorities via the Disabled Facilities Grant.
- The Centre for Better Ageing and Older People's Housing Taskforce have recommended immediate adoption of Part M4(2); the sector has been waiting for clarity for an extended period.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Florence Eshalomi MP, Matthew Pennycook MP, Millie Brown, Centre for Better Ageing, Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Older People's Housing Taskforce, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Notable line
“Disabled people continue to face severe barriers in accessing housing that meets their needs.”
Key Quotes
“… currently a large 'accessibility gap' between the number of homes that are fully accessible and the number of disabled people”
“"885,000 people could now be living in an accessible home" if these changes had been "mandated three years ago" …”
“… six months on, we are still unclear about whether this Government supports the adoption of Part M4(2) as the minimum standard for all new homes”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗