Research and analysis

Disabled people’s lived experience of housing in the UK

A qualitative literature review that explores evidence on disabled people’s lived experiences of housing.

Documents

Executive summary: Easy Read

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Executive summary: large print

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Executive summary: Welsh translation

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Details

This research was commissioned under the previous government and therefore does not necessarily reflect the policies of the current government. The views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the government.

This report explores the evidence on disabled people’s lived experience of housing. 

It builds on the findings from the systematic evidence review conducted by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds, and Disability Rights UK. 

The findings of this qualitative literature review show that:

  • being able to have a suitable home which meets their needs is something that disabled people see as having the potential to greatly improve wellbeing, independence, and feelings of safety and security
  • a tension between disabled people’s needs and professional views is common and can be based on failure to explore in detail what the needs of disabled people are
  • there is a lack of representation of disabled people in many of the bodies responsible for planning the services which are in place to ensure disabled people can get the home they need
  • co-production of homes suitable for disabled people is a major positive approach flagged in the evidence 

Alternative formats

Alternative formats of this research are available online. This includes:

  • BSL 
  • Welsh translation
  • Easy Read
  • large print
  • HTML

Please contact us for paper copies or alternative formats of this research document.
Braille and audio versions are also available on request.

Updates to this page

Published 29 January 2026

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