New research reveals stark regional disparities for wheelchair user home-seekers
October 2025 marks 10 years since the introduction of two optional accessible housing design standards to Part M of English Building Regulations. These standards, M4(2), accessible and adaptable homes and M4(3), wheelchair user dwellings, will influence the accessibility of new housing only if they are explicitly referenced in housing policies set out in local plans.
Habinteg has set out to track the use of these optional standards in English local plans, having formally published previous forecasts in 2019 (opens new window) and 2020 (opens new window). The 2025 insight report (opens new window) - is a new snapshot of the use of the optional standards in 311 plans and an estimate of the maximum possible impact on future delivery of new accessible homes over the coming 10 years.