Wheelchair users expected to wait up to 17 years for social housing in Southwark

A freedom of information request has revealed that a person in band 3 – which includes those who are homeless or disabled - of Southwark’s social housing waiting list could wait over 17 years for a property that meets accessibility needs. 

A recent internal query also revealed that the number of households had shot up to 18,671 as of December, from around 17,500 as stated in a council report from early summer. 

This comes after Southwark News reported on a resident who has been trapped in her current home for 2 years due to it not being wheelchair accessible, and a separate case of a resident, Michelle King, who has struggled to find an appropriate home due to the council repeatedly offering properties without suitable disability adaptations. Michelle has been asking for a ground floor flat for 23 years.

The same FOI found that even those in band 1 – the highest priority band - could wait up to 3 years before being given a permanent home. The current allocations policy categorises band 1 as those who fit a range of criteria, from statutory overcrowding to discharge from hospital or armed forces without a home. 

Shelter had also recently revealed that Southwark had one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, saying that the shortage of social housing was one of the key factors. Last year, council housebuilding rates collapsed by 96%.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Cllr Rachel Bentley said:

“This is Labour’s London housing crisis laid bare: it is grossly unjust that a person who by the council’s own assessment has a high priority need should be expected to live in unacceptable living conditions for three years, let alone seventeen.

Labour have run out of excuses. They need to get as much social housing, including with disability adaptations, built as quickly as possible, so that everyone can have a safe, affordable home in Southwark.”