When it comes to general health matters, prevention—as your doctor may well tell you—is more effective than cure. Following the same line of reasoning, it’s better—and we don’t just mean cheaper—to make sure that any potential new home matches your access needs before it’s built, rather than having to spend additional time and money “renovating” it afterwards. For, despite the relative success of the campaign for Lifetime Home Standards, even the latest Building Regulations regarding accessibility—specifically Part M (4), Category 2— are not always considered obligatory.
The last few years has seen growing interest in buying property “off-plan”—that is, when it only exists as architect’s drawings, and whole housing developments might not be completed for the best part of a year. There are financial risks, obviously, but…
Full article published in Able magazine, November/December 2016.
