Lack of accessible housing forces woman to shower on porch, calls for Universal Design Standards

A disabled woman is being forced to shower on the back porch of her rental due to a lack of accessible housing.

Marketing professional Juliana Carvalho is a wheelchair user who moved to Tauranga in February but the rental market had been exceptionally hard on her.

Juliana Carvalho has to shower on the porch of her temporary accommodation everyday due to a lack of accessible housing options in Tauranga. Photo / Supplied

"I go for viewings, I express my likeness of the house, then apply for it.

"But after some time, it gets nowhere, I get no replies back, my applications become unsuccessful.

"Already the rental market is tough, on top of that, I am single, and disabled, I have accessibility needs."

Carvalho said she was living in limbo, forced to shower on the porch of her temporary accommodation.

"It is hard to put into words the feeling of exclusion, as if my rights, needs are simply ignored."

She has now lost all hope of getting a rental and is saving up to buy a house next year.

"Support net has helped me get a portable shower installed in the bedroom, a makeshift solution. At least I won't be on the porch. I don't know how long I'll be here.

"I don't qualify for assistance from MSD or Kāinga Ora."

Carvalho is a lead campaigner for Access Matters, a movement calling on the Government to address accessibility barriers disabled people face in the country.

"I urge the population to join our call for 100 per cent of Kāinga Ora homes to be built using universal design principles, serving people of all abilities at any stage of life.

"Including people like me, who use a wheelchair, or other mobility aids, people with impaired vision and people who are elderly or very young."

Last week, the Herald reported at present only an estimated 2 per cent of homes were accessible.

People in state housing can request improvements to make their houses accessible.

Kāinga Ora has a goal of having at least 15 per cent of its newly built homes accessible for people with disabilities.

One of New Zealand's leading experts on accessible house design, Geoff Penrose, says the Government should move beyond the practice of meeting just the minimum requirements.

And leading disability advocate Dr Huhana Hickey says the current housing designs "sit around an old person with a walker they have no idea what's needed".

Penrose said Kāinga Ora as a provider of public homes had a responsibility to serve all New Zealanders.

"Private rental markets need to continue to mature, just like healthy homes requirement, a universal design standard should be implemented.

"It is financially viable in the long-term, it costs less to implement the changes at the early stages of building a house rather than retrofitting it later on.

"The new homes should be built for all; older homes can be retrofitted.

"The mindset of this issue only affects a set percentage of people needs to change, universal design will benefit all of us at all stages of our lives."

Dr Huhana Hickey says housing options are not fit for purpose for disabled. Photo / Supplied

Hickey said the issues included a lack of space for service dogs, and the small size of rooms.

"These houses don't allow for a spouse, a wheelchair, a service dog and a hoist. It's all geared around a single person on a walker.

"There is little workaround more complex needs which is why they [agencies] struggle to house people like me and others with disabilities."