According to research from stairlift and home lift company Stannah, adding features that accommodate a disability could increase the value of your property by £20,000.
Partnering with property expert Jonathan Rolande, founder of House Buy Fast, Stannah has found that adapting a property to include features such as lowered work surfaces, a stairlift, a downstairs bathroom or a bath with a door fitted can increase your property’s value by £20,100.
Adaptations and the value they can add:
- Grab rails – £100
- Lowered work surfaces – £2,000
- Raised plant beds – £1,000
- Stairlift – £3,000
- Downstairs bathroom fitted – £8,000
- Bath with door fitted – £500
- Door ramps installed – £2,000
- Automatic door openers – £1,000
- Adjusting outlet heights – £500
- Widening doorways – £2,000
- Total – £20,100
Grab rails, which act as points around the home for people to rest their weight on or pull themselves from a seated position to standing if needed, may add the smaller amount of £100 onto the value of the property, whereas larger adaptations requiring building work like fitting a downstairs bathroom may add as much as £8,000.
Raising plant beds in your garden to remove the need to bend down to tend to the plants may add £1,000, whereas £3,000 could be added to the value with a stairlift which acts as a way for someone with reduced mobility to safely navigate up and down the stairs without the risk of falling.
One in five disabled people in the UK are currently living in unsuitable accommodation and with a wheelchair user facing a staggering 47-year stint on a waiting list for an accessible property, making adaptations to your own property can reduce wait times significantly and can ensure your needs are tailored for; as a result, a home lift is often the most reliable solution for wheelchair users. Additional statistics claim that over 90% of wheelchair users struggle to find accessible homes for private rent.
The research into disability-friendly living comes as Stannah releases its comprehensive guide to the cost of adapting your home to accommodate a mobility-impairing disability, plus what kind of adaptations might be most suitable depending on individual needs.
Vaila Morrison, Inclusive Design expert at Stannah, says:
“When it comes to adapting your home, think carefully about what your needs are now, the adaptations that are an absolute must and how they may change in the future to keep the cost of adaptations as small as possible.
“Ultimately, even if an adaptation is more of a financial commitment such as a fitted wet room, it is an investment in your home and priceless for your wellbeing and daily life.
“Improved accessibility will keep you safe when moving around your home, allow you to stay living at home for longer, and for friends and family with reduced mobility to continue to visit. 97% of people would prefer to live the rest of their lives in their own homes instead of moving to residential care.
“By making changes to your home, challenges in physical accessibility won’t prevent you from staying in your home where you are comfortable and surrounded by memories.”
Jonathan advises that the value of a property can be increased by disability-friendly features by not only being sought-after by disabled people, but if the features are of use to potential buyers in other ways.
He says:
“These changes can add value not just to a disabled purchaser, their family, or someone who may need the features in the future but also to the wider public, as this means they are far more likely to add to the all-important asking price. The broader the appeal of improvements, the more will be added to the asking price.
“Under the right circumstances, a ramp could add up to £2,000 to the price and a well fitted wet room could add as much as £8,000. A wet room can be of use to a family for more general appeal as it can double up as an area to hose down messy pets after a long walk and ramps in doorways can help with parents coming in and out of the house with shopping or with pushchairs.”
