Disabled by Our Flats Why can’t disabled people find homes? Maybe because it’s legal to deny us housing… By Rimu Bhooi Illustrations by Tallulah Farrar
CW - discussion of mental ill-health, and mentions of mania, schizophrenia, BPD, su*c*de. This article follows the social model of disability.
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lex* a final year Massey CoCA student has been looking for a flat since December last year. Alex has chronic fatigue syndrome, which they say has seriously worsened “from continuously balancing on the ledge of homelessness”. The denials come in thick and strong says Alex, with each rejection feeling “like a punch to the tiddies”. They went on to explain that it’s difficult enough as a person with impairments in their “day-to-day without this added stress”. Having an accessible home to live in and an accessible application process would make all the difference for exhausted, sick and low-income students like Alex. “Being accepted into a healthy, warm home would feel like hitting the lottery, especially as a student. It would make a significant impact on both my physical health and mental health.” The feeling you get when the ‘you’ve been unsuccessful in your tenancy application’ emails take over your inbox hits closer to home for disabled students. Disabled renters face so many fucking barriers to securing a home. It’s legal
for landlords to discriminate against them. Even if you can make it through the horrendously long and intrusive application process, and a landlord accepts your application, the flat could be totally inaccessible. It could have shoddy narrow staircases without a handrail, no parking, high benchtops, light switches totally out of reach from the bed, seat or chair. It could (probably would) leak and make your immunocompromised body so sick you have to miss a couple of months of uni (yes, months lol). ‘No one wants you.’ Disabled people face that sentiment everywhere, especially when looking for homes. Alex said that being considered “a lower-class citizen”, just because of who they are, has meant “unhealthy and stressful living conditions”. Landlords and property managers seem to have “no regard as to how this may affect us as living, breathing people”. We can be told nah sorry we don’t accept applications from wheelchair users or chronic fatigue sufferers. Or they could look up our social media where we’ve talked about our mania, schizophrenia, BPD, or suicidal ideation, and outright say nope. With any form of impairment whatsoever, disabled people can be denied a tenancy. Suppose disabled
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