Accessible housing: accessibility requirements to consider when building and renovating homes

Housing must be accessible and convenient for people regardless of age or health. Accessibility must therefore be considered at the design stage so that people can safely enter a building, move around it and use their homes.

👇We explain which accessibility requirements must be considered when designing, constructing, reconstructing and carrying out major repairs to residential buildings, and which types of housing they apply to.

📌What the law provides

The Law of Ukraine “On Building Codes” defines safety and accessibility in the use of buildings as one of the main requirements for buildings and structures. Design and construction must therefore take account of the needs of people with limited mobility so that people with different needs can use buildings conveniently and safely.

📌Specific requirements for residential buildings are set out in particular in:

- DBN V.2.2-15:2019 “Residential Buildings. Basic Provisions”;

- DBN V.2.2-40:2018 “Inclusiveness of Buildings and Structures. Basic Provisions”.

✅What must be provided

Accessible housing is not limited to an accessible building entrance. For people with limited mobility, the following must be provided:

▪️accessibility of the land plot and approaches to the building;

an accessible entrance to the building;

▪️unobstructed access to interior spaces;

▪️access to the apartment or dwelling from the building entrance;

▪️the ability to use equipment and appliances safely and conveniently;

▪️the necessary information systems in the building and on the adjoining grounds;

▪️appropriate layouts for living spaces, including kitchens, entrance halls, corridors and bathrooms.

When designing housing, it is important to consider the possibility of subsequent retrofitting if residents’ needs require it. Housing should therefore be designed so that it can be adapted to a person’s needs when necessary.

🔹Accessibility requirements cover more than new construction. They must also be considered during reconstruction, restoration and major repairs of existing residential buildings. The needs of people with limited mobility must likewise be considered when a building is adapted for comfortable and safe use.

🔹For residential construction, these requirements apply in particular to:

- apartment buildings;

- specialised apartment buildings for older people and people with disabilities;

- dormitories.

At the same time, the state building codes do not apply to the construction of individual homes.

Nataliia Kozlovska