© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
This comes under Alterations to Common Parts. Under the DDA the duty to change the terms of a lease do not apply to common parts. There is however one exception – the requirement to treat the request for alterations from the disabled and non-disabled leaseholders equally i.e. a landlord will run into difficulties if he consents to a request for an alteration to common parts from a non-disabled person but refuses one from a disabled person.
For landlords and managers, it is advisable to consider requests for alterations to common parts as ongoing maintenance and reinstatement. So, who pays? Many reasonable adjustments can be made without any cost to the landlord. Portable ramps and other items are often supplied by local social services. Where however other sources like social services will not pay the entire cost of the adjustment then a manager will have to pay for adjustment, where reasonable.
As to whether the landlord/ manager can reclaim the costs of the adjustments will depend on two things: the terms of the lease and the DDA. The DDA provides that requests for reasonable adjustments/ changing terms of leases are not payable by the disabled person. The lease terms may however be more helpful for landlords. It may be possible to pass the cost onto all leaseholders, and not only the disabled leaseholder.
A lease that contains a clause that gives the landlord the ability to recover all costs of management arguably could be interpreted as covering the cost of reasonable adjustments. Furthermore, the lease may also contain a clause allowing the landlord to reclaim the cost of complying with statutory requirements. If there is such a clause, the clause could cover costs of compliance with the DDA. What about expensive adjustments such as the stair lift in this scenario? The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) code states that the financial resources of the landlord are relevant when considering what is a reasonable adjustment. In other words, if the lease does not allow the landlord to recover the cost of the adjustment, the landlord may refuse it if he has no other funds. This cause of action of refusal may however not be possible if the landlord is a large landlord who manages many properties.
What about Disabled Facilities Grants? This is a local council grant that can help towards the cost of adapting leaseholders homes. A grant can be used for essential adaptations to give better freedom of movement into and around the home and/ or provide facilities within it such as widening doors, improving access to rooms and facilities, for example, by installing a stair lift. The amount paid is usually based on a financial assessment (a means test) and the maximum amount of grant that a council is required to pay is £25,000 per application. This therefore might well be another avenue worth investigating.
Shaun Jardine, Brethertons Solicitors