Legally, landlords must allow disabled tenants to make changes necessary to their full enjoyment of the premises. The landlord must reasonably accommodate their needs, one of the most common of which is mobility.
Under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System, the landlord has to take necessary steps to make stairway access safe, inside and outside of the property AND in common areas.
Inside the home, making the stairs safe usually means the physical installation of equipment (eg a stairlift) which then incurs cost and delay for it removal and making good when that tenant vacates the property.
Common parts can pose problems, to ensure any solution does not adversely impact the safety of other, able tenants when they are using the stairs.
AAT’s pioneering S-Max Sella stairclimber/ stairclimbing wheelchair delivers an almost immediate way to enable a tenant with reduced mobility- whether a short- or long-term limitation- to safely transfer up, down almost any stairs or steps.
The portable unit is not fixed in any way to the stairs, leaving stairway access unimpeded within the property for other residents.
Battery-powered, with an integral seat and safety strap/harness, it climbs or descends steps at a consistent pace set by the operator and folds compactly away when not in use.
S-Max Sella has an impeccable safety record throughout its 20 years of utilisation on UK stairways. AAT also supplies S-Max which can be attached to a wheelchair.
AAT fully trains the care-giver in safe operation of the unit, and uniquely provides a range of packages covering service & maintenance and equipment management.
The S-Max Sella can be sourced by the tenant via the local authority social services, or forward-thinking housing associations can buy themselves to almost immediately make its housing stock safe for almost all tenants who either have, or develop, reduced mobility.
The S-Max Sella can be easily allocated to a new tenant when the original recipient no longer needs it(*).
“Stairs are one of the most common areas where people fall- whether disabled or not,” says Peter Wingrave AAT Director. “All landlords have a duty of care to ensure tenant safety. Our S-Max Sella is proven over 20 years to manage the risk of stairs and steps, and make stairway access safe.”
Full details of the S-Max stairclimber can be found at https://www.aatgb.com/s-max-sella/where a free, no obligation assessment can also be booked.
Any MOU over two storeys should have a lift.
But what if that lift is out of order- a common occurrence and outside the realms of PEEPS(2), or if the MOU is only two storeys.
If the tenant has impaired mobility- the most common limitation- they become a prisoner in their home.
A stairclimber/ stairclimbing wheelchair such as AAT’s top-selling S-Max delivers safe egress.
Unlike conventional evacuation chairs, it also delivers safe ingress.
Thus the disabled tenant is able to come and go as normal.
A portable, mobile unit, S-Max means there is no permanent nor temporary fixture to the stairway, thereby common parts are not impeded for other tenants.
All that is needed is a person trained in the equipment to control the battery-powered unit- whether someone who cares for the tenant, or the building manager.
AAT’s S-Max can travel 300 steps from a single battery charge- equivalent to a 20-storey block of flats.
The standard unit can be easily attach to most common wheelchairs; the Sella version incorporates an integral seat with support arms and harnessing for optimal safety for the passenger.
Using this technique, the disabled tenant is safely able to get in and out of the building, into their home and into the outside space and beyond.
Use of stairclimbers in MOU’s is increasingly popular up and down the country- proven in practice from East London to Yorkshire.
They are a cost-effective, non-disruptive way of enabling the tenant to remain in their home, for the social housing provider to meet their legal obligations and to provide short-term safe access/exit until the lift is repaired/operational.
The housing association has an asset it can re-cycle/re-use when the original recipient no longer needs it to manage risk with other tenants should they become disabled whilst more suitable, ground-level accommodation is found for them or when the lift is repaired/operational again.
For each recipient, AAT provides in-depth assessment of the person and the ‘environment’ top assess suitability, and trains the operator in the stairclimber’s safe use.
Full details of the S-Max stairclimber can be found at https://www.aatgb.com/s-max-sella/ where a free, no obligation assessment can also be booked.
ENDS
References:
(1) https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/disability-groups-call-more-accessible-housing-privaterentershttps://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/disability-groups-call-more-accessible-housing-privaterenters
(2)Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan
Now, more than 50% of tenants have a long term illness and impairment with a similar number who need an adaptation not having it(2)..
The most common reported impairments affect mobility, lifting or carrying.(3).
AAT’s top-selling and Class 1 Medical Device certified S-Max stairclimber (stair climbing wheelchair) delivers an almost immediate way to enable a tenant with reduced mobility- whether a short- or long-term limitation- to safely transfer up, down almost any stairs or steps.
Thus, every home be it flat (some 20% of housing stock) or house, can become accessible without impact on common parts.
The battery-powered, German-engineered unit is available in two versions, one which fixes to a wheelchair, one with an integral seat.
Operated by the carer, the mobile unit safely moves its passenger up, down stairs and onward. It is not fixed in any way to the building fabric.
Thus it optimises risk management by reducing or eliminating transfers at the top of stairs, and eliminates impairment of the stairway for other users.
The portability of the S-Max also means there is no delay for DFG funding, survey nor installation. A safe solution for the tenant can be effected within days.
AAT’s assessment managers will support the Association in the specification, train the care giver in the machine’ safe operation (to LOLER criteria.
The company further offers service & maintenance of the unit. To help housing managers understand the relevance of a stairclimber, AAT also provides free demonstrations, and can train designated team members in on-going safe tenant assessment.
When the S-Max is no longer needed by the original recipient, it can be re-allocated to another tenant.
“The core criterium of the most basic level of accessible homes (Category 1, Building Regulations Approved Document M) is that ‘reasonable provision should be made for people to gain access to, and use, the dwelling and its facilities.
"Our S-Max stairclimber offers a best value solution to compliance with the reassurance of an impeccable safety record built up over 20 years.”
Peter Wingrave AAT Director
Full details of the S-Max stairclimber can be found at https://www.aatgb.com/s-max/, where a free, no obligation assessment can also be booked.
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