Alison Lyons OBE, Director of Sesame Access based in West Byfleet, Surrey, and London resident, Milana Hadji-Touma have launched a campaign to enforce Section 36 and Schedule 4 of the Equality Act 2010, ensuring landlords cannot unreasonably deny access adaptations to communal areas.
Milana became permanently reliant on a wheelchair after a life-changing accident and faces daily challenges entering her own home. Her apartment building’s steep, hazardous ramp forces her to manoeuvre backwards in her electric wheelchair to get inside.
Despite working with Alison to install a Sesame Lift for safe, seamless access, Milana’s accessibility proposal was denied. She offered to personally fund the installation, ensuring it blended with the building’s design and met listed building regulations, but the landlords ignored her requests. No alternative solutions have been provided in the two years since, leaving her to navigate unsafe conditions daily.
The campaign calls for a change in the law to ensure landlords can only refuse such requests on genuinely reasonable grounds, such as financial hardship if the tenant is asking for funding assistance, or structural infeasibility, if applicable.
Milana said: “While I understand that cost can be a legitimate concern, it’s disheartening when landlords refuse necessary accessibility modifications, even when tenants are willing to cover the expenses.
This refusal seems unreasonable and unjustified, and it highlights the ongoing challenges disabled individuals face regarding basic health and safety rights in the UK.
“It’s particularly concerning for those who lack the means to fund such adaptations and are left vulnerable to discriminatory landlord practices.
This highlights the need for enforceable policies that protect vulnerable tenants and ensure equal access to safe housing, fairly and promptly.
“This issue is about more than just a lift, it’s about dignity and human rights. It’s shocking that in 2024, disabled residents in the UK still face such barriers.”
If the e-petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament. They hope the e-petition will push Parliament to enforce the Equality Act, to support the rights and safety of disabled individuals.
The petition can be signed here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/705318