Chrystal Hendry finished her psychology degree in 2021 and was excited to move to the next phase of her life – working towards becoming a counsellor – when she first became homeless.
Chrystal, 30, has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a wheelchair. She needs round-the-clock care, as well as home adaptations, such as a bed hoist and wet room, to live comfortably.
Several months after being evicted in 2021, and following a “really awful” period in inappropriate housing, she managed to find somewhere to rent in a different town, where she now lives.
It has never been the ideal home – the temporary ramps are a struggle. But it was better than the alternatives suggested by her council, including moving her live-in care team and equipment into one bedroom in an elderly dementia care home.
Four years on, she’s being evicted again.
Chrystal is one of the 70,000 households with a physical disability in England now facing homelessness.
Her landlord wants to redevelop the home she lives in and has issued a ‘no fault’ eviction notice, which has progressed to a court repossession order.
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Now, she’s waiting for the bailiffs to arrive.
“It just never ended, it’s still not ended four years later. I still can’t even think about building a career or giving back to anybody because I’m so consumed with it,” Chrystal told Sky News.
“At this moment in time, I have no idea where I’m going to go,” she said.
“For anybody a bailiff knocking on your door is scary, but when you’ve got fundamental pieces of equipment that you cannot live without it’s even scarier.”
Chrystal’s experience is not unique.
Among households who approached their local council for homelessness assistance in the latest year, one in five had physical ill health and disability support needs.
It’s a growing issue – there were nearly 70,000 such households in 2024/25, up from around 40,000 four years earlier, according to Sky News analysis of government data.
This represents a 72% increase, more than three times the 20% rise in the overall number of households seeking homelessness support.
The number of homeless or at-risk households with a physical disability support need increased more than any other demographic over the period.
They now represent 21% of households, up from 13% of households in 2020/21.
Councils ‘not taking it seriously’
Sky News and housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa sent Freedom of Information requests to English councils asking how many people were waiting for accessible social housing, and how long they wait on average.
Their responses reveal a troubling lack of understanding of accessible housing needs in their areas.
Two in three couldn’t say how many people with disabilities were waiting, while four in five weren’t able to estimate how long they could expect to wait.
Kensington and Chelsea Council disclosed one of the longest waits among those who did respond.
It said people waited more than six and a half years for accessible social housing, a year and three months longer than for one-bedroom properties.
But we don’t have the full picture, as most simply couldn’t provide figures.
“The fact most didn’t provide data on this issue shows the lack of seriousness shown towards those with disabilities and their needs,” Mr Tweneboa said.
“All it takes is for any of us to have an accident and we may need those services.
“We also have an ageing population; no doubt more and more people are going to have additional needs,” he added.
There are five million more people in the UK with a disability than there were a decade ago, according to the government’s Family Resources Survey.
Mobility issues are most common, affecting just under half of those with a disability.
Home builders bypassing ‘very simple things’
“We currently do not have enough accessible homes here in England,” Millie Brown, deputy director for the homes team at the Centre for Ageing Better, told Sky News.
“We know that 20% of people are currently living with a disability, but only 13% of homes across England are built to accessibility standards which support them to live healthy and independent lives.
“Things such as step-free access to the home, a toilet on the ground level, doors that are wide enough to fit wheelchairs, for example.
“Very simple things that make it so disabled and older people can live in their homes independently.”
These criteria, alongside a ‘flush threshold’ – where the floor on either side of doorways are level – are outlined as the four basic criteria for accessibility, which 13% of homes in England meet as of the latest data for 2022.
It’s not always possible to retrofit existing homes to these standards, but campaigners argue they should be mandatory for new-build properties.
Plans under the previous government to raise accessibility standards for new homes never materialised and there has been a “lack of action from both the previous government and the current government”, said Ms Brown.
‘Couldn’t even get through the door’
Many councils told us they operate a “choice-based letting system” – meaning people waiting for social housing can bid for properties that suit their needs – but that they don’t actively monitor applicants’ accessibility requirements.
Constantly bidding for properties can be an exhausting process, especially for someone like Chrystal.
After her first eviction, when she was on North Hertfordshire’s housing register, she said she bid for over 100 properties but only secured viewings at six.
“None of them were accessible in any shape or form,” she said.
“In five of them I couldn’t get through the front door. Only one of the properties was adapted, but they told me my needs weren’t enough, so I was turned down.”
Now, she doesn’t even have the luxury of joining a housing register.
Because she moved to a different local authority in 2022 in search of housing, she is now ineligible for support in either her old area, where she hasn’t lived recently enough, or her new one, where she hasn’t lived for long enough.
‘Affordability problems compounded’
“The picture across the board is that it’s a struggle for everyone at the moment to find a suitable rented home,” Deborah Garvie, policy manager at Shelter, told Sky News.
She said the biggest difficulty is affordability, especially for those relying on housing benefit, which has been frozen and not kept up with inflation.
People with disabilities, or those caring for them, may be particularly affected as they are less likely to be working full time.
“There’s that big affordability problem which is likely to be compounded for people who either have disabilities themselves or have a household member with disabilities,” added Ms Garvie.
“And then on top of that you have the physical access problems as well.”
A parliamentary inquiry into disabled people in the housing sector ended earlier this year and the government has said it intends to set out policies on the accessibility of new homes soon.
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Cases like Chrystal’s are unacceptable and is why we are taking urgent and decisive action to ban section 21 evictions, build 1.5 million new homes and give people housing security.
“Through our Plan for Change, we will build more accessible housing so everyone has a home that meets their needs, alongside delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation backed by £39bn investment.”
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Broxbourne Council, which is responsible for housing in Chrystal’s area, responded: “At present, there are more than 1,600 households on the Housing Register.
“Ms Hendry has been provided with a personalised plan to support her to resolve her housing situation which acknowledges that specialist accommodation is required.
“It sets out what the council is doing to support Ms Hendry and also details other housing options that she can pursue.”
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Chrystal acknowledges the council has given her a plan, but argues it doesn’t provide any real solutions.
“I’ve been told numerous times that they have no housing in the area,” she said.
“They have told me to look for places to rent, but finding private rentals that I can live in is like finding a needle in a haystack – and even if I do, housing benefit won’t cover it.
“I’m lucky enough that I can advocate for myself, but there are loads of people in my position that can’t do that.
“Trying to wade my way through these broken systems is upsetting and frustrating. I get angry because it seems like nobody wants to fix the problem.”
Production and additional reporting by Emily Jennings, social affairs producer.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
