What to check when viewing a house if you have mobility needs

A standard house viewing is built for someone who can walk in, glance around and leave. If you have mobility needs, you need an accessible house viewing checklist that works differently: more time, sharper questions, and a tape measure. This guide covers what to arrange before the viewing, the measurements that matter once you are inside, and how to handle the conversation with the agent on your own terms.

It sits within a bigger search process — if you are still building your shortlist, start with how to find a wheelchair accessible home in the UK.

Before the viewing: buy yourself time

Standard viewing slots are short and often booked back to back, which leaves no margin if you need to set up equipment or move at your own pace. One wheelchair user described the problem on the accessible living blog Simply Emma: "We often ask if we can have more time just to be able to get our portable wheelchair ramp in place and get in and around the house. But we are usually told no because there are people before and after our viewing."

The fix is to change the booking, not to rush the viewing.

• Ask for a double slot, or the last appointment of the day, when you book. You are asking the agent to serve a serious buyer properly — nothing more unusual than that.
• Send questions ahead so the agent can check with the seller: how many steps to the front door, is there a step at the threshold, is there a WC on the entrance level, how far is the parking from the door.
• Ask for the floorplan and any measurements not in the listing before you travel.
• Plan a second viewing from the start. First viewings tell you whether the house is plausible; second viewings are where you measure everything.

The numbers that matter

These figures are the benchmarks used in UK accessible-design guidance, including the standards in Approved Document M of the building regulations, which sets out what "accessible and adaptable" and "wheelchair user" homes look like. They are benchmarks, not verdicts — your own chair, walker or transfer method sets your real requirements, so measure what works in your current home and carry those numbers with you.

A 15mm threshold can stop a wheelchair, and it will never appear on a floorplan. This is why the tape measure earns its place in your bag.

The accessible house viewing checklist, room by room

Getting in and parking

• How far is the parking from the entrance, and is the route level, firm and wide enough?
• Count every step on the way in, including the single "invisible" step at the porch.
• If there are steps, is there space for a compliant ramp later, or is the approach too tight?
• Is there a covered, lit spot at the door where you can wait, transfer or manage keys?

Hallways and doors

• Measure hallway width at the narrowest point — radiators and bannisters steal more space than photos suggest.
• Check whether doors open into the hallway or the room, and whether they could be rehung.
• Look at light switches and socket heights if reach is a factor.

Bathroom

• Is there a WC on the entrance level, and could the space take a wheelchair plus a closed door?
• Could the bathroom become a wet room — is it big enough, and is the floor construction suitable to ask about?
• Test the turning space honestly, with the door shut.

Kitchen and living space

• Can you get to the sink, hob and at least some worktop with space to position yourself?
• Is there a clear route between kitchen, living space and the accessible WC?

The garden and the rest

• Is there step-free access to the garden, or space to create it?
• If the home has stairs, are they straight (simpler for a stairlift) and is there somewhere a through-floor lift could go if you ever needed one?

What the photos will not have told you

Listing photos are marketing, and they are systematically kind to the features that matter least to you. Wide-angle lenses make narrow hallways look passable, entrance steps are cropped or shot from above, and thresholds, kerbs and slopes barely register on camera. The floorplan will not show a single one of them. So expect surprises on the day, and treat the viewing as the test the listing could not give you — we cover how to squeeze the most out of a listing beforehand in how to check any Rightmove listing for accessibility.

Before you book at all, you can also let Senso do a first pass: paste the Rightmove link and it checks the photos and floorplan for entrance steps, door widths, bathroom layout and turning space, and tells you honestly when the photos cannot support an answer. It is free, and it exists precisely so you spend your viewing energy on the three homes most likely to work.

Your access needs are requirements, not apologies

Some buyers and renters worry about mentioning a wheelchair at all. One Reddit user concluded after a bad experience: "My takeaway is don't mention the wheelchair basically and send my partner to view instead of me."

That instinct is understandable, and you are never obliged to share a diagnosis or a medical history with an estate agent. But there is a stronger position available: state your needs as requirements, exactly as any buyer states requirements. "I need step-free access and doorways over 780mm" belongs in the same sentence as "I need off-street parking and a south-facing garden". It is a specification, not a disclosure. Framed that way, it also works for you — an agent who knows your requirements can rule out unsuitable properties before you spend a morning travelling to one.

And if you prefer to keep it private, that is a legitimate choice too: a companion with your list of measurements can check everything on this page on your behalf.

Not sure what counts as genuinely accessible when agents use the word loosely? See what "wheelchair accessible" actually means in UK property listings.