Wheelchair friendly build?

[Chewbucca]

HI guys, just looking for some advice. I'm looking at building a minor dwelling at the back of one of my rentals. A mate said that I should look at designing it for disabled wheelchair access and that they are generally long term tenancies. I'm just trying to find out a bit more about this and have no idea where to start. Is there a demand for this and what have others experienced? The build location is in Christchurch. I've talked to the architect and he's quite happy to change the design for me, ie wet area bathroom, wider door ways, ramps etc. Many thanks in advance.

[Anthonyacat]

I love this as a concept - where do wheelchair-bound tenants live at the moment?

But you'd want to make sure the property is still attractive to fully-able tenants. Without experience in the area I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine the disabled tenant pool is quite small.

[Nick G]

Ask some local care providers. A wet area is a lot more expensive than a regular shower for a rental, so you would want to be able to get an extra $20 pw just to cover that extra cost. However it seems (on paper) like a great concept.

[Cpt707]

...next to their Ride-On-Mower...

[geoffm]

Nzs4121 and NZBC D1/as1 are on the MBIE website, which give the dimensions for ramps, showers and bathrooms etc.

It is a good idea to allow for disabled access, even if it is only to allow for an elderly tenant. Done well, it won’t put off a fully abled tenant. I like big accessible showers anyway.