Viewing a flat with accessibility needs: what changes

Not in that situation? Start with the general version: What to check when viewing a Spanish flat.

For readers who use a wheelchair, other mobility equipment or rely on nearby support. It shows what to measure and test at a viewing, which findings mean walking away, which only need follow-up, and what to do before you pay anything.

Key rules

• Shared parts: No step-free entrance, no lift where one is needed, or a lift too small for you or your equipment should make you reject the flat.
• Interior problems: A bathroom, fixtures or small thresholds that fall short are follow-up items, only if the landlord agrees to fix them in writing.
• Before paying: Do not pay or sign at the viewing; get any promised adaptation confirmed in writing first.
• Listings: An accessible tag on a listing is the advertiser's claim, so test the flat yourself.

Test the entrance and lift yourself, with your own chair or aid if you use one.

Findings that mean walking away (rejected)

Problems in shared parts of the building are very hard for a tenant to fix. Reject the flat if:

• there is no step-free entrance;
• the building has floors above the entrance level and no lift or ramp;
• the lift is too small for you or your equipment;
• there is no free space in front of the lift on a floor you need.

The exception is a written commitment from the owner or the community of owners to fix it. A verbal promise is not enough. Older buildings often fail these checks. A narrower lift is only allowed in an existing building when other solutions are not workable, so do not assume it will be accepted for you.

Findings that need follow-up

Mark the viewing "needs follow-up" if only the inside falls short. Examples are the bathroom, fixtures or a small threshold. Ask the landlord to agree to the fix in writing before you pay. A tenant with a disability, or who is over 70, may adapt the inside of the home after giving written notice. You cannot touch shared parts, and you must restore the home if the landlord asks at the end of the contract. The same applies when the person who needs the change is your spouse or a relative living with you and has a disability or is over 70.

Measure against reference sizes

These figures are design references for accessible homes. Existing buildings may fall short, so use them to judge how close the flat is.

• Bathroom: a free turning circle of 1.50 m, and space under the washbasin at least 70 cm high by 50 cm deep.
• Toilet and shower: 80 cm of free space beside each, a toilet seat 45 to 50 cm high, and a shower floor level with the bathroom floor (a slope of 2% or less).
• Terrace: a 1.20 m turning circle.
• Door clear width: at least 80 cm.
• Lift cabin: at least 1.00 m by 1.25 m for a single wheelchair user; with a larger powered chair or a carer in the lift, compare the cabin with your actual equipment. The lift should be an accessible model.
• Equipment: no standard covers storing or charging a powered chair, or fitting a hoist. Measure the space against your actual equipment and ask the landlord to confirm in writing that it is allowed.

Distance to the support you rely on

No rule sets a limit here. Work out the route yourself, with the real slopes and crossings, from the flat to your carer, clinic or pharmacy. Decide in advance how far is too far for you.

If no flat passes yet

Most listings are not step-free. Use a bridge stay while you keep searching:

• an adapted holiday house or apartment for the first 30 days, with the owner confirming the step-free entrance, lift and bathroom in writing;
• a temporary let with a documented reason for it, for stays of more than 31 days and up to 12 months.

Regional laws add accessibility rules of their own: in the Valencian Community, for example, a 0.80 m circle must be free in front of the lift door.

Families searching with children for an accessible home should also read Finding an accessible home as a family: what changes.