{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/accessible-homes-design-assurance-platform", "slug": "accessible-homes-design-assurance-platform", "title": "Accessible Homes Design Assurance Platform", "categories": [ "Accessibility", "PropTech", "Compliance", "Property & Built Environment", "B2B SaaS" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom" ], "category_urls": [ "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/category/accessibility", "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/category/proptech", "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/category/compliance", "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/category/property-and-built-environment", "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/category/b2b-saas" ], "region_urls": [ "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/region/united-kingdom" ], "problem_statement": "Accessible-housing requirements are often checked late, drawing by drawing and across separate planning, technical-design and building-control workflows. Unit schedules change, M4(3) homes can become clustered in less desirable positions, exceptions are weakly evidenced and a compliant planning schedule may not survive value engineering or construction change.\n\nLiverpool's draft Policy H12 would require almost all new homes to meet M4(2), with 10% M4(3)(2)(a) on schemes of ten or more dwellings and 10% of affordable-rented homes fully fitted to M4(3)(2)(b). The requirement applies across tenure and expects a mix of dwelling sizes, aspects and floor levels. This is a data and assurance problem as much as a design problem.", "audience": "- Disabled and older residents whose housing choices are restricted by inaccessible stock.\n- Wheelchair users and families needing suitably sized, located and fitted homes.\n- Architects, technical coordinators and housebuilders managing changing unit schedules.\n- Registered providers nominating residents and accepting completed homes.\n- Planning and building-control officers checking evidence under time pressure.", "evidence_summary": "Local evidence:\n- Draft Policy H12 requires M4(2) for new homes other than defined exceptions, 10% M4(3)(2)(a) on schemes of 10+ homes, and 10% fully wheelchair-accessible M4(3)(2)(b) within affordable rent.\n- The policy expects M4(3) homes across tenures and distributed by aspect, floor, view, unit size and type rather than concentrated as residual units.\n- Liverpool's housing-needs assessment identifies a need for 3,500 wheelchair-user homes and supports a 10% M4(3) requirement.\n\nWider evidence:\n- National guidance requires planning authorities to identify older and disabled people's housing needs and consider accessible, adaptable and specialist housing.\n\nCommercial implication:\n- Per-unit assurance is measurable, repeatable and valuable to developers, providers and authorities at several project gateways.", "demand_signal": "- An explicit percentage requirement creates a calculable compliance workload on every eligible scheme.\n- The identified 3,500-home wheelchair need shows a material gap between demand and suitable stock.\n- Planning conditions and building-control evidence create multiple paid assurance points.\n- Registered providers have a direct operational interest in correct fit-out and nomination-ready handover.", "competition_signal": "Current alternatives include manual design reviews, access consultants, Part M checklists, BIM rule-checking and building-control inspection. These services are trusted but often episodic and document-led.\n\nDifferentiation is a unit schedule that remains linked to requirements and evidence through design changes, plus portfolio analytics showing accessible-home delivery by tenure, type and location. Professional reviewers can use the platform rather than be displaced by it.", "suggested_solution": "A project workspace that imports a unit schedule and PDF or BIM drawings, calculates the M4(2)/M4(3) obligation, tests distribution and records evidence at planning, technical design, pre-handover and occupation. Changes to unit mix automatically expose compliance drift.\n\nA resident-nomination handover module can securely record which M4(3)(2)(b) homes are fully fitted and ready, without exposing health information to unnecessary project users.", "monetisation_angle": "Pricing classification:\nProxy based — medium confidence.\n\nIndicative pricing:\nIllustrative commercial model:\n- Project setup and rules configuration: £3,000-£8,000.\n- Automated assurance: £150-£400 per dwelling, with volume tiers.\n- Independent access-professional review: £1,000-£4,000 per block or gateway.\n- Developer or registered-provider enterprise licence: £30,000-£80,000 per year.\n- LPA portfolio and reporting licence: £25,000-£60,000 per year.\n\nEvidence basis:\nAccess Assure (£90 per user per year) is the closest verified adjacent anchor used here. Its buyer, duration and scope are not assumed to be identical; implementation is separated where the opportunity requires integration, assurance or managed delivery.\n\nCommercial test:\nAsk one housing provider, venue group, council or responsible design/operations owner to fund a paid test of Accessible Homes Design Assurance Platform lasting 8–12 weeks, using an opening price of £3,000-£8,000 and covering 10 live homes, venues or service journeys plus review by disabled users or an independent access specialist. Paid scope: A project workspace that imports a unit schedule and PDF or BIM drawings, calculates the M4(2)/M4(3) obligation, tests distribution and records evidence at planning, technical design, pre-handover and occupation. Charge by site, property, venue portfolio or organisation and compare the fee with specialist access-audit time, late design/operational rework and repeated user information requests. Measure verified access-information completeness, issues found before delivery, remediation lead time, user task success and false assurance. Continue only if at least 90% of required access evidence is complete, a material issue is caught earlier and disabled-user testing confirms the output is usable. Stop or reprice if a critical barrier is missed, users cannot rely on the information or specialist review/rework savings do not cover the fee.", "underserved_score": 85, "score_rationale": "Evidence 25/25 + severity 18/20 + buyer urgency 16/20 + market gap 11/15 + timing 8/10 + delivery feasibility 7/10 = 85/100. Confidence is 90/100 because policy thresholds and the 3,500-home need are explicit and the workflow is technically bounded; willingness to pay and professional-liability structure still require validation.", "score_scale": { "min": 0, "max": 100 }, "sources": [ { "name": "Liverpool Local Plan 2026-2043 - Policy H12 Accessible Homes", "url": "https://liverpool.gov.uk/media/rdgp1ab4/1-local-plan.pdf", "publisher": "liverpool.gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "Liverpool Strategic Housing Market Needs Assessment", "url": "https://liverpool.gov.uk/media/0i5fxb3m/strategic-housing-market-needs-assessment.pdf", "publisher": "liverpool.gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "Planning Practice Guidance - Housing for older and disabled people", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/guidance/housing-for-older-and-disabled-people", "publisher": "gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "UK Government - Approved Document M", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-and-use-of-buildings-approved-document-m", "publisher": "gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "Liverpool City Council - Inclusive housing design requirements", "url": "https://liverpool.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/inclusive-design/", "publisher": "liverpool.gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "Centre for Ageing Better - Accessible and adaptable homes", "url": "https://ageing-better.org.uk/accessible-and-adaptable-homes", "publisher": "ageing-better.org.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "Habinteg - Delivering more wheelchair-accessible homes", "url": "https://www.habinteg.org.uk/policy-blog/what-can-we-do-to-provide-more-wheelchairaccessible-homes-2254/", "publisher": "habinteg.org.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null }, { "name": "UK Government - Research on accessible building requirements", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-and-use-of-buildings-research-on-demographic-and-ergonomic-requirements", "publisher": "gov.uk", "source_type": null, "date": null, "note": null } ], "related_opportunities": [ { "title": "Critical Infrastructure Backup Power Assurance Platform", "slug": "critical-infrastructure-backup-power-assurance-platform", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/critical-infrastructure-backup-power-assurance-platform", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/critical-infrastructure-backup-power-assurance-platform.json", "underserved_score": 92, "categories": [ "Infrastructure", "Energy & Utilities", "B2B SaaS", "Safety & Security", "Rail" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom", "Greater Manchester", "North West England" ] }, { "title": "VCSE Contract Readiness Platform", "slug": "vcse-contract-readiness-platform", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/vcse-contract-readiness-platform", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/vcse-contract-readiness-platform.json", "underserved_score": 91, "categories": [ "GovTech", "Procurement", "B2B SaaS" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom" ] }, { "title": "Texas Data-Centre Audit Submission and Evidence Workspace", "slug": "texas-data-centre-audit-submission-and-evidence-workspace", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/texas-data-centre-audit-submission-and-evidence-workspace", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/texas-data-centre-audit-submission-and-evidence-workspace.json", "underserved_score": 91, "categories": [ "Compliance", "Energy & Utilities", "B2B SaaS", "Data & Analytics" ], "regions": [ "Texas", "United States" ] }, { "title": "Independent Cyber Assurance for Ofgem-Licensed Energy Operators", "slug": "independent-cyber-assurance-for-ofgem-licensed-energy-operators", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/independent-cyber-assurance-for-ofgem-licensed-energy-operators", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/independent-cyber-assurance-for-ofgem-licensed-energy-operators.json", "underserved_score": 91, "categories": [ "Professional Services", "Compliance", "Safety & Security" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom" ] }, { "title": "Drainage-Ready Planning and Development Copilot", "slug": "drainage-ready-planning-development-copilot", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/drainage-ready-planning-development-copilot", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/drainage-ready-planning-development-copilot.json", "underserved_score": 91, "categories": [ "ClimateTech", "PropTech", "GovTech", "Data & Analytics", "Property & Built Environment" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom" ] }, { "title": "Planning Social Value Delivery Exchange", "slug": "planning-social-value-delivery-exchange", "url": "https://undersrvd.com/opportunities/planning-social-value-delivery-exchange", "api_url": "https://undersrvd.com/api/public/opportunities/planning-social-value-delivery-exchange.json", "underserved_score": 90, "categories": [ "CivicTech", "Marketplaces", "GovTech", "Community & Social", "B2B SaaS" ], "regions": [ "United Kingdom" ] } ], "license": "https://undersrvd.com/data-license" }