(In-)equality before the law - house adapting policy in Sweden

Övrigt konferensbidrag, 2018

In Sweden approximately one million individuals have some form of disability (Bonander et al., 2014),and a recent survey of Swedish living conditions found that disabilities are more frequently diagnosed in women compared to men, with the only exception to that being hearing loss (Swedish Agency for Participation, 2015). This paper will discuss the government policy regarding housing adaption in Sweden by combining two political perspectives: housing politics and disability politics.

In Sweden the process of residential adaptation is legislated and also the right to have support to enabling the individual to maintain an independent life, where the individual feels safe and has improved accessibility (The Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairment (LSS),1993; The Social Service Act (SoL), 2001). However, the interpretation of the law on a municipal level is still unequal, and not all those in need of or house adaptation are receiving it (The National Board of Housing and Planning, 2014; The National Board of Health and Welfare, 2015).

The paper will analyze court documents from Western Sweden related to appeals on house adaptions for the age group 18-25 years during 2010-2016. This selection also problematize The UN statement (2006) about “The right to life, freedom and personal safety’ for people living with disabilities”, the transaction from youth to adult and the importance of the first apartment as a part of independent living.

The aim is to highlight the discrepancy between- and within cases of approved/denied housing adaption in the court. The upcoming results of the study will contribute to a discussion regarding the relation between design and active living, but also the importance of design as a facilitator or hinderer for independency.