Sophie, a 29-year-old creative writer, blogger, and full-time wheelchair user living with cerebral palsy, faces sudden eviction from her adapted Southampton home due to urgent structural repairs. Despite being a disabled resident with clear accessibility needs – including ceiling-mounted hoists – she has not been offered any suitable alternatives, exposing the widespread failures in housing provisions for disabled individuals.

Sophie has been fortunate to maintain a flat in Southampton, which has been in her life for 16 years. Over time, the Southampton flat evolved into her refuge – a home away from home that offered a break from life’s pressures. In 2024, it became her full-time residence.

Since then, she has built a fulfilling life in the area, embracing writing, blogging, and reviewing. Her involvement with a fantasy writer’s group, which she initially joined and now leads, has been especially meaningful. Life in Southampton had settled into a slower, more purposeful rhythm for Sophie, with her writing community and emerging opportunities giving her a renewed sense of direction and hope.

However, that stability was abruptly disrupted when, in mid-June 2025, the residence management association issued a letter to all residents regarding urgent structural concerns. The letter, delivered outside her door on 10th June, informed occupants that due to structural fire protection defects compromising fire safety standards, the property required immediate repairs.

As a result, all residents living in the Mistral and Sirocco buildings at Admirals Quay, on Southampton’s Ocean Village, including Sophie, were being evicted. They were given until 22nd June to vacate the premises—barely more than a week to secure alternative accommodation and make arrangements to leave their homes behind.

Inadequate support and notice for a disabled resident

 

Speaking exclusively to Crip Life™, Sophie said: “I understand the circumstances are out of those in control and they’ve got to do what they have to do for safety and regulations but the notice was beyond the pale. I am a non-ambulatory wheelchair user who must have ceiling-mounted hoists for when I go to bed and for personal needs. I have other requirements, including the need for more than one lift and various preferences for the flat itself, but for now, the ceiling hoist is the crux.

“I understand this is important, but I have been given very little notice and it takes sufficient time, possibly months, to organise permissions for a ceiling hoist to be fitted in accommodation. The lack of notice hasn’t given us much time to make alternative arrangements.”

According to Sophie, when originally seeking assistance, the three companies, RMG (managing agents), ICAB (relocation company) and Barratt Redrow (builders) were “being very unhelpful in the matter, passing us between the three of them, passing the buck so to speak”.

When residents first received the notice of temporary eviction, a Barratt Redrow spokesperson, apologised for the disruption, saying: “We are working closely with the managing agent to support residents and provide alternative accommodation, at no cost to them, and are working hard to ensure the buildings are remediated as quickly as possible.”

Sophie revealed that the ICAB relocation company said there was not much they could do on reviewing the requirements, including the ceiling-mounted hoist, and would offer her money instead, which Sophie felt “was an insult”.

Sophie continued: “As per the original letter, they offered residents £50 a night to stay in a hotel on something that can take months, when they offered us money instead I was unsure whether the money they were offering us money on top of the £50 that was offered or the £50 as a staple. Excuse, more excuses and yes, more excuses.”

One-size-fits-all solutions fail disabled residents with complex needs

After a few days (Monday 16th June), the residents received further notice that ICAB was offering individual meetings to discuss alternative accommodation options with each resident.

Sophie said: “The few team members we spoke to were surprised to hear how long my family had had the flat and admitted they had dealt with only one case ‘like this’ in 28 years.

“I outlined specifically what adaptations and requirements I would need, specifically a ceiling-mounted hoist, one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom, and two lifts if my new apartment would be on one of the upper floors. The team admitted that it would take a lot of time to get the adaptations put in, and it could take months, and that’s if all the permissions are granted. There were mentions of hotels, but no hotel is suitable for me.”

Generally, hotels do not have high levels of disability access, with most only doing the standard, more room space and a bigger wet room with a standard shower seat, but that only fits a small minority of people’s needs.

Members of the disability community are all different individuals with individual needs, and even those with the same disability are affected differently.

“I don’t know how many times I could stress this matter, it’s like banging my head against the wall. Everyone with a disability is different, just like everyone outside the community”, stressed Sophie.

ICAB also suggested Sophie could move into a ‘care home’ in the meantime. Which Sophie found very humiliating:

“I was flabbergasted at their suggestion, I found it offensive, patronising and degrading. I think they were just racking their brains and concluded that a care home would have the appropriate facilities. After managing to curb my tongue, I said I wouldn’t want to do that if only temporarily and regardless, care homes do not even have the appropriate facilities, not even hospitals and outpatients do, which is ridiculous.”

While undertaking her mission, Sophie highlighted a critical gap in accessibility standards. As someone classified medically as level 4 for mobility (non-ambulatory), she observed that most public buildings – including hotels, shopping centres, and theatres – are only designed to accommodate individuals up to level 3 (ambulatory or semi-ambulatory).

This reveals a systemic issue: accessibility is often treated as a one-size-fits-all solution, where adding a lift or wider doorway is assumed to meet all needs. However, disability is not linear, and each person’s requirements vary significantly. Current regulations allow buildings to meet only the bare minimum standards, overlooking the full spectrum of accessibility required for genuine inclusion.

Ongoing advocacy from MP highlights failures in finding suitable accessible housing

Following a meeting with ICAB, Sophie contacted her local MP to raise concerns about the impact on her health and the discrimination she felt. The MP responded promptly, acknowledged ongoing issues with ICAB, and committed to following up. They also offered to contact RMG’s senior management to ensure Sophie’s case was addressed and that any alternative accommodation would include equivalent adaptations.

On 17th June, representatives from RMG, ICAB, and Barratt Redrow visited Sophie’s flat to assess adaptations. Despite her clear need for ceiling-mounted hoists due to medical conditions, a manual hoist was suggested.

However, Sophie explained to them that a manual hoist isn’t good due to scoliosis in her spine and other medical issues. She also would need two PAs, which her current budget doesn’t stretch to.

Sophie added: “I am also quite independent and other than personal care needs, my lifestyle would only accommodate one carer at a time, and why should I have to suit them. Even though I kept telling them this and reinforcing the point, I’m not sure they took any of it in.”

Even with all these challenges, her MP continues to advocate firmly, stressing ICAB’s legal duty to provide fully suitable, adapted accommodation.

Reflecting on the MP’s support, Sophie said: “I am very touched that they understood straight away and their offer to challenge RMG and ICAB to ensure they are going to house all residents and gain an understanding and knowledge of the different housing needs of disabled people.

“The MP has completely understood and respected my views, opinions and rights as a disabled person, that I know my own mind and disability and those involved… Just to say there is someone outside my friend and family circle who understands means so much!”

Fortunately, there was a little light relief on Friday 20th June, when a member of RMG came around and informed Sophie that the fire service had agreed to delay their eviction from the properties until Monday 7th July, but it will not be delayed again.

Although they did keep bringing up the two carers topic and about funding so Sophie had to keep repeating that it wouldn’t work and it could have lasting negative consequences on her health.
The member from RMG said that Sophie is still a high priority and would be in touch on Monday 23rd June. However, if they are unable to find her a suitable accommodation in this extended time frame, then Sophie is back to square one.

Sophie concluded: “I have a life in Southampton and personal and work commitments, and I am at a loss as to how I can uphold such due to health reasons and circumstances beyond my control. The situation is pure ableism and discrimination. I can not even fully put into words what effect it’s having on my mental health, and the increased chances of an epileptic seizure are very high, and then they will have a difficult situation to answer to.”

Have you had similar experiences to Sophie, in which you suddenly became addicted with no alternative accommodation available to fit your needs? Share your experiences and advice on how you dealt with it in the comments box, on social media or contact us to share your personal story.

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