Apartment Living in a wheelchair

Duke · 01-25-2006, 11:38 PM

I've been curious about this lately, prolly since we have a guy who lives in our building who's in a wheelchair. I'm not sure which floor he lives on which prolly is at the root of this question.

When you depend on a wheelchair, walker or scooter, are you allowed to live on any floor other than the ground floor?

Merika · 01-28-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke

I've been curious about this lately, prolly since we have a guy who lives in our building who's in a wheelchair. I'm not sure which floor he lives on which prolly is at the root of this question.

When you depend on a wheelchair, walker or scooter, are you allowed to live on any floor other than the ground floor?

I don't see why not as long as there is a elevator in the building. During a fire...it could be a problem though if there was no one around to help you down emergency stairs.

Vautrin · 01-28-2006, 12:39 PM

I don't know about North America. Over here we have an army of civil servants who occupy themselves with housing. To make certain that noone rents too cheap (if you make $5K a month, renting a place that costs $350 is not allowed). Same with building plans, same with checks if there are enough safety measures in place, in case of fire, or a disaster.

Now, as the rules are extremely complicated the results are:
1. It is extremely expensive to get alternate housing, if you have disabilities. But that is grosso modo being paid by the taxpayer (and you can't blame the person with the disability for organized bureaucratism).
2. It often takes extreme amounts of time before a solution is found and implemented.

I think the answer is yes. Even here. But it is interesting to wonder if people who depend on a wheelchair, can get out of the building in time, in case of an emergency - when the use of the elevator is prohibited.

Duke · 01-28-2006, 12:45 PM

That's why I was wondering because in a fire you simply don't use an elevator and since there really is no such thing as a fire drill in apartments (at least none that I've ever lived in) handicapped people have to rely on the generousity and thoughtfullness of neighbors.

Merika · 01-28-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vautrin

I don't know about North America. Over here we have an army of civil servants who occupy themselves with housing. To make certain that noone rents too cheap (if you make $5K a month, renting a place that costs $350 is not allowed).

Most people who make more money CHOSE to live in nicer housing...but FORCING them to....just sounds wrong. How in the world does the government get by with that?

Vautrin · 01-28-2006, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merika

Most people who make more money CHOSE to live in nicer housing...but FORCING them to....just sounds wrong. How in the world does the government get by with that?

Until recently, the main owner of housing (and housing for rent) was the government itself, through all kinds of housing corporations. And the government has a strong say in what to build, and how expensive things may be (for rent). Add that to the legislative powers the government has and voila.

So they made plans to build x number of houses in the segment of say $300-$400 a month, y number of houses in the segment of $400-$500 et cetera. Oh yes, up until now the government also regulated the prices.

But the housing situation is weird here. If you have a mortgage on a house, the interest on that is tax-deductible. With the most benefits going to those who own the biggest houses anyway (because of progressive taxing, the benefits you get for tax-reduction posts like this become bigger).

And even if you rent a house, or an appartment, you tend to have rights for some support, unless you make so much money, that you could easily afford to buy a house. With the bigger benefits going to those who hire more expensively.

Merika · 01-28-2006, 01:27 PM

I could see in a smaller land mass where the government would probably have to regulate it or else everyone wouldn't have a place to live.

The interest on a mortgage is also deductible on your income tax here.

We have a lot of subsidized housing and apartments....but the crime is always high in those areas and it ends up looking all ghetto.