Unhousing the norm: Disabled people, pets and accessibility in the making of home

Home is more than a physical dwelling; it is shaped through relationships, routines and everyday practices. However, conventional approaches to housing and accessibility often overlook the interconnected experiences of disabled people and their pets. This South Australian study explores how disabled people and pets experience and co-produce home, and how housing design, accessibility and broader social structures shape their shared domestic lives. 

Drawing on critical disability studies, critical animal studies and the sociology of home, the research combines semi-structured interviews with disabled people and guided observations of their home environments. Reflexive thematic analysis examines how access, care, belonging and safety are negotiated through domestic spaces, material adaptations and everyday interactions. The overarching objective is to develop a relational understanding of accessibility that recognises both disabled people and pets as household members with their own needs and experiences, informing more inclusive approaches to housing and challenging the ableist and speciesist assumptions that shape domestic life.