How to Request a Reasonable Adjustment from a Council Under the Equality Act

If a council service is not accessible to you because of a disability, health condition or other protected characteristic, you may have a legal right to ask them to change how they deliver it. That right comes from the Equality Act 2010 and it applies to every local authority in England, Scotland and Wales.

Most people have never heard of a reasonable adjustment request in this context. They think of reasonable adjustments as something that happens in employment, between an employer and an employee. In fact, the duty extends to any public body delivering services, and councils are squarely within it.

This guide explains what the duty means in practice, when you can use it, how to write a request that gets taken seriously and what to do if the council refuses or ignores you.

What Is a Reasonable Adjustment Under the Equality Act?

Under Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people where a provision, criterion or practice puts them at a substantial disadvantage compared to people who are not disabled. For councils, this means that if the way a service is delivered creates a barrier for someone with a disability or health condition, the council has a legal obligation to consider changing its approach.

The duty applies to how services are delivered, not just whether physical access is provided. It covers policies and procedures, communication formats, appointment arrangements, response timescales and the way staff interact with service users. A reasonable adjustment might be as simple as sending correspondence in a larger font, offering a phone call instead of an online form, or allowing a carer to act on someone’s behalf without requiring a formal power of attorney.

Councils are also subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act, which requires them to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity in everything they do. This is not a passive obligation. The duty is anticipatory, meaning councils should be thinking ahead about what adjustments are likely to be needed, not simply waiting for individuals to ask.

The duty is anticipatory: Councils should not wait for someone to experience a problem before considering adjustments. In practice, many do. If you have encountered a barrier, making a formal request in writing puts the council on notice that its current approach is causing a disadvantage and requires it to consider what can reasonably be changed.

Who Is Protected?

The reasonable adjustment duty applies specifically to disability under the Equality Act. A disability is defined in Section 6 of the Equality Act as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Long-term means it has lasted or is likely to last at least 12 months.

This definition is broader than many people expect. It covers physical health conditions, mental health conditions, learning disabilities, sensory impairments, neurodivergent conditions including autism and ADHD, and conditions such as cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis from the point of diagnosis. You do not need to consider yourself disabled in everyday life to meet the legal definition.

You do not need a formal diagnosis to request a reasonable adjustment, though having medical evidence makes the request easier to support. What matters is that your condition has the kind of effect described in the Act and that the council's current approach puts you at a disadvantage because of it.

You do not need a diagnosis to ask: Many people with genuine barriers to accessing council services do not have a formal diagnosis or do not think of themselves as disabled. If your condition substantially affects your day-to-day life and has done so for at least a year, you are likely covered. Ask anyway, in writing, and explain how the barrier affects you. The council must consider it.

What Kinds of Adjustments Can You Ask For?

Reasonable adjustments in a council context can cover a wide range of situations. Here are some real examples of the kinds of requests that fall within the duty.

• Communication format: Asking for all correspondence in plain English, large print, Easy Read format, audio format or email rather than post.

• Digital access barriers: Asking for an alternative to an online-only process if you cannot use digital services because of a disability.

• Appointment arrangements: Asking for home visits instead of office appointments, longer appointment slots, a quiet waiting area or a specific time of day that suits your condition.

• Response time: Asking the council to acknowledge your correspondence and respond in a format you can access within a reasonable timeframe.

• Communication method: Asking to communicate by phone, email or in person rather than through an online portal if the portal creates a barrier.

• Third party contact: Asking the council to deal with a named carer, family member or advocate on your behalf without requiring formal legal documentation in every instance.

• Language and complexity: Asking for complex documents such as assessment outcomes or decision letters to be explained in plain language or accompanied by a summary.

• Process adjustments: Asking for a longer deadline to respond to a consultation, provide evidence or return a form because your condition affects your ability to do this within the standard timeframe.

The test is whether the adjustment is reasonable in the circumstances. The council can take into account the cost, practicality and impact on others when deciding what is reasonable, but it cannot simply refuse without considering the request properly.

How to Write Your Request: Step by Step

A reasonable adjustment request does not need to be a long or complicated letter. It needs to be clear about who you are, what barrier you face, why that barrier relates to your disability or health condition, and what specific change you are asking the council to make. Here is how to approach each part.

Step 1: Address It to the Right Person

Send the request to the service team directly responsible for the issue, and copy it to the council's equalities team or equalities officer if your council has one. Many councils have a dedicated equality and inclusion team that can support or escalate reasonable adjustment requests. If you are not sure who to contact, the council's general enquiries team can direct you.

Step 2: State Your Disability or Health Condition

You do not need to go into extensive medical detail, but you do need to explain enough for the council to understand why their current approach creates a disadvantage for you. State the condition, describe briefly how it affects you in practical terms relevant to the situation, and explain the connection between your condition and the barrier you have encountered.

I have [condition], which affects my ability to [specific relevant function]. As a result, the council's current requirement to [specific process or practice] creates a significant barrier for me that does not apply to people without my condition.

Step 3: Describe the Specific Barrier

Be concrete and specific about what the current practice or process requires you to do and why that is difficult or impossible because of your condition. Vague descriptions of general difficulty are less effective than precise descriptions of the specific barrier. The more clearly you describe the disadvantage, the more clearly the council can see what needs to change.

The council currently requires all housing benefit correspondence to be managed through the online portal. My condition means I am unable to use digital interfaces reliably. I do not have access to support from someone who can assist me with this on a consistent basis. This means I cannot access information about my entitlement or respond to requests within the stated deadlines.

Step 4: State What Adjustment You Are Requesting

Be specific about what you want the council to do differently. A request that names a clear, practical change is far easier for the council to act on than one that asks them to figure out an unspecified solution. If you are not sure exactly what the adjustment should look like, suggest the most obvious option and invite the council to discuss alternatives if that specific approach is not possible.

I am requesting that all correspondence relating to my housing benefit claim is sent to me by post in standard print, and that I am provided with a named telephone contact at the council who I can call to manage my claim without needing to use the online portal.

Step 5: Reference the Equality Act

Referencing the legal basis for your request is not aggressive or adversarial. It is simply accurate, and it signals to whoever reads the letter that you understand the council has a legal duty to consider this properly rather than at its discretion.

I am making this request under Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage. I would be grateful for a response within 14 days confirming whether the requested adjustment will be made.

A Full Worked Example

The letter below brings all of the above together. It is written for someone with an anxiety disorder who is finding the council's mandatory online process inaccessible. Adapt the details for your own situation.

[Your name]

[Your address]

[Date]

Equalities Team / Housing Services[Council name and address]

Subject: Request for Reasonable Adjustment Under the Equality Act 2010

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to request a reasonable adjustment in how the council delivers its housing benefit service to me.I have generalised anxiety disorder and agoraphobia, both of which are long-standing conditions that substantially affect my day-to-day life.

Managing complex online processes and communicating with unfamiliar organisations in writing causes significant distress and in many cases I am unable to complete these tasks without support from a third party, which is not consistently available to me.The council currently requires all housing benefit enquiries and claim management to be handled through its online portal.

I am unable to use this reliably because of my conditions. As a result I have been unable to respond to a request for updated information within the stated deadline, which I understand may result in my claim being suspended.I am requesting the following reasonable adjustments:

1. That I am permitted to manage my claim by telephone with a named contact at the housing benefit team rather than through the online portal.

2. That all written correspondence is sent to me by post in plain English.

3. That I am given a reasonable extended deadline of 21 days rather than 10 days to respond to requests for information, to account for the time I need to manage the process with appropriate support.I am making this request under Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 and note that the council also has duties under the Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Act to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity.

I would be grateful for a written response within 14 days confirming whether these adjustments will be made. I am happy to provide further information about my conditions if this would help the council in considering the request.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name].

[Contact details]

What Counts as ‘Reasonable’?

The word ‘reasonable’ is the key qualifier in the duty. It means the council does not have to do everything that is asked, but it does have to take proportionate steps to remove the barrier. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, including the nature and cost of the adjustment, its practicality, whether it would cause significant difficulties for others, and the council’s overall resources.

In practice, most of the adjustments people genuinely need from council services are low cost and administratively straightforward. Sending correspondence by post, offering a telephone contact, extending a deadline or providing a document in a different format are all examples of adjustments that cost very little and are difficult to refuse on grounds of proportionality.

Where the council cannot provide the exact adjustment requested, it must still consider whether there is an alternative that removes or substantially reduces the disadvantage. A blanket refusal without considering alternatives is unlikely to meet the legal standard.

What If the Council Refuses or Does Not Respond?

If the council refuses your request, ask for the refusal in writing and ask them to explain their reasoning. A refusal that simply says the request is not possible without explaining why is unlikely to demonstrate that the council properly considered its legal duties. You can then raise a formal complaint through the council’s complaints procedure. If that process does not resolve the matter, you can escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates whether councils have followed the correct process, including whether equality duties were properly considered.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the statutory body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It can provide guidance on your rights and, in cases where a council appears to have a systematic failure to make reasonable adjustments, can take regulatory action. For individual disputes, the EHRC recommends starting with the council’s own complaints process and the Ombudsman route before considering other legal options.

If you believe the refusal amounts to disability discrimination, you can also seek legal advice about bringing a claim in the County Court. This is a significant step and is worth pursuing only after other routes have been exhausted, but it is an option where the council has clearly failed to comply with its legal duties.

Situations Where Reasonable Adjustment Requests Are Particularly Useful

Some council service areas generate a disproportionate number of situations where people with disabilities or health conditions encounter barriers. These are worth knowing about.

• Housing and homelessness: If your disability affects your ability to engage with the homelessness application process, attend appointments, respond to communications or access the bidding system for social housing, a reasonable adjustment request can change how the council handles your case.

• Benefits and council tax: If online-only processes, tight response deadlines or inaccessible correspondence formats are creating barriers to managing your council tax or local benefit entitlements.

• Social care assessments: If the assessment process itself is not accessible, for example if appointments are at the wrong time, in the wrong format or without appropriate communication support.

• Planning and consultations: If you cannot participate in a public consultation because it is only available online or within a timeframe your condition makes impossible.

• SEND and education: If communication from the SEND team is in a format you cannot access or if process deadlines do not account for your capacity to engage with the EHCP process.

• Environmental and licensing complaints: If reporting systems or complaint response processes are inaccessible to you because of your condition.

A Note on Getting Help With Your Request

You do not need to handle this alone. Free advice on equality rights and reasonable adjustments is available from Citizens Advice and from Disability Rights UK. If your request relates to a SEND or education matter, IPSEA provides specialist free advice. For housing-related reasonable adjustments, Shelter can help.

If you want help drafting a clearly structured reasonable adjustment request letter that references the correct legal duties and gives the council what it needs to act on it promptly, the team at LetterLab can help you get the wording right before you send it.

Checklist: Before You Send Your Reasonable Adjustment Request

1. Have you named the specific service or process that is creating a barrier?

2. Have you explained your condition and how it affects you in practical terms relevant to that barrier?

3. Have you described clearly why the current approach puts you at a disadvantage compared to people without your condition?

4. Have you stated the specific adjustment or adjustments you are asking for?

5. Have you referenced Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010?

6. Have you sent the letter to the right team and, where possible, copied it to the council's equalities officer?

7. Have you requested a written response within a defined timeframe, typically 14 days?

8. Have you kept a copy of the letter and noted the date you sent it?

One thing to remember: You are not asking for special treatment. You are asking for equal access. The purpose of a reasonable adjustment is to put you in the same position as someone without your condition, not to give you an advantage. That is exactly what the Equality Act is designed to achieve, and it applies to every council service in the country.

The Key Takeaway: You Have a Right, Use It in Writing

Councils are legally required to consider reasonable adjustment requests. They are not doing you a favour by accommodating your needs. They are meeting their legal duty.

A clear, specific written request that names the barrier, explains the connection to your condition, states what change you need and references the Equality Act gives the council everything it needs to act, and gives you a documented record if it does not. Most reasonable adjustments are straightforward to implement. Many situations that feel like obstacles are resolved with a single well-structured letter.

If the council refuses without good reason, the complaints process, the Ombudsman and the Equality and Human Rights Commission all exist to hold them to account. But in many cases, you will not need to go that far. A request that is clear, confident and correctly framed usually moves things forward on its own.

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