Accessibility
Accessibility
This site is built toward WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Here is what that means in practice, what has been tested, where it still falls short, and how to tell us when something does not work.
Our commitment
Finding somewhere to live is difficult enough without a website getting in the way. We want this one to be usable whether you navigate with a mouse, a keyboard, a screen reader, voice control or a magnifier, and whether you are on a phone on a bus or a desktop with the text turned right up.
Accessibility is not a feature that gets finished. It is something that has to survive every change made to a site afterwards, which is why the checks behind this page are written down and repeatable rather than done once and declared complete.
In practice
What has been done
Each of these was checked across every page of the site, at phone and desktop widths.
Structure a screen reader can navigate
Every page uses real landmarks — header, navigation, main and footer — with one first-level heading and headings that descend in order. Navigation regions are individually named, so moving between them announces where you have arrived.
Everything works from the keyboard
Every link, button, menu, form control and disclosure can be reached and operated with a keyboard alone, in an order that follows the page. The desktop menus open on keyboard focus as well as hover, Escape closes them, and focus returns to the control that opened them.
Nothing depends on hovering
No menu, panel or piece of information appears only on hover. The header menus work on focus, and on a touch screen, and with JavaScript switched off.
A focus indicator you can actually see
Every interactive element shows a visible outline when focused. Its colour changes on dark backgrounds so that it stays visible against them rather than disappearing into the green.
Text contrast is measured, not estimated
Body text, headings, labels and links are checked against the surface behind them by rendering the colour and reading the pixel back, on every page and at phone and desktop widths. Gold is used for rules and ornament, never for body text on a light background, because it does not carry enough contrast to be read.
Colour is never the only signal
Where something is required, selected, current or in error, it is said in words or marked with a symbol as well as coloured. A form error is announced, not just outlined in red.
Forms are labelled and their errors are announced
Every field has a real label rather than a placeholder standing in for one, optional fields say so, hints are associated with the field they describe, and when a submission fails, a summary lists every problem, takes focus and links to each field.
Motion respects your settings
If your device is set to reduce motion, the site stops animating. Nothing moves, fades or slides on its own, there is no carousel that rotates by itself, and nothing flashes.
The page reflows instead of clipping
Zooming to 200% does not cut text off or force you to scroll sideways to read a line. Pinch-zoom is not disabled on phones.
A skip link, on every page
The first thing the keyboard reaches is a link that jumps past the navigation to the page content.
Being straight about it
Where it falls short
A statement that lists only strengths is not worth reading. These are the gaps we know about.
It has not been independently audited
The testing behind this page was carried out by the team that built the site, using automated tools and manual keyboard checks. That finds a great deal, and it does not replace an audit by an accessibility specialist or testing with people who use assistive technology daily. Neither has happened yet.
Some filtering needs JavaScript
Property, community and journal filtering runs in your browser. With JavaScript switched off those pages still list everything and remain readable — you simply cannot narrow them down.
Sending a form needs JavaScript
Submission is handled in the browser. With JavaScript off, the send button is replaced by direct phone numbers and email addresses rather than a button that would do nothing.
Property search is not connected yet
Live property data will come from an outside provider. When it is connected we will assess what it contributes to these pages, because we do not control how a third party builds its own interface — and we would rather say that now than discover it later.
If something does not work
Please tell us. A barrier you hit is one other people are hitting too, and we would far rather hear about it than not.
You do not need to know what caused it or what to call it. “I could not get past the menu with my keyboard” is a perfectly good report.
What helps us fix it faster
- The address of the page you were on.
- What you were trying to do.
- What happened instead, in your own words — a description is plenty; you do not need technical detail.
- If it is easy to say: the browser, device or assistive technology you were using.
What happens next
A person reads it — one of the two of us, not a ticketing system. We will come back to you, tell you what we have found, and put it right where we can. If something will take longer, we will say so and offer you the information another way in the meantime: over the phone, by email, or in whatever format is useful to you.
How this statement is kept honest
The checks described above are re-run against the whole site when pages change, and this page is corrected when a claim on it stops being true. It was last reviewed on .
Independent auditing and testing with people who use assistive technology are still to come. When they happen, what they find will be reflected here — including anything they find that we missed.