A/72/128 for accommodation of disability and ensures access to community support. 47 Persons with disabilities should not be required to move from the centres of cities, where there are services and opportunities for participation in social networks and employment, to outlying areas, where opportunities for meaningful social participation are fewer, leading to isolation. 48 2. Affordability 52. The inability to afford adequate housing is frequently the greatest obstacle facing persons with disabilities in realizing their right thereto. They are more likely to live in poverty, and they have higher housing, equipment and health -care costs. Family income is reduced when a family member has to take on the role of support person. Inadequate levels of financial assistance and/or housing subsidies often make it impossible for persons with disabilities to obtain adequate housing and significantly increase the risk of homelessness. 53. Governments have obligations to remove not only physical but also financial and legal barriers to access to adequate housing for persons with disabilities. They must ensure the affordability of rents, utilities and other essential services, by providing the necessary financial assistance, such as through rental subsidies, and addressing barriers relating to rental contracts and ac cess to loans. 49 3. Availability of services 54. The availability of services is essential to independent living and agency over where and how to live in the community. Access to water and sanitation is a priority issue for many persons with disabilities. 50 In addition to the core services identified in general comment No. 4, States must ensure that persons with disabilities have access to a diverse range of services linked to living autonomously, as articulated in article 19 of the Convention, including in-home, residential and community support services. 51 Services should be matters of free choice for persons with disabilities, not linked to security of tenure or residency. 4. Habitability 55. Standards of habitability vary considerably with different impairments and must respond to both the physical and the social dimensions of housing. Persons with disabilities may find it difficult to build habitable homes in informal settlements and face challenges in relation to maintenance and repair. Protection against violence or abuse is also critical to ensuring habitability for persons with disabilities. Physical modifications may be required to ensure habitability, such as sound-proofing of apartments for persons with autism. 5. Location 56. Persons with disabilities frequently have critical needs in relation to the location of housing in order to ensure access to work, accessible transportation, support services and health-care facilities. Patterns of displacement of low-income communities to the peripheries of cities have disproportionately affected persons __________________ 47 48 49 50 51 16/23 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 7, para. 16; Basic principles and guidelines on development based evictions and displacement, A/HRC/4/18, annex I, paras. 32-33. Guiding principles on security of tenure for urban poor, A/HRC/25/54, para. 29. A/71/314, para. 13. UNICEF, “Good practices in the provision of accessible and inclusive WASH services — UNICEF country offices” (2015). A/HRC/28/37, para. 32. 17-11724