How much is … a safe home?

RoSPA says architects and developers could do more to prevent hazardous areas around the home by designing properties with safety in mind. "If we can gain the support of architects and developers, we can help them to adopt a safety ethos at the early stages of design," says Ian Gordon, housing policy officer for RoSPA.

"This is far more cost-effective than making modifications later on." Simple modifications to existing homes could also be of significant benefit, however.

Since low-income groups suffer the most accidents at home, RoSPA is focusing on social housing providers. The society has come up with 10 safety measures that tackle the principal domestic accident areas, and all the modifications should cost less than £900 to install (see "Safety Inc", below).

Stairs and indoor steps are the number one cause of accidents. Lowering treads on stairs will cut the chances of tripping, while a bend in the staircase reduces the distance of a fall. A staircase made in this way will take up more space, however – and modifying stairs in an existing home will cost about £250. Fixing points for stair gates in family homes will make the gates sturdier, preventing young children from using staircases unsupervised.

Ill-fitting carpets are the second most likely cause of accidents. Check the state of elderly tenants' carpets; mats can also cause trips and falls. Could you provide non-slip mats?

Scaldings can cause serious injury and each year about 450 children under five are hurt in hot water accidents. Most of these incidents happen in the bath, so the use of thermostatically controlled taps will drastically reduce scalding. Indeed, the government is so concerned about hot water accidents it is looking at bringing water temperature controls within the scope of the Building Regulations by 2006.

It costs about £70 to fit a thermostatic valve into a bath for a new home. Putting one into an existing property would be slightly more, because of the labour costs of dismantling the bath to get at its pipes. But it is an easy modification to make and the cost is negligible when refurbishing bathrooms anyway.

Lockable cupboards for storing medicines and chemicals are essential in family houses where there are young children. Existing cupboards can be modified by drilling and fixing a barrel lock for a nominal cost; for new kitchens, specify that at least two cupboards have locks.

Low-level window controls are a great help for the elderly. They reduce the need to lean across furniture and the window frame, and therefore curtail the chances of slipping. Restrictors on windows above ground level stop them flying open, possibly into someone's face. They would also reduce the incident rate of people walking into windows. Together, these measures cost about £135.

Grab rails by the bath and toilet and handrails on both sides of the staircase are another potentially life-saving help for elderly people. Rails can also be easily fitted to existing homes. They cost about £160 to put into a bathroom.

Accident prevention is not just about installing safety measures. Education about risks in the home is also important. Glossy magazines left lying around, shoes on staircases and the use of DIY tools cause thousands of injuries; a whopping 600,000 people need hospital treatment after colliding into chairs or other people.

"The need for landlords to raise tenants' awareness of potential dangers in the home is clear," says Gordon.