Moving house is supposed to be one of the most stressful events in life.

Well, to be honest, I’m trying desperately trying to move house.

I love my current flat but with Oxford rents being what they are and my salary being what it is, I begrudge giving over half my pay packet in rent to pay someone else’s mortgage.

I have got two awesome friends who I would like to live with and amazingly they also want to live with me, so we are ready to go.

This is all good news. That is, until we start searching for a flat.

You would think that Oxford is full of three-bed houses, what with all the students in town.

Well I suppose there are, but as a permanent wheelchair user I have very specific requirements. It’s the basics: eat, sleep and bathe. So my needs are a downstairs bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom downstairs (or a wet room) as I can’t use a normal shower.

Then there are the access requirements; you would not believe the number of houses that have steps into them. If it was one or two, I could ramp them, but three or four seems the norm. Once inside, it seems that different levels and tight corridors are typically Oxfordian. Hmmm.

Add to that the new HMO licencing to stop student ghettos (too late me thinks) and the few properties that do exist are off limits.

There is also a psychological element to the location. Often being disabled means that it is easy to feel isolated if the location requires you to be car dependant.

To me it is vital to be able to push to the shops. If you are able-bodied, a 10-minute walk or bike ride seems okay, but in a wheelchair the same journey can be quite arduous. This means I’m looking in all the desirable areas like Cowley and Iffley Road, Jericho, Summertown and Headington.

So how to proceed? I have visited letting agents who keep sending circular emails that just don’t suit – I can’t do stairs. Finding housing in the private sector is a nightmare if you have a severe disability.

As a single, 30-something guy I would love to live in a house share just like others in my situation, but despite the three of us trawling the net and visiting the agents, we remain no closer to finding a pad. Then I had my eureka moment. I write a newspaper column… This is the best classified ad ever.

We are three young(ish) professionals, looking in the areas mentioned. Ideally moving between January and March.

If you want to rent your house forever (as I will never move) then get in touch.