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Housing OptionsA guide for family carers of people with a learningdisability

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Family Carer booklet A5.qxp_Layout 1 15/06/2016 11:19 Page 2

ContentsPage

Background ................................. 3

Support ........................................ 4

Assistive technology .................. 4

Housing options ......................... 4RentingSocial housing ........................... 4Private rent ................................ 5Buy To rent ................................. 5Help with the cost of renting a ... 5property

Home ownership Outright purchase ...................... 6Shared ownership ...................... 6Multiple shared ownership ......... 6Help with the cost of buying a .... 6property

Other housing options Supported lodgings .................... 7Nursing homes and .................... 7independent care homes

How do other people liveMark, John, Matthew ................. 8and MartinGary ........................................... 9John ........................................... 9

Planning for the futureSuccession rights ..................... 10Inheritance ............................... 10Discretionary trusts .................. 10

More advice and ........................ 11information

Housing OptionsA guide for family carers

of people with a learningdisability

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BackgroundThe Government says that peoplewith learning disabilities shouldhave more choice and controlabout where and how they live(Valuing People 2001).

A survey in 2011 showed thatabout a third of people in NorthLincolnshire with a learningdisability live with their family,usually their parents. Most saidthey were happy with this butsome said they were looking atother housing options.

This booklet is to help people tostart planning for future housingneeds. It describes some housingoptions and gives useful contactsto get more advice andinformation.

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SupportMost people can live successfullyin their own home with the rightsupport.

A social worker can help toassess what support someonewill need to live in their ownhome.

Support can be provided byfamily members and friends, or bypersonal Assistants paid from aPersonal Budget.

Assistive technology These are aids that can helppeople to live independently intheir own homes.

Examples are alarms to contactsomeone in an emergency,sensors that detect if there is aproblem in the home, such as afire, a flood, or if the temperaturein the home is too high or too low,and sensors that alert someone ifa person has a seizure or a fall.

There are also aids that can helppeople to manage healthproblems.

Assistive technology is notintended to replace peopleoffering support, but can workalongside them.

Housing optionsRentingSocial housingThere are a number of HousingAssociations with properties torent in North Lincolnshire. Thelargest is Ongo Homes who ownand manage the homes that usedto belong to North LincolnshireCouncil.

Most social housing in NorthLincolnshire is now advertisedand let through HomeChoiceLincs,an on-line choice-based lettingsystem. People looking for ahome need to register atwww.homechoicelincs.org.uk andfill in details about their housingneeds.

Empty homes are advertised onthe website each week andpeople who have registered canbid for properties they like.

HomeChoiceLincs is easy to use, but advice and assistance isavailable from Local Links andLibraries, from the HousingAdvice Team and from theHousing Associations.

Housing Associations usuallycharge lower rents and give moresecure tenancies than privatelandlords. But more people wantto live in social housing, so it maytake some time to get one ofthese homes.

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Private rentThese properties are owned bypeople or private companies.They are usually advertised inlocal newspapers or throughletting agencies. Renting privatelyis often a quicker way to find aproperty. It is important to checkthe type of tenancy being offeredby private landlords as they aresometimes not as secure asthose offered by HousingAssociations. However, rentingprivately can be a good way ofliving in an area where there is ashortage of social housing.

Buy to rentSome people choose to buy aproperty and rent it out to a familymember. They need to be surethe rent they will receive isenough to cover the cost ofowning the property, for example,mortgage repayments, buildingsinsurance, repairs andmaintenance. If the person claimsHousing Benefit to help pay therent, the Housing Benefitsdepartment will need to besatisfied that there are goodreasons for this arrangement andthat the property is let on acommercial basis.

Help with the cost of renting a propertyIf the person is on a low income, they may be eligible to claimHousing Benefit to help pay therent. To work out how muchbenefit is payable the HousingBenefits department have to lookat a number of things includinghow much income and savingsthe person has, who else is livingwith them, and the level of rentsfor similar properties in the area.

There are also rules about theage of the person who is renting.If they are under 35 they will onlyreceive Housing Benefit at thesingle room rate unless they areseverely disabled or if they needan extra bedroom for a non-resident carer.

If the Housing Benefit payable islower than the rent, the personrenting the property will have topay the shortfall. So beforesigning a contract to rent aproperty it is a good idea to checkhow much Housing Benefit theywill be awarded.

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Home ownershipIt is possible for people withlearning disabilities to own or part-own their own homes. Beloware some of the possible options.Outright purchaseIt may be possible to buy a homeoutright. There are specialistmortgage providers and brokerswho can assist people withdisabilities to get a mortgage. Afamily member may choose tobuy a property for a person withlearning disabilities and let themlive there rent-free.

Shared ownershipShared ownership is an option forpeople who want to own their ownhome but cannot afford the fullasking price or have little or nodeposit. The person takes out amortgage, and buys between25% and 75% of the property.The Housing Association ownsthe rest and the person rents thisshare.

Some Housing Associations haveproperties available for sharedownership.

It is also possible for a HousingAssociation to buy a propertyfrom the open market, and thensell it to an individual on a sharedownership arrangement. In thiscase the Housing Association willoften negotiate with the estateagent and complete the sale onbehalf of the individual.

Another option is for relatives ofthe person with learningdisabilities to fund part of theHousing Association share via aloan to the Housing Association.This is useful for families whohave some money to put towardsa property.

Multiple shared ownershipThis is similar to single sharedownership but several people splitthe cost of the property equallyand live there together. This canbe more complicated as severalpeople are involved. It is a goodidea to get legal advice and agreebeforehand what would happen ifone person wanted to move out.

Help with the cost of buying a propertyThe person buying the property will need to pay initial costs suchas solicitor’s fees, mortgagebroker fees, etc. These can addup to approximately £4000. Theywill also need to pay for repairsand maintenance when they havebought the property. In somecases the Housing Associationwill pay for repairs andmaintenance in exchange for anadditional service charge.

The person may be able to claimSupport for Mortgage Interest (SMI) to cover the mortgageinterest payment.

The rent element of a sharedownership property may be metby Housing Benefit. 6


Other housingoptionsSupported lodgingsThis is similar to privately renting, but the person lodges in thehome of another household, whoalso provide some support.

Nursing homes andindependent care homesThere are nursing homes andindependent care homes in NorthLincolnshire, run by privatecompanies or not-for-profitorganisations.

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Mark, John, Matthew &MartinMark, John, Matthew and Martinlive in a house in Scunthorpe,which they rent from a HousingAssociation.

Most of the people in the houseused to live with their parentsbefore moving in to this sharedhouse.

Support staff help with things likeshopping and cooking, planningdaily routines and budgeting.

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How do other people liveHere are some examples of people with learning disabilities in theNorth Lincolnshire area, how they live and how they are supported.This might give you some ideas about what might be suitable foryour family member.


GaryGary lives in a flat in Crowle. Heused to live with his mum butwanted more independence.

First he moved into a flat wherehe was supported to prepare forindependent living. There werefive other flats in the building.While he lived there, Gary gotsupport from staff with things likemoney, cooking and ironing.

Gary liked living at the flat as hehad his own freedom, but couldalso get support from staff. Itgave him the confidence andskills to move into his own flat inCrowle, which he rents from aHousing Association. He still getssupport when he needs it.

JohnJohn lives on his own in a flat inScunthorpe which he rents from aHousing Association. Before livinghere, John lived in anindependent hospital with lots ofother people but he decided hewould like to live moreindependently.

John likes having his own spaceand it is much quieter than wherehe lived before.

Support staff help John withthings like shopping andbudgeting. They helped him setup Direct Debits to pay his bills.John can ask staff for supportwhen he needs it.

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Matthew 1 John 2Mark 3Gary 4John 5


Planning for thefutureLots of people with familymembers with learning disabilitieswant to make sure that there areplans in place for the future. Beloware some of the things to thinkabout.

Succession rightsIf you live in a rented property with afamily member you may be able topass the tenancy of the property ontothem in a Will or by succession rightswhen you die. This depends on theirrelationship to you and on the type oftenancy you have.

If you are living in a HousingAssociation property and have a‘secure’ tenancy and your familymember has been living with you forover 12 months then they may beable to take over the tenancy if youhave no other living partner orspouse.

If you are living in a private rentedproperty and have a ‘regulated’tenancy then your family membermay take over the tenancy if youhave no other living partner orspouse. They would then become an‘assured’ tenant.

Succession can normally onlyhappen once, so if you received theproperty through succession then thismay not be possible. Speak to yourlandlord for more information.

InheritanceIf you own your own home and wouldlike to leave it to your family memberto live in after you die then you cando this by making a Will or setting upa Trust. You also need to considerhow they will pay for the maintenanceof the property.

Discretionary TrustsTrusts are a way of putting money orhousing aside for the future.Discretionary Trusts are particularlyuseful for leaving money for peoplewith a learning disability. Any moneyor property left in a Trust will notcount as capital for benefit purposes.This means the amount of benefit theperson receives will not be affected.This is especially important if theperson concerned is in receipt ofIncome Support Mortgage Interest(ISMI) to pay their mortgage interestpayments.

Trusts are particularly useful if aperson lacks legal mental capacity tounderstand or sign a contract.Trustees are appointed who can be afamily member, an independentperson, or professionals such assolicitors. Trustees manage the Trustand have discretion over what moneyis spent on.

Trusts can be complicated and it isrecommended that you get legaladvice from someone who hasexperience of setting up Trusts forpeople with learning disabilities.Mencap can give more informationabout setting up trusts or leavingmoney or property in a will.

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Thank you......to everyone who helped to producethis booklet.

For more advice and informationH&SA (Housing and SupportAlliance)0300 2010 455www.housingandsupport.org.uk

Mencap0808 808 1111www.mencap.org.uk

MySafeHome08000 121 333www.mysafehome.info

Housing Benefits01724 296131www.northlincs.gov.uk

Benefits Agency0800 055 6688www.dwp.gov.uk

HomeChoiceLincs01472 326296www.homechoicelincs.org.uk

Ongo Homes01724 279900www.ongo.co.uk

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