Home ownership in the UK for people with intellectual disabilities Ken Simons,Norah Fry Research...
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Transcript of Home ownership in the UK for people with intellectual disabilities Ken Simons,Norah Fry Research...
Home ownership in the UK for people with intellectual
disabilities
• Ken Simons ,Norah Fry Research Centre
• Based on report called ‘Pushing open the Door’.
• Supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Pictures by Change
A failure to give the right advice: the story of Mavis
• ‘I know they used to look after us - buy us clothes ad take us on holidays and all that - but, I wouldn’t want to go back there no more’– ‘Mavis Jones’ after leaving residential care
for own flat.
• Mavis had some money. We should have suggested she buy her home!
Some UK Housing Context
• Most (2/3rds) UK citizens own their own
home. There is little or no rented housing in some communities
• Government subsidies for home ownership for low income families…
• ..but there is still significant support for a ‘social housing for rent… and
• ‘Housing Benefit’ provides significant support for the rented sector
Some context and people with intellectual disabilities
• Very few people live in their own home
• Most public provision for people takes the form of ‘residential care:– congregate– provides fewer rights– housing and support entangled– relies on ‘special’ and limited funding
mechanisms (no Housing Benefit)
..and…..
• there is a significant shortfall in provision (of whatever form)
• the group that has probably lost out most are those who continue to live in the family home
• very few people have access to direct payments to manage the support they get at home.
Home ownership and people with learning difficulties• Most ownership through inheriting
property. But….• 1995- did find
– a couple earning enough to buy a home– a couple using welfare benefits to pay a
mortgage
• 1996- Nigel King’s Ownership Options report– six examples of different approaches to
home ownership
Housing Options • A small independent advisory service designed to
help open up housing and support choices for people with learning difficulties, providing:– information and advice to families, advocates, and
individual professionals supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities
– technical advice and consultancy for agencies interested in innovation
– families and other supporters organisations
What did people want help with?
Focus for queries relating to individuals
Move-on
leaving family home
Planning for future
Family
Other
Advice provided about:• a very wide range of issues…
• …but particularly…– ownership (including ‘shared’
ownership)– renting (tenancy agreements and access
to social housing)– Housing Benefit and the use of welfare
benefits to cover the interest on a home loan
..as well as:
– legal issues (including legal capacity and the use of Trusts)
– getting support organised (finding appropriate providers, assessments and ‘care management’)
‘Shared’ ownership?
• Part buying, part renting– An eligible individual approaches a housing
agency that offers shared ownership– he or she identifies a suitable property– the agency buys the property (usually
using subsidy)– and sells a share to the individual– the individuals gets a loan for their share,
and pays rent on the rest
The 4 keys issues and shared ownership
• Covering the costs of buying– combinations of help from families, ‘soft
loans’ from agencies (some ‘unofficial’), and some 100% loans
• Paying continuing cost of ownership– use Housing Benefit to cover rent– use additional welfare benefits (Income
Support) to cover the interest on the home loan
• Maintaining the property over the longer term– built-in relationship with housing
organisation – with the right legal agreements in place,
Housing Benefit may cover some maintenance costs
– Income Support may provide additional loans for repairs.
• Managing crises– very flexible with built-in risk sharing
Cont…..
and the disadvantages...
• To use benefit route you have to be eligible for Income Support– effectively rules out working unless earning
enough to replace most housing costs
• You are not the sole owner!
• The use of Government subsidies brings many restrictions
Outright ownership
• We did find a few examples (all in Scotland)– Combination of innovative agency (Inclusion
Glasgow) plus specialist advice had meant:• ownership used as part of closure of an
institution…• ...for people with very considerable support
needs• ...using ‘sleeping equity’ from a National Health
Service Agency
Some significant successes• By late 1999 able to identify around
a hundred individuals now owning homes, with expectations for more to follow– though much larger numbers coming through
‘programmes’, rather than individual professionals or families doing it on their own.
– risk that some people are in the programme because ‘its there’, rather than because home ownership is the best option for them
But...
• Equally clear that the provision of information and advice (no matter how good) will only take you so far:
‘Advice undoubtedly right in principle, but getting local services to accept it or act on it the problem’.
Or slightly less politely...
‘Someone who could have put a laxative up the bowels of social services would have been a boon’
Particular difficulties included:
• the complexity:– getting the housing sorted
(loan, benefits, buying costs, etc)– with a support provider – and a care manager...
…lined up in the same place, at the same time, and pointing in the same direction took a lot of determination and persistence
Other barriers:
• the lack of local information about what is possible (as opposed to available)
• a reluctance of commissioners to consider alternatives to residential care
• concerns about the costs/affordability of supported living
• lack of local expertise
...barriers (cont.)
• some ideological opposition to home ownership
• concerns about legal capacity
• worries about ‘unregulated services’
• little strategic planning for change
• direct payments still a limited option for people with learning difficulties
So….If we really want to change things we
will need to: – promote self-determination– develop more extensive independent
information and advice.– achieve some significant systems
change – ensure sufficient resources– use existing resources more flexibly and
efficiently
…and...– explore idea of mortgage products geared
to people’s needs– ensure the housing needs of people with
learning difficulties are reflected in housing plans
– promote better commissioning of support, including developing more effective strategic planning at a local level.
– explore and develop ideas through strategic demonstration projects
For further information
• E-mail me:– [email protected]
• or Nigel King:– [email protected]
• Web sites:– http://www.hoptions.org.uk/– http://www.paradigm-uk.org.uk/– http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/NorahFry/