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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
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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!
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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
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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)
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..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.
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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
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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
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What did people want help with?
Focus for queries relating to individuals
Move-on
leaving family home
Planning for future
Family
Other
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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
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..as well as:
– legal issues (including legal capacity and the use of Trusts)
– getting support organised (finding appropriate providers, assessments and ‘care management’)
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‘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
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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
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• 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…..
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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
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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
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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
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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’.
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Or slightly less politely...
‘Someone who could have put a laxative up the bowels of social services would have been a boon’
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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
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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
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...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
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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
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…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
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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/