Optional Extra - February 2007
Welcome to Optional Extra. Every month we'll update you about what's happening in the world of housing and disabled people and, of course, at Ownership Options. We'll be covering subjects such as the changes in legislation affecting adaptations, the roll-out of the Homestake homebuyers' scheme and developments in benefits-based mortgage lending for disabled people. Along the way, we aim to highlight cases of good practice as well as examples of the bariers faced by disabled people in their search for decent housing.
We welcome your comments, and suggestions for subjects to be covered in future issues, which can be emailed to optionalextra@ownershipoptions.org.uk. Feel free to forward the newsletter to your colleagues, who can subscribe by emailing us at the address above quoting "subscribe" in the subject line.
Single Survey to include an access auditScotland will soon become the first country in the world to require all properties bought on the open market to undergo an access audit. The audit, based on the Accessible Features defined and promoted by Ownership Options, will form part of the Single Survey which is expected to become mandatory in Scotland in 2008.
Speaking at Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living’s Right Housing, Right People, Right Choices conference on 19th February, the Deputy Communities Minister, Des McNulty, acknowledged the importance of such an audit to disabled people. The Scottish Executive believes that the Single Survey, which will be based on a Scheme 2 survey with additions such as the access audit, will make Scotland’s property market fairer.
The Accessible Features principle acknowledges that whilst everyone wants a home in the right place, with the right features at the right price, some will also value access features such as a lack of steps, a convenient toilet or handy parking. Accessible Features grew from research conducted by Ownership Options for the City of Edinburgh Council into how estate agency systems could highlight more accessible properties. This showed that there are 6 easily identifiable and measurable access facts that people want to know about a property.
These 6 criteria have been refined into the following questions, the answers to which will be recorded in the Single Survey:
Whilst these features are particularly beneficial to disabled people, most are also of great use to other people too. Older people in particular value a toilet on the same level as their living room and kitchen, to save them having to go upstairs. Parents with small children also value homes that are easier to access.
You can find more information about the Accessible Features as well as how to go about adopting them in your property letting or selling system at: www.accessiblefeatures.org.uk
You can also take part in Communities Scotland's consultation on the contents of the Single Survey.
New rights for disabled tenants - a landlord repliesFollowing our article on the new rights for disabled people in privately let property in the January issue of the Law Society’s Journal, we were contacted by the Church of Scotland’s General Trustees department. They were interested in some clarification in relation to the type of adaptations or equipment that may be required and who is expected to pay for them.
If you, like the Church of Scotland, are looking for an interpretation of the new duties on landlords, the Disability Rights Commission's Code of practice - Rights of Access: services to the public, public authority functions, private clubs and premises gives an authoritative (if complex) summary. It is applicable to both private and socially rented property and covers both the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended by the 2005 Act, and the relevant sections of the Housing (Scotland) Acts 2001 and 2006.
It is important to differentiate between the two new duties on landlords, the first of which requires a landlord to make reasonable adjustments in relation to property they let, and the second of which relates to a tenant’s right to adapt their let property to suit a disabled person.
Section 15 in the Code of Practice explains the first duty, which is enshrined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. This requires landlords to provide auxiliary aids and services; to change practices, policies and procedures; and to change terms of a letting where these are required by a disabled person. The cost of making any of these reasonable adjustments cannot be passed onto the tenant and must be met by the landlord.
Section 19 of the Code of Practice explains the second duty in relation to tenants who wish to adapt their homes. Those in socially rented properties are covered by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, whilst those in privately rented properties are covered by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The essence of the legislation is that landlords should consider, and not oppose, reasonable requests from their tenants to adapt their rented homes. The responsibility for paying for these adaptations rests with the landlord in the social rented sector, whilst tenants in the private rented sector must fund their own but may get grant assistance from their local authority.
You can read the Law Society Journal regarding disabled tenants' rights here.
Right Housing, Right People, Right Choices was the Right ConferenceFeedback from Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living’s (GCIL) recent conference on housing and disabled people has been very positive, demonstrating an increasing interest from housing professionals in meeting disabled people’s needs.
The conference, Right Housing, Right People, Right Choices provided an opportunity to hear the Deputy Communities Minister Des McNulty confirm the Scottish Executive’s commitment to equality and choice in housing for everyone. Jacqui Watt of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Mary Crearie of Glasgow Housing Association were also on hand to speak about the social housing provider’s role in relation to disabled people.
Workshops at the event included our own Richard Hamer talking about the use of Homestake by disabled people. Other subjects on offer included the Scottish Executive’s work on equipment and adaptations services in Scotland and Glasgow City Council’s perspective on housing disabled people.
There was also good coverage of the wide breadth of services provided by GCIL, with star billing for their new web-based housing database and allocation tool. Designed to better allocate the scarce resource that is accessible housing, the new database will go live in Glasgow in April 2007.
If you are interested in knowing more about this new system in Glasgow, or how it can be adopted in your area, contact Grant Carson on 0141 550 7464 or email him at grant@gcil.org.uk
The D's storyThe Ds contacted Ownership Options in April 2006 as their current housing situation was no longer suitable for their long term health needs. Mr D has limited mobility and uses walking aids when not using his wheelchair and Mrs D also has mobility difficulties. Their home was unsuitable as all 3 bedrooms and the bathroom were upstairs. Both Mr & Mrs D were finding it increasingly difficult to manage the stairs.
The Ds were assessed by an occupational therapist as needing a ground floor bedroom although they could have a further 2 bedrooms in the property. The extra bedrooms would be for storage and use by a possible carer in the future.
Unfortunately properties matching this description in their local area were much more than they could afford and were coming on the market for a minimum price of offers over £170,000.
Ownership Options advised Mr & Mrs D about their possible housing options at that stage. They decided they would like to go ahead with the pilot Homestake Open Market Scheme which is operating in Edinburgh & the Lothians. This scheme is aimed at first time buyers and people with particular needs. The person applying for Homestake pays between 51 – 80% of the price of the property and a Housing Association is given a grant by Communities Scotland to pay for the rest. The Homestake applicant is expected to maximise their income and, with the exception of £5,000 of savings that can be kept as capital retention, they have to invest as much as possible into the new property.
The Ds owned their home, which was valued at £95,000, outright. They had already arranged the sale of their home. They also had £6,000 of savings, £1,000 of which would be contributed towards the purchase under Homestake rules. We worked with the Scottish Building Society and the Ds' Independent Financial Advisor to secure them a mortgage of £25,000 on an interest only basis. Mr & Mrs D were both in receipt of Income Support and as a result they were able to apply for Income Support Mortgage Interest benefit to pay the interest component of the mortgage.
This gave the Ds a total of £121,000 to invest into a more suitable property. Their application for Homestake was agreed and they were given a “passport”. This meant that the Ds could go ahead and look for a more suitable property.
Once the Ds had identified a property, a survey was carried out and the report sent to the Housing Association who liaised with the Ds’ occupational therapist to ensure that it was suitable for their needs. They then contacted the Ds and told them they could go ahead and offer for the property which was being marketed at a fixed price of £198,000. This meant that the Ds would be putting in £121,000 (61%) and Homestake would provide £77,000 (39%). The Ds’ offer was accepted and they moved to their new home shortly after.
Buying a more suitable house using benefit income Ownership Options has long been associated with assisting disabled people without an income to gain a mortgage. The rule we most commonly use relates to someone who needs to move to a more suitable property and relies on state benefits for all, or the significant majority, of their income. In such cases much of the cost of buying can be met from the following qualifying benefits, in particular from:
A disabled person, or someone whose household includes a disabled person, who is eligible for one of the means-tested benefits above and needs to buy a property more suited to a disabled person’s needs may qualify for help with buying a house. This help comes in the form of additional benefits to cover the interest paid on a mortgage. The extra benefit is commonly known as ‘housing costs’ or ‘Income Support Mortgage Interest’ (ISMI) payments.
ISMI payments are normally a safety net for people who have an existing mortgage and who become unable to pay it when on means-tested benefits. When a need exists for a house more suited to a disabled person, however, a benefit claimant may be able to take out a new mortgage and receive assistance with the interest payable.
The source of this right to assistance is the Social Security (Income Support and Claims and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1995. Schedule 3 specifies the following:
S4 (7) …housing costs shall be met in any case where a claimant satisfies any of the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (8) to (11) below
S4 (9) ..The condition specified in this sub-paragraph is that the loan was taken out, or an existing loan increased, to acquire alternative accommodation more suited to the special needs of a disabled person than the accommodation which was occupied before the acquisition by the claimant.
It is important to note the following points:
Whilst a benefits-based mortgage based on the above rule can be a great option for many disabled people, the following issues should be noted:
Ownership Options Annual Report 2005-6Last year was busy and challenging for Ownership Options. Our Annual Report 2005-6 looks at some of our activities over the year.
Optional Extra is produced every month. If you would like to receive the newsletter please e-mail us quoting "subscribe" in the subject line.
If you no longer wish to receive the summary email, please email quoting "unsubscribe" in the subject line.