Optional Extra - May 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.
From visitability to livabilityNew standards came into force on May 1st which aim to ensure domestic buildings (i.e. where people live) are more usable by, and accessible to, disabled people. Contained within the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, these are intended to recognise people’s changing needs, to result in more immediately accessible domestic buildings and to ensure homes are simpler to alter in the future.
Whilst there are many important changes, the most significant relate to access to housing, circulation space within it and access to its facilities. In particular, in certain situations, one room (an ‘apartment’) in a domestic property must be of a size that will enable a wheelchair user to access it. Access to toilet and washing facilities is also improved in certain circumstances. More detail on the individual changes can be found in this Scottish Building Standards Agency presentation which can be read in conjunction with the Technical Handbooks.
The standards themselves are functional standards rather than specific requirements. For example, the Regulations state that ‘in residential buildings, a proportion of the rooms intended to be used as bedrooms must be accessible to wheelchair users’. The Scottish Building Standards Agency's new Technical Handbook for Domestic Buildings 2007 gives guidance as to how these standards may practically be met by those building houses.
Differing opinionsWhat options does a disabled person have if they disagree with their occupational therapist’s assessment of their need? Can they ask for an independent review, or is the Council’s appeals process the only way?
We were recently contacted by an advice agency with just such a query. Their client believed that the access to their house, which had been ramped as part of previous works, was now unsafe following their need to use a powered wheelchair. Relations with the Council were at a stalemate and the client wanted an independent occupational therapist (OT) to review the case.
In situations such as this, a disabled person has no legal right to request that an independent review be carried out. A local authority may, however, decide that such a route is desirable to resolve the disagreement. Some operate internal review processes, asking OT staff from a different office to review contentious decisions. There may also be scope for asking a neighbouring local authority to carry out a review.
If a local authority is unwilling to commission such a review, or the disabled person doubts the independence of such a review, the disabled person could commission an independent OT assessment. Whilst not as common in Scotland as they are in England, independent OT services are available in Scotland, costing around £70 per hour plus expenses.
The disabled person would have to be able to meet the cost of this, and also accept that doubts may be raised by the local authority about the qualifications and independence of the person performing such an assessment.
In cases involving disagreements about the safety of access, it is important to establish whether the issue is one that is within the remit of an OT. Factors such as the safe design of ramping or the feasibility of widening doors may well be a building design or technical issue which is outside the scope of an OT’s role. The most appropriate person to review such a decision may therefore be someone from a local authority’s building control department or an independent architectural technician.
Ultimately, if a disabled person disagrees with the assessment of their need, or the solution proposed presented to meet it, the option remains to appeal the decision using the local authority’s complaints process. This process should always be followed to its final conclusion with the local authority’s Chief Executive. Only once this has been done can a complaint be made to the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman.
Complaints to the Ombudsman are free and the process is designed to be as simple as possible. They will not decide whether a decision is right or wrong, but will investigate whether the process taken by a public authority to reach a decision was correct.
This may be where a supportive independent assessment of need, or of the safety or feasibility of an access alteration, may assist a disabled person. Whilst the Ombudsman will not adjudicate on a decision, they may investigate whether a local authority should have taken into account the alternative view presented.
This area of law and practice in Scotland is not well defined and we’d therefore be interested in knowing what happens in your local area. Please email details of your local practice, or comments on this article, to optionalextra@ownershipoptions.org.uk.
Increasing the optionsOur invitation to run a workshop at the Care and Repair Forum Scotland’s annual conference is the start of what we hope will be a productive relationship with Care and Repair organisations.
Creating what we hope will be an ongoing relationship, we were invited to run a workshop at the Care and Repair Forum Scotland’s annual conference in April. This gave us a great opportunity to increase the knowledge of Care and Repair staff about the housing options for disabled people. Held at Dunblane Hydro, the conference was a great success with over 150 delegates and 15 exhibitors in attendance.
Help for homeowners at risk of repossessionCommunities Scotland’s Mortgage to Rent Scheme aims to help home owners, whose homes are at risk of being repossessed, to continue living in their home. Ownership Options has worked with Communities Scotland to ensure the Scheme reflects the particular circumstances of disabled homeowners.
Following a successful application, the scheme arranges for local councils or housing associations to buy homes, at the open market value, taking into account the costs of any repairs needed. The owner continues to live in the property as a tenant. Communities Scotland will fund the new landlord to make any necessary repairs so they can then charge a reasonable rent.
A household must meet all of the following 12 criteria in order to be eligible for the Scheme:
Before applying for the scheme, Communities Scotland will want to know that the home owner has sought advice regarding their current situation – there is always the chance that it is not necessary for someone to sell their home. Organisations including Citizens Advice Bureaux, the National Debtline and Money Advice Scotland can all provide such advice.
Communities Scotland will carry out an initial assessment of an application, to see if it meets the relevant criteria. If an application is considered eligible, a more detailed assessment will then be carried out. At this point, the most appropriate social landlord will be identified and a survey of the property completed. If the detailed assessment is positive, the process of selling the property will begin.
Following the sale of the property, the money received will be used to repay all of the loans that are secured against it. Any outstanding arrears will also be paid. Once the buying process is completed a rental agreement is signed and the tenant becomes responsible for paying the rent and for meeting any other conditions to do with the upkeep of the property. The right to buy back the property maybe gained after a 5 year tenancy.
You can find more details about the Mortgage to Rent Scheme on Communities Scotland's website
Peter's story Peter lived with his mum, Ann, in a 4 bedroom property which was ideal for his needs as a fulltime wheelchair user. Ann felt she would like to downsize as the current property was too large for the two of them. As Peter was 26 he was also keen to move to a property of his own so he could live independently. The property that Ann was planning to move to was much smaller and both the bathroom and bedrooms were upstairs, which meant Peter could not access either.
Ann got in touch with Ownership Options to see if we could advise Peter on what his buying options might be. Ann was planning to give him £50,000 as a capital gift from the sale of her current house, although this was not going to be enough to secure him a suitable property on its own.
His Occupational Therapist (OT) had assessed Ann’s new property as being unsuitable for his needs due to access issues and recommended that he would need a 2 bedroom, level access property in the same area. The second bedroom was for a future carer in the future should Peter require this.
As Peter was in receipt of Income Support he was able to apply for Income Support Mortgage Interest benefit to assist him to pay the interest on a mortgage of up to £100,000. With the help of Ownership Options and his local Independent Financial Advisor, Peter was able to secure a mortgage for £75,000 with the Scottish Building Society. With the capital gift from his mum of £50,000 and the new mortgage of £75,000 this gave him a total of £125,000. Peter also had £2,500 in savings which he would use to pay for Legal Fees and removal costs etc.
After a number of months of looking for a suitable property, Peter found a 2 bedroom, level access property being advertised for a fixed price of £128,500. Although this was slightly more than he had intended to pay the property was in an ideal location which meant he would be able to access all the local amenities he already used.
Ann agreed to increase her capital gift to £53,500 to allow him to be able to purchase the property.
Peter’s offer was accepted and he has now moved in and feels the property is ideal for his needs. It is also quite close to his mum’s new property which means she will be able to give him support if needed.
New faces and new challengesThis month we welcome two new advice workers, Christie Alldridge and Susie Fitton, and invite those of you interested in our work to join our Board of Trustees.
Christie and Susie come to us with a background in providing advice and assistance. Christie previously worked in mortgage lending and was most recently with a police agency advising on legality in relation to evidence gathering. Susie has experience working with a Citizens Advice Bureaux and joins us from the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.
If our work interests you, why not consider joining our Board of Trustees? Meeting quarterly, the Board defines our strategy in conjunction with the Director and is responsible for the governance of the organisation. Our current Board includes disabled and non-disabled people, and is a combination of people with experience of our service and people with valuable experience to offer.
Our Board member application leaflet contains more information.
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