Optional Extra - June 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.
Landlord’s attitudes to disabled people
We looked at the right for private tenants to make reasonable adaptations to their property in the November 2006 issue of Optional Extra. This right was included in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Last December also saw the introduction of new rights for both social and private sector tenants through the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005.
The DDA 2005 introduced a requirement for landlords or managers of premises to make adjustments to policies, practices and procedures, and to provide auxiliary aids and services on request, for the benefit of disabled people. This built upon disabled people’s right not to be discriminated against in the letting of property included in the DDA 1995.
The Department for Work and Pensions recently published the results of research into the awareness of, and actions taken by, landlords in relation to these DDA rights. The researchers found that:
• There is a clear divide between the social landlords (local authorities and housing associations) and the private-sector landlords (letting agents and private landlords) in terms of policy, experience, and practice.
• Local authorities and housing associations had a good awareness of DDA legislation in general, although awareness of their duties as landlords was lower. There was very low awareness amongst the private-sector landlords of disability legislation, and little awareness of the new DDA duties for landlords.
• Local authorities and housing associations were making a wide range of adjustments and arrangements for disabled tenants which often surpassed the requirements of the new DDA duties; these included making physical adjustments to properties, adjusting policies, practices and procedures, and providing auxiliary aids.
• Letting agents and private landlords had made some adjustments to policies, practices and procedures on request. There were a small number of examples where landlords, (or letting agents on their behalf) had provided auxiliary aids, and there was generally a willingness to make adjustments, within reason.
• All landlords agreed that the key benefit of making adjustments was to enable their tenants to stay in their homes. Social landlords viewed this as part of their target to serve the diverse community. For private landlords the primary motivation was to keep tenants, as it guaranteed a regular income from their rent.
• The DDA duties for landlords were felt to have little potential impact on the social housing sector, although the DDA more generally had brought about a considerable change in policy and practice. Private landlords generally felt that the DDA duties would rarely apply to them.
You can read the full report on the Department for Work and Pensions website.
Understanding disabled people’s housing rightsDisabled people's housing rights are complex and wide ranging, spanning as they do both housing and social care law. Fortunately, there are two publications that can help you gain a better understanding of them:
• HomePointer 47: Access to Housing in Scotland - Rights for Disabled People is published by Communities Scotland’s HomePoint. It focuses particularly on the rights in relation to securing housing in all tenures, and also covers rights under community care law. You can download a copy of 'HomePointer 47: Access to Housing in Scotland' from the Homepoint website (but the link seems to be broken as of 3rd July 07)
• Using the law to develop and improve equipment and adaptation provision was written by Michael Mandelstam and published by the Scottish Executive. It gives an overview of the legal position in Scotland, as it relates to equipment and adaptations to housing. You can read 'Using the law to develop and improve equipment and adaptation provision' on the Scottish Executive website.
If these sources don’t help, and you’ve got a question relating to housing rights and disabled people, or a query as to the support available to disabled people on a housing issue, contact us and we’ll see what we can find out.
New network of disability and housing organisations
The Scottish Accessible Housing Network (SAHN) is the new umbrella body for organisations working on housing and disability issues. It was formed in March of this year with the aim of improving communication and joint working between such organisations. Its members currently include Aberdeen, Fife and Aberdeenshire Disabled Persons Housing Services, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living and Ownership Options.
Formed with a small amount of funding inherited from the now defunct Scottish Disability and Housing Network, SAHN specifically aims to:
• enable an exchange of information between organisations working on disability and housing issues
• disperse information and knowledge to the public, private and voluntary sectors about disability and housing issues
• encourage the formation of organisations to work on disability and housing issues
• advise and influence the approach of local authorities, UK and Scottish government departments and agencies in relation to housing and disabled people
The first plan for the organisation is to develop a website to link disabled people to housing assistance. The members are also keen to expand SAHN’s membership by encouraging current housing and disability organisations to join, and by assisting disabled people to start new organisations where none currently exist. For more information, contact SAHN’s Chairperson Richard Hamer, who is also Ownership Options’ Director.
Help with heating
Eamonn Hughes from South Lanarkshire Council was recently in touch with an interesting query relating to central heating. His local authority is getting an increasing number of requests for grants to replace central heating boilers that have come to the end of their life. The property owners are often disabled and have restricted means. He was interested in knowing whether there were any sources of support available to these owners.
There were two routes that seemed worth investigating. The first was the Scottish Executive’s Central Heating Programme, which offers support with the installation of heating but can also assist with repairs in certain circumstances. The second was Private Sector Housing Grant which funds improvements, repairs and adaptations to privately owned property.
The Central Heating Programme was launched in 2001 and provides central heating in the private sector where the householder or their partner is aged 60 or over and there is no central heating system or one that is completely broken down. Since 2004 the Programme has also funded the upgrading of partial or inefficient systems where the householder or their partner is aged 80. From January this year it has provided upgrades to those between 60 and 80 who are in receipt of the guarantee element of Pension Credit.
A broken system may be repaired rather than replaced where it is viable and cost effective to do so. Repairs costing less than £400 are considered to be the responsibility of the householder. If repairs are estimated to be between £400 and £750 the programme will bear the cost of the repair. If the estimate is more than £800 a replacement system will be installed.
You can download a Central Heating Programme flowchart that we’ve created to help you understand the process. More information about the scheme is available on the Scottish Executive’s website.
Private Sector Housing Grant is used to fund housing improvements, repairs and adaptations in the private sector. The design of the funding mechanism, and the pressures on the sums available, means that it not currently disposed to helping in situations where a disabled person under 60 has insufficient heating. The issue has, however, been noted by Communities Scotland and will be considered as part of the review of Private Sector Housing Grant.
In conclusion, there is considerable support to those over 60 without sufficient heating through the Central Heating Programme. Unfortunately, disabled people under 60 currently have little support from the grant programmes. Local Care and Repair organisations may be able to offer practical assistance to those looking to repair or replace their heating system – the Care and Repair Forum website contains local contact details.
Stephen’s story
Stephen came to us when he was in his early twenties. He is autistic and, following a history of exclusion from schools in Scotland, he had spent his teenage years in specialised institutions in England. Neither he nor his parents were happy with his placement at an English residential college which cost his local authority approximately £120,000 per year.
Stephen’s particular needs, in terms of the location, type and size of property required, meant that the socially rented housing sector could not offer a solution. He needed to live independently with 24-hour support and also needed lots of space. There needed to be clear separation within that space for different activities, so a large 3-bedroom property was required. His parents wanted Stephen to live close but not too close to where they live to help foster independence.
A partnership between Stephen and his family, his local Social Work Department, Ownership Options and Communities Scotland facilitated the purchase of an appropriate property in 2001. The property, with a garden to promote continued interest in things horticultural, provides the space and reasonable degree of privacy that Stephen requires.
The purchase was funded through a mixture of sources. The largest part (60%) was provided through a Bank of Scotland mortgage, which is repaid by Stephen through Income Support Mortgage Interest (ISMI) payments. The remaining 40% was funded by a mixture of Communities Scotland’s Special Needs Capital Grant and funding from Stephen’s local authority.
Bringing the story up to date, Stephen has now lived in his home for 6 years. Has it been a success for Stephen and his family?
When we contacted them Mary, his mother, described everything is ‘fabulous’! She couldn’t believe the huge difference in Stephen – he is much more settled and leads a very full life. The family had just returned from two weeks in a villa in Lanzarote where Stephen spent most of his time in the pool. Mary felt that it was a sign of the change in Stephen that she could relax and enjoy a family holiday too.
Stephen receives Direct Payments and employs his own team of carers, led by his brother Gary. They do have a problem finding good quality staff, and have on occasion been one team member short for a long period. Stephen requires 24-hour care – he doesn’t sleep well and wanders about at night.
There have been no problems for Stephen in meeting his mortgage payments, and the ISMI payments are working well. His parents organise any maintenance or repairs – either doing the work themselves or paying for outside contractors. They can see that this could be a problem otherwise, as it would be difficult to set aside sufficient funds to cover costs from within the benefits Stephen receives.
Stephen’s story demonstrates clearly how the right housing solution can help both the disabled person and the local authority. Stephen now has a full life that includes going to the gym every day, hill walking, playing golf and fishing. His family life is also significantly improved. This was achieved at the same time as reducing the cost of support to his local authority.
Updated disability statistics published
The Disability Rights Commission has just published its updated disability statistics. They include a wealth of information, with the headline figures showing that:
• One fifth of the total working age population are disabled
• The disabled population grew by 8% over the last 7 years, compared to a 2% increase in the non-disabled population
• 21% of Scotland’s population is disabled, the same proportion as found in the North West England and Merseyside. North East England, and Wales, have the highest proportions of disabled people at 25% and 24% respectively. London, the South East and East of England have lower than average proportions of disabled people at 17 per cent.
Read the Disability Rights Commission’s Disability Briefing May 2007 here.
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