Optional Extra - August 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.
How strategic is your local authority?Research has recently come to light which presents a worrying picture of seriousness with which local authorities view disabled people’s housing problems. Commissioned by Communities Scotland, the research investigates how Scotland’s 32 local authorities addressed equalities issues in their Local Housing Strategies (LHS).
As Communities Scotland's website explains
‘The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires local authorities to undertake a comprehensive assessment of housing needs and conditions, and to produce strategies to tackle the housing problems in their areas. Communities Scotland assess these local housing strategies (LHS) on behalf of Scottish Ministers.’
The research, which was conducted by ODS, investigated:
The research found that 23 of the 32 local authorities mentioned the needs of physically disabled people in their Strategy. Only half, however, had performed research into the extent of the problem. Worryingly, the researchers found that Borders, Clackmannanshire and the Western Isles failed to make any mention of physically disabled people in their Strategy.
The researchers also noted that many strategies failed to respond to the need identified with action. Only 20 of the 32 local authorities recorded an intention to improve the planning or delivery of services. 6 failed to make any plans at all. They highlighted one LHS which:
‘despite identifying a shortage of 1,018 units of wheelchair accommodation has no actions in either of the updates that seek to address the shortfall.’
It was not all bad news, however. 6 of the 32 local authorise (Aberdeenshire, East Dumbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire and Stirling) planned to develop additional accessible housing. Orkney and West Lothian described plans to adapt properties to meet the defined needs.
Whilst the majority of local authorities mentioned the needs of people with learning difficulties, the researchers found that Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian and Western Isles did not. Once again, only half had performed research into the extent of the problems faced by this equalities group.
The researchers found that 11 of the 32 LHS had no actions relating to the needs of people with learning disabilities. In particular, Glasgow and Inverclyde had identified shortfalls in the provision of suitable housing accommodation but did not develop any actions to deal with these problems.
Fortunately, 17 of the 32 LHS did plan to take some action to address the identified need, and in 8 cases this involved developing additional housing units.
The failure to identify need, and the lack of action to meet this need, may be exacerbated by the lack of consultation with disabled people undertaken by the local authorities. The researchers found no evidence of consultation with people with physical or learning impairments in 8 out of 10 LHS.
The full report Local Housing Strategies and equalities, ODS (2007), can be downloaded here.
Staying put in an adapted homeOur thanks go to Moray Council this month for raising the question, what options does a disabled person have to buy out the owner of the suitably adapted house in which they live? Whilst this may be a common problem, it is one of the hardest to resolve.
A disabled person may wish (or need) to buy the suitable home in which they live in situations such as those where:
We covered Communities Scotland’s Mortgage to Rent Scheme in the May 2007 issue of Optional Extra. This is only of use, however, if the homeowner is in imminent threat of repossession. Unless there has been a failure to repay a loan secured on the home the Scheme is unlikely to provide a solution in these cases.
There are two other approaches which could be tried, and in some cases, may be combined.
The first is available to disabled people in receipt of Income Support or Pension Credit (Guarantee Element) and Housing Benefit. Welfare benefit regulations permit these claimants to convert their Housing Benefit claim into a claim for mortgage interest payments on a mortgage up to £100,000. We know this as the ‘water to wine’ rule and discussed its use in the March 2007 issue of Optional Extra.
The second route is available to those in employment as well as benefit recipients. Communities Scotland’s Homestake scheme helps first-time buyers on low incomes buy a home in pressured areas. It is also flexibly designed in order to allow disabled people (whether first time buyers or not) to buy a home.
The Open Market Homestake scheme currently in operation in Edinburgh and the Lothians can help a tenant to buy the home in which they currently live. The disabled person would apply to the Scheme identifying their circumstances and particular housing needs. If eligible, they will receive a ‘passport’ which gives them permission to look for a house.
As long as the property in which they live is ‘marketed’, an application can be made to purchase the house in which they live from their landlord. The level of marketing required is flexible and can take into account the obvious benefit in enabling a disabled person to remain in a suitably adapted home.
Benefits-based mortgages are not an option for those wishing to buy out a partner or relative. The disabled person will not have been paying rent, and therefore will not have been a Housing Benefit claimant, and as a result cannot use the ‘water to wine’ rule.
Neither can the rule which allows some disabled welfare benefit claimants to receive additional benefit to pay the interest on a mortgage taken out to buy a more suitable home be used. This rule strictly requires the mortgage to be on a new home, no matter how suitable the current one is. You can find out more about the MASH (Moving to A Suitable Home) rule in our February 2007 Optional Extra .
Any welfare benefit experts out there may be wondering if another benefit rule applies. In some cases, Income Support and Pension Credit (Guarantee Element) claimants may be entitled to extra benefit to assist with the cost of a mortgage that is not in their name. This is designed to assist where the claimant could otherwise not remain in the house unless the interest on the mortgage taken out by someone else is paid. This is a complicated area that we'll come back to in another issue of Optional Extra.
The Open Market Homestake scheme could possibly be used to buy out a partner or relative but this is by no means guaranteed. It would certainly require negotiation with the Homestake agent and Communities Scotland (and/or the City of Edinburgh / Glasgow City Council when the house is in their area). The likelihood of it being possibly would depend on the extent of the disabled person’s needs, the availability of other options and the extent to which the house has been designed or adapted to suit their needs.
Whilst the Homestake Open Market Scheme is currently only available in Edinburgh and the Lothians, it is intended that the pilot will be extended to Stirling, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland by the end of 2007.
Single Survey consultees approve the access auditThe mandatory Single Survey, introduced through the Housing (Scotland) 2006 Act and related regulations, will provide prospective buyers with detailed information about the condition of a property before making an offer. It aims to cut the common and costly problem of multiple surveys and to provide buyers with more information on which to base their purchasing decision.
We successfully lobbied for the inclusion of an access audit within the Single Survey. The audit adopted is an enhanced version of the Accessible Features standard we developed and which is currently in use on the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre website.
Whilst there was some concern that those responding would see the access audit as an unnecessary expense, the truth was actually the opposite. Those that responded in relation to the access audit generally wanted to see information that is collected enhanced. As a result, some additional questions have been added and some adjustments made to other questions.
We believe that this will be the first time in the world that, apart from a few exceptions, every house made available for sale on the open market will be required to have an access audit. If any of our readers in other countries can confirm or dispute this we’d be happy to hear form you!
You can read the full report of the consultation ‘The Single Survey: Fairer for Everyone, a report on responses' on Communities Scotland’s website.
The Ds' storyMs D owned a small semi-detached two storey house in which she lived with her twin sons aged 10. Both boys are on the autistic spectrum with severe learning difficulties. Ms D had given up her job as a nurse to care for the boys who spend most of their time in the house. When she contacted us she was finding it increasingly difficult to manage the boys’ behaviour due to the lack of space.
A Housing Needs Assessment performed by an Occupational Therapist from Ms D’s local authority confirmed that the house was unsuitable even with an extension or adaptation. With just two proper bedrooms, and a small garden which was not secure, there was insufficient space for the children. The attached neighbours were also troubled by the twins’ behaviour, and this was causing Ms D further stress.
Ms D made enquiries about other housing solutions. There was a lack of suitable properties to rent in the area, either from housing associations or private landlords. There was also no suitable housing being built, or planned, within the local area under the Homestake scheme.
The family needed to continue to live in the same area as they have a good support network in the vicinity, including a number of health professionals, friends and family support for Ms D. The children are also well known in the community and are familiar with the local area. Any suitable property for sale in the area was above the family’s price limit as Ms D’s income is solely from welfare benefits.
Fortunately, Ms D was in receipt of welfare benefits that could assist her buy a more suitable property. We explained that, as an Income Support claimant, she could increase her mortgage to enable her to buy a house more suited to the needs of her disabled sons than the one in which they lived. Having gained confirmation from her local benefits office of their support for an increased claim, she applied for a larger mortgage from her existing lender. They agreed, but even with the equity from the sale of her existing property, she had insufficient funds to purchase a suitable house.
Ownership Options approached Ms D’s local authority to ask them to consider providing a grant to meet this shortfall, but this request was refused. An application for Special Needs Capital Grant was therefore submitted to the local office of Communities Scotland. This was successful.
Ms D was now able to resume her search, but due to the family’s need to remain in a specific area, it took several months for any suitable property to come to the market. In the meantime house prices increased so fast that Ms D’s family eventually had to assist her to buy. Fortunately, the house that she found was absolutely ideal for her family’s needs, both now and into the future. The family moved in 4 weeks ago and are very pleased with their new home.
Whose means are tested? Disabled people living in the private sector can get assistance with the cost of adapting their home from their local authority. Any such assistance provided through the Housing Improvement and Repair Grant scheme is, however, subject to a Test of Resources. Whose means are tested varies, however, depending on age and circumstances.
The general rule is that it is the disabled person whose income is assessed through the scheme. Where they live with a spouse or partner, the income of that person is included in the assessment. Basing the Test on the disabled person may provide an incentive to a family considering looking after a disabled relative but who are concerned about the cost of adapting their home. In such a case, only the disabled person’s income is assessed and not the family’s.
This will often result in a larger grant. A similar approach is taken where the disabled person is a tenant or co-owner. In both cases it is only the disabled person’s income that is assessed, along with their spouse/partner if appropriate, and not the landlord or co-owner. Note that a landlord can also apply under the same scheme for a grant to adapt their property to suit a disabled person but the financial assessment used is different.
The means test differs for disabled children under 16. In these cases, it is the applicant (and their spouse/partner’s) income that is assessed. The result could be that an applicant seeking grant for a child of 15 ½ may only receive the minimum 50% grant whilst an application made 6 months later for the same adaptation would be likely to result in 100% grant. The difference is a result of the parent/guardians being assessed in the former case and the disabled person being assess in the latter.
The means testing of the applicant in the case of children can also create problems in relation to long-term fostering. The result is that the foster parents’ income is assessed where grant is required for adaptations needed to enable a child to be fostered.
This acts as a strong discincentive to people fostering physically disabled children.
In the rest of the UK grants for disabled children are not means tested.
Following representations from Ownership Options, the method for assessing grant for disabled people unable to apply for grant changed in 2005. Such a situation could occur where a disabled person did not have the legal capacity to apply.
Prior to this date, if an application was made on behalf of a disabled person the legislation stated that the applicant’s income, and not the disabled person’s, should be assessed. This could lead to less grant being received than would have been the case if the disabled person’s income was means tested.
The only way to circumvent this problem was for a legal intervention such as Power of Attorney, Intervention Order or Guardianship to be made. There is a cost, and sometime significant bureaucracy, involved in organising these though.
Since November 2005, an application can be made on behalf of a disabled person and that disabled person’s be subject to assessment. The disabled person does not need to lack capacity; an application can be allowed on behalf of a disabled person if there is documentary proof that they wish the application to be made.
Note: the Guidance for Local Authorities On Improvement And Repairs Grants published by the Scottish Executive does not contain this change. You can read the Scottish Executive guidance in relation to applications on behalf of disabled people here.
Between 2008 and 2009, local authorities will be implementing a new grant scheme for adaptations. We will carry more on this story in our next issue.
Local authorities can, and in some cases must, provide grants to assist homeowners and tenants repair, improve and adapt their homes. The funding for these grants is provided by Communities Scotland, the Scottish government’s housing and regeneration agency.
The allocation of Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG), as this funding is called, to each local authority from Communities Scotland is decided primarily (70%) on the basis of previous expenditure. The other 30% is allocated on a variety of measures, one of which is prevalence of disability.
We have drawn together figures provided by the Scottish Executive’s Housing Statistics Branch to show how much PSHG each of the 32 local authorities spend on adaptations.
The conclusions that can be drawn are:
The graphs available are:
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.Disabled tenants and co-owners
Disabled children
Applicants without the ability to apply
Who spends what on adaptations grants?