A Place to live
A Housing Pathway for People with Learning Disabilities in Cumbria
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A Place to live
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A Housing Pathway for People with Learning Disabilities in Cumbria
This Pathway sets out the options that are available to help you find suitable
accommodation in Cumbria. It can be used also by Carers and Social Workers who
are advising people with Learning Disabilities on how to find a home. There are
links to others sources of help where you can get further advice and additional
information.
Finding a Home
Finding a home that meets your needs and in the place you want to live can often
mean making choices or decisions. For example, sometimes you may choose a
home that is right for you but it is not where you would have chosen to live.
To help you decide what’s best for you, it is important that you talk to people like
family and friends, as well as those that may provide you with care and support.
Help and advice is available from a number of organisations, like your local District
Council or a Housing Association. There are also a range of specialist housing
providers and advice agencies who you could contact. If you have a Social Worker
they might also support you in finding the right place for you to live.
Housing Options
There are many ways of finding a home but all depend on your circumstances.
Below are some of the choices people make:
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Living at home with your family
Living with friends or in shared accommodation
Having a home of your own
Living in a residential care setting
You might choose to own your own home or rent it from a landlord.
Your financial circumstances will influence where you live. For example, if you want
to own your home you will need to have the money to buy the property or be able
to get a mortgage. Many people decide to rent their home. If you are unable to
work, the cost of your accommodation is often met by Housing Benefit.
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It is important to bear in mind that to enter into any tenancy or mortgage
arrangement, you should be aware of your legal rights and responsibilities. Anyone
entering into what is a legal contract needs to have the mental capacity to make
such a contract. To apply for a tenancy you will need to be at least 16 years old and
at this age in most cases would need a guarantor. To sign a mortgage contract you
will need to be aged over 18 years old.
What if I want to rent a home?
You can rent a home from a social housing provider or a private sector landlord.
Rents tend to be cheaper from social housing providers like housing associations.
Social Housing and Choice Based letting
In Cumbria, most social rented property is let though Choice Based Letting which
has a web based system called Cumbria Choice, (with the exception of Extra Care
Housing).
To be part of the scheme, you will need to apply to the Common Housing Register.
There is only one application form and ‘customers’ are placed on the register, if they
meet the eligibility criteria.
Priority for housing is awarded through a ‘Banding’ system that places people in one
of four bands according to their housing needs.
The majority of properties available are advertised and customers are able to
exercise choice by registering an interest in the property. Customers are only able to
express an interest in properties that meet their requirements.
For example: An adapted property and some ground floor accommodation will only
be for people with medical needs and/or for older persons.
At the end of the advertising period a shortlist is complied, taking into account:
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the band of the customer,
the ‘effective’ date of application,
and any local connection.
Usual practice is that customers at the top of the shortlist are offered the property.
(Contact your local District Council for details)
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Private Sector Lettings
Private Sector rented homes are available through newspapers and letting agencies.
You will need to sign up to a private tenancy agreement once you have been
successfully accepted as a tenant by the landlord. The landlord will usually require
references.
You need to be aware the some private landlords may not accept tenants on
benefits and that local housing benefits may not cover the full cost of a private rent.
These extra costs will need to be met from your personal monies, as this will not be
met by statutory funding. Most private landlords will also want a deposit.
DiGS: Rent Deposit Scheme
Some landlords who have privately rented accommodation require a cash deposit, as
security against damage, before agreeing to a tenancy.
The purpose of the DiGS is to enable people with a low income to access such
accommodation by providing a guarantee rather than payment of the deposit. Speak
to District Council Housing Officer for more details.
Adaptations
You can get help to adapt any rented property but will need the landlord’s
permission first.
What if I want to buy my own home?
Properties are advertised through estate agents, online or in the newspapers. You
will need to have enough money to either buy the property outright or for a deposit
so you can get a mortgage. You will also need enough money to pay for the legal
and other work involved in the purchase of the property. Sometimes groups of
people decide to buy a property together.
If you want to use Housing Benefit to cover the cost of a mortgage, this can be
arranged through specialist mortgage providers. The Government has recently
reduced the interest rate which it uses to calculate payments towards interest on a
mortgage; this may in some cases mean that people will find it difficult to find a
mortgage or that their benefit payment is less than the interest charged on their
mortgage.
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Shared Ownership
Shared ownership is usually provided by a housing association. It is a way that
people on a low income can afford to buy a home.
The housing association buys the home with you. On the part they own, they will
charge you a subsidised rent.
You need to make an application for shared ownership directly to the housing
association – it will help give you priority if you are on the council housing register.
Adaptations
Help is available should you need any adaptations in the same way as if you were
renting a property.
What if I would like to live in specialist
accommodation?
There are various models of specialist housing which cater for people with particular
support needs. The housing model chosen will to take into account the level of
support needed and the resources available to meet those needs. Below are some
examples of what is available.
Extra Care Housing
In Cumbria, extra care housing is a type of sheltered housing that can offer on site
care and support for people, generally over the age of 55.
Extra care housing offers people the opportunity to live in a home of their own, even
when they have higher levels of care and support needs.
Extra care properties may be offered for rent or for sale, so some people are able to
continue to own their own home. If rented, housing benefit could cover the cost of
the rent. As with all tenancies, note must be taken of any extra service charges
such as hot meals provision, community lighting, up keep of the gardens etc. These
costs will need to be met from personal monies, as this will not be met by statutory
funding.
Individual schemes will operate their own allocation policies.
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/adultsocialcare/services/extracare.asp
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Adult Placement
Adult placement is a flexible service providing care to vulnerable adults over the age
of 18 who are assessed as being eligible for Social Care services. This care is
provided in the homes of adult placement carers and can be on a short or long term
basis.
Living with adult placement carers gives the opportunity to live an ordinary domestic
life as part of your local community where you could maintain contact with friends
and relatives.
Foster carers for children who wish to continue supporting a person into adulthood
may decide to register as adult placement providers
Homestays (originally known as supported lodgings)
Homestays are a form of temporary supported accommodation for vulnerable and/
or homeless people who are not yet ready to live independently for a variety of
reasons e.g. leaving care, mental health etc.
Homestay Schemes recruit and support a network of local people who rent a room in
their home and offer varying levels of support to the lodger. This support maybe of
an emotional or practical nature, (e.g. assistance in gaining daily living skills).
Schemes can be provided and managed by the voluntary sector, housing sector,
housing associations or local authorities nation-wide. The aim of such schemes is to
provide a safe and supportive environment for the lodger and the opportunity to
develop skills necessary for independent living.
Shared Living
Shared living is an option available to share the costs of renting or owning a
property and it’s running costs. Personal budgets are also shared to meet the core
support costs – this helps to enable people to achieve community living where
resources may not sufficient to enable people to live alone.
For people with more complex care needs who require support provision during the
night (24 hour care), it is expected that a minimum of 3 or 4 people will need to
share a 4 or 5 bed property in order for the combined resource allocation to cover
the cost of the support required.
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Accommodation can be accessed through housing associations or private landlords
as previously outlined. Telecare can be utilised to maximise resources and help you
to be more independent.
Where people share a tenancy, consideration needs to be given regarding
contingency plans for remaining tenants to cover any vacancy costs, relating to the
housing rental and shortfall in care costs. These will need to be agreed prior to
taking on a tenancy via the contact manger in Adult Social Care, as any shortfall in
funding cannot be met by statutory funding.
On occasions it will be necessary to access housing which is not available through
the usual routes due to mobility requirements, unpredictable and challenging
behaviour and a requirement for a higher level of staffing.
Housing Associations may purchase and adapt properties for such client groups.
They may require a Housing Management Agreement. In Cumbria, Housing
Management Agreements will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances. This will
be led by the Commissioning and Contracting Group.
Accommodation Based Care (better known as Residential Care)
For people with complex needs requiring high numbers of staff to provide support. It
maybe that accommodation based care (residential care) is the most appropriate
setting to meet assessed needs.
Adult Social Care meets the costs of accommodation and board with care once
ability to continue has been established through a financial assessment. It must be
noted that people living in these settings receive reduced welfare benefits which
reflect the higher support levels.
Other Specialist Services
In a minority of cases there will be individuals who cannot have their needs met in
residential care; it may be deemed necessary for individuals to access specialist
services. Specialist services will be commissioned on a case by case basis, this
includes out of area placements for those who’s needs are so specialist that they
cannot be met within Cumbria
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What happens if I need support at home?
Adult Social Care will make an assessment of the support you might need and use
Fair Access to Care guidelines to decide who might need help.
Fair Access to Care (FAC) guidance provides councils with social services
responsibilities a framework for determining eligibility for Adult Social Care services.
The eligibility framework is graded into four bands as follows:
 Critical
 Substantial
 Moderate
 Low
NB Cumbria prioritise those people with the substantial and critical needs
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/eLibrary/Content/Internet/327/946/40315
102927.pdf
Following an assessment by Cumbria Adult Social Care to identify assessed needs,
individuals are given an indicative resource allocation from which to plan their
support. They can choose who helps them to develop their support plan.
Whilst people can choose their accommodation, people will need to work within their
indicative resource allocation when planning their support; as any shortfall in funding
may not be met by Adult Social Care. When your plan is agreed your funding is
referred to as your resource allocation or personal budget.
Someone with low to moderate needs will not be eligible to receive support from
Adult Social Care, however may be able to receive other services from the Council.
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Telecare
Community alarms plug into your telephone line and come with a call button which
you can attach to yourself or your clothing. Using the button, you can summon help
from anywhere in your home.
Telecare is the name for more advanced community alarm services and can have
more sensors than community alarms so it can detect things like fires and smoke,
carbon monoxide and natural gas.
Telecare sensors can help you stay independent by monitoring when you are at
home, such as if you stop moving or have a fall. The Telecare call handling centre
will respond if there is a problem. The call handling centre offers a 24 hour a day, 7
day week service.
A range of other equipment is available to support you in your home and to support
your carers.
Your local Telecare provider can give your more information about the types of
sensors available and how they work.
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/adultsocialcare/services/telecare.asp
Help with adapting my home
If you need adaptations to your home, help is available from Adult Social Care and
your local District Council. Get in touch first with Adult Social Care for an
Occupational Therapist assessment to be made of what changes to your home might
be needed.
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/adultsocialcare/services/ot/help.asp
Supporting People
Cumbria Supporting People are part of the Cumbria County Council and may provide
revenue funding for the provision of housing related support services such as
floating support and community alarm services within the scheme.
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What help is available to pay for my housing costs?
Housing Benefit
If you are receiving benefits or have a low income you would usually be entitled to
housing benefit which will cover some or all of your rent or mortgage, depending on
your circumstances; you will also get help with paying your Council Tax.
There are some restrictions on the amount paid by housing benefit, though any
decision on the level of benefit must take special housing needs into consideration.
Some landlords charge higher rents than others – this is usually because they
provide extra services or facilities for tenants with disabilities - and this extra cost
may be paid for by Housing Benefit, but decisions are made on an individual basis.
The Government has recently made a number of changes to the rules on Housing
Benefit.
From 1 April 2011 the Government plans to:
• end the maximum £15 weekly Housing Benefit excess that some customers
can receive under the Local Housing Allowance arrangements
• remove the five bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate so that the maximum
level is for a four bedroom property
• introduce absolute caps so that Local Housing Allowance weekly rates
• The Government also intends to make a change to help disabled people who
have a carer who stays overnight but who doesn’t normally live with them.
The change means that your Housing Benefit will take into account the cost
of an additional bedroom providing you rent a property which has a bedroom
for your carer.
From October 2011 and beyond the Government plans to:
• reduce all Local Housing Allowance rates so that about 3 in 10 properties for
rent in the area should be affordable to people on Housing Benefit (currently
5 in 10)
• There is to be a raising of the age from 25 to 35 at which Housing Benefit will
pay for separate one bedroom accommodation.
Changes from April 2011 to April 2014
• The deductions made from Housing Benefit will be gradually increased if there
is an adult living in your household who you do not claim benefit for. An
example would be a grown up child.
Weblink :Shelter's summary of the changes to local Housing Allowance
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/housing_benefit_and_
local_housing_allowance/future_changes_to_local_housing_allowance
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What happens if you lose your home and become
homeless?
The first place to get advice is your local District Council.
In 2-tier local authority areas like Cumbria, the statutory duty to deal with
homelessness rests with the District Councils as the local housing authority.
The District Council may or may not have a duty to provide individual people with
housing. However in all circumstances the Council will offer advice and assistance.
The Housing Acts of 1977 and 1996 and the Homeless Act 2002 placed statutory
duties on local housing authorities to ensure that advice and assistance to
households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness is available free of
charge. A “main homelessness duty” is owed where the authority is satisfied that the
applicant is eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and falls within a
specified priority need group.
Priority need groups include:
 Households with dependent children
 Pregnant women
 People who are vulnerable in some way. This includes people with a learning
disability
 Applicants aged 16 or 17
 Applicants aged 18 to 20 who were previously in care
 Applicants vulnerable as a result of time spent in care, in custody or in HM Forces
 Applicants vulnerable as a result of having to flee their home because of violence
or threat of violence
Where a main duty is owed, the authority must ensure that suitable accommodation
is available for the applicant and his or her household. The duty continues until a
settled housing solution becomes available for them or some other circumstance
brings the duty to an end. Where households are found to be intentionally homeless,
or not in priority need, the authority must make an assessment of their housing
needs and provide advice and assistance to help them find accommodation for
themselves.
For a young person who is 16 or 17, Children’s Services or Connexions will also
provide help if they become homeless.
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Further Sources of Help and Advice
Allerdale
Borough
Council
http://www.allerdale.gov.uk/housing.aspx
01900
702570
Barrow
Borough
Council
http://www.barrowbc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=55
01229
876491
Carlisle City http://www.carlisle.gov.uk/housing/housing_advice.aspx 01228
Council
817000
Copeland
Borough
Council
http://www.copeland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1961
0845 054
8600
Eden
District
Council
http://www.eden.gov.uk/housing/
01768
817817
South
Lakeland
District
Council
http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/services/housing.aspx
0845 050
4434
Cumbria
County
Council
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/adultsocialcare/default.asp
01228
606060
Advice web sites
In Control
www.in-control.org.uk
0156 482 1650
Housing Options
www.housingoptions.org.uk/
0845 456 1497
Citizens Advice Bureau
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Mencap
www.mencap.org.uk/
01768 868854
Shelter
www.england.shelter.org.uk/
0808 800 4444
Age Concern
www.ageuk.org.uk/
0800 169 6565
People First
www.peoplefirstcumbria.co.uk/ 01900 607208
Cumbria Choice
www.cumbriachoice.org.uk/
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Glossary
These words >> mean this
Adult Placement
You will live as part of a family. Care is provided in the homes of carers and can be
on a short or long term basis.
Assessment of need
Completed by a social care practitioner in partnership with you to identify your social
care and support needs and your eligibility for support from Adult Social Care.
Carer
Someone who helps look after you. They might be a relative, a friend or a
neighbour. You may also receive support from a formal carer who is paid to provide
support.
Contribution
Amount of money you may be asked to contribute towards your personal budget
following a financial assessment.
Eligibility criteria
National guidelines which say how Adult Social Care should decide who is eligible for
services. There are four levels of need: critical, substantial, moderate and low. In
Cumbria, Adult Social Care provides services to meet the critical and substantial
levels of need.
Extra Care Housing
A type of sheltered housing that can offer on site care and support for you.
Fair Access to Care
National guidance on how councils should work out who is eligible for services.
Financial Assessment
An assessment of your finances used to work out what, if any, your contribution
should be.
Indicative Resource Allocation
An indication of the amount of money available to meet your social care needs.
Housing Benefit
Is paid by the local district council who pay the rent to the landlord for people on a
low income.
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Personal Budget (or Resource Allocation)
An agreed amount of funding from Adult Social Care that you can spend on the
services and support detailed in your support plan.
Residential Care
Is in a home run by a business providing accommodation together with personal
care.
Shared Living
A way to share the costs of renting or owning your home with one or more people.
Shared Ownership
A way of owning your own home and sharing the costs with a housing association.
The housing association buys the home with you and then charge you rent. It is a
way that people on a low income can afford to buy a home.
Social Worker, social care worker
People who work for Adult Social Care. They carry out assessments of need and
work with you to ensure your social care and support needs are met.
Statement of need
A summary of your assessed social care needs that Adult Social Care have a
responsibility to meet.
Statutory Duty
A duty which someone must perform which is laid down by the law.
Support Plan
A plan you produce (with help if needed) to show how you will use indicative your
resource allocation and other resources to meet your assessed needs.
Telecare
Advanced community alarm services such as alarm sensors which detect things like
fires and smoke or monitor sensors which detect if you stop moving or fall.
Tenancy Agreement
An agreement between you and the landlord with rules such as you agree to pay the
rent of £xx every Thursday and that you will keep your home clean. You should be
supported in understanding what the agreement says before you sign the tenancy
agreement.
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