What are my housing options as a home owner? Expand If you own your own home there are two main options to consider, adaptations or moving. It may be that your home can be adapted to suit your needs and you may wish to remain in your home and do not want to move, however it is important to be realistic. Adaptations can be very costly. If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). An Occupational Therapist (OT) can conduct an assessment and refer you for a DFG for the adaptations you require. However, the maximum it can fund is £25k in N. Ireland, £30k in England and £36k in Wales and this may not cover the estimated cost. A DFG is also means-tested so your income and any savings over £6k will be taken into consideration when applying. See further info below on Adaptations and DFG. It may be more beneficial to sell your current property and purchase one which is already adapted or can be more readily adapted to suit your needs. You can still receive a DFG on your new property provided you meet the means-tested element, any equity left after purchasing your new property will be taken into consideration. If you cannot afford to remain in your current property, then you will need to approach your local council for advice and assistance. Your options would depend on the equity you have available and could be social housing, downsizing or shared ownership. If you do not know who your Local Council is, please check using this website: Find your local council - GOV.UK
What are my housing options as a social housing tenant? Expand If you are a current social housing tenant, it is important that you do not relinquish your tenancy, even if you believe your property is inaccessible. Relinquishing your tenancy may negatively affect your future housing options. A community Occupational Therapist (OT) can complete an assessment of your home and your accessibility needs. This specialist assessment will inform whether adaptations are required and whether they can reasonably be carried out. Following the OT assessment, a report will be provided, which can be used as evidence to support requests for rehousing or adaptations. The OT will advise whether adaptations are possible or whether rehousing should be considered. Your social landlord will need to agree to the adaptations. Unfortunately, there are occasions where a Housing Association may refuse to carry out adaptation works. If adaptations are not feasible, rehousing options will need to be explored. To maximise housing options, we advise that you approach your local council as well as joining the internal management transfer list (if the Housing Association has one). If you are unsure whether your property is owned by a Housing Association or the Local Authority, this can usually be confirmed by checking who you pay rent to, as this organisation will be your landlord. If you do not know which local council you fall under, you can find this information via the following website: Find your local council - GOV.UK
What are my housing options as a private renter? Expand If you are a current private tenant, it is important that you do not relinquish your tenancy, even if your home is currently inaccessible. You do not have to be living on the streets to be legally considered homeless. You may be classed as homeless if you are disabled and unable to return home because your property is no longer accessible to you. If you are in a Spinal Injury Centre, you should speak to your Discharge Officer or Case Manager, who can assist you with making a homeless application to your local council. If you are not in a centre and do not have the support of a Case Manager, you will need to contact your Local Authority directly to ensure they are aware of your situation and to make a homeless application. Private landlords are not legally required to allow major or structural adaptations to their property, although they must allow minor adaptations, such as grab rails or small modifications. Where landlords do permit major changes, such as converting a bathroom into a wet-room or adapting a kitchen, they may require you to restore the property to its original layout when you leave. While you can apply for funding to complete adaptations, there is no funding available to reverse these changes, so it is essential to check with your landlord before committing to any major works. If your landlord will not agree to adaptations, or if the property cannot be adapted, it is important to speak with your Local Council to get yourself and your family on the housing list. Not everyone is eligible for social housing, and your council will be able to advise you on your eligibility. While your Local Council does not have a legal obligation to house you, it does have a duty to provide advice and assistance in finding a new home. The level of support they can provide depends on your personal circumstances. They will first consider whether you have a local connection to the area. They will then look at your financial situation, including income, savings, whether you could afford to buy a property, or whether a suitable property can be found for you through private rent. The council will require supporting evidence for your housing application. If your housing needs are minimal for example, if you require a property with minimal steps and a standard shower rather than a full wet-room it is unlikely that you will be eligible for social housing on this basis, or you may be given low priority, as these types of properties can usually be found in the private rental sector. If you do not know which local council you fall under, you can find this information via the following website: Find your local council - GOV.UK
What are my housing options if I live with family? Expand Living with family If you currently live with your parents or other family then there are a few things for you to consider. It may be that you wish to remain as part of the household, in which case your options will depend on the nature of your family’s owner/occupier status. Please see Owner, social housing or private rent, for further information. It is important to bear in mind that if a property is adapted for you by the council or you have received a Disabled Facilities Grant, there are certain conditions attached. You may have to pay back some of these funds if you were to move from the home within 5-10 years, or you may be ineligible for a grant on any other property you move to within 5-10 years. So please do think carefully as to whether you see living with family as a temporary or long-term solution. If you do not wish to remain as part of the family home then please approach your Local Authority for advice and assistance. If you are financially able to purchase a property you will not be eligible for social housing.
How do I apply for social housing? Expand Each Local Authority have slightly different processes, and you will need to contact them directly for advice on their application process. There are rules as to where you can apply and you must have a local connection to that area to be accepted. For more info on Local Connection see below. It is best to discuss your options with the housing team in person, or over the phone if possible. Advise them of your disability and need for accessible housing and any issues you may face with their standard procedure. All Authorities must take your needs into account and ensure they have an application procedure which is accessible to you. When completing your application, it is best to be as honest as possible and advise fully of your circumstances. Compete the medical questionnaire in full and supply any supporting evidence such as a letter from your GP, Social Care assessment and Occupational Therapy assessment.One of the important things to remember is that while your Local Authority does not have a legal requirement to house you it does have an obligation to help you by giving you advice on finding a new home. What their obligation is will depend on your personal circumstances. The first thing they will look for is whether you have a local connection to that area. They will then look at your financial situation, whether you could afford to pay market rent, or buy your own home. They will also look in-depth at your income and savings. You will be required to provide evidence to support any Housing application (ID, bank statements, medical evidence etc).
Should I make a homeless application or a general housing application, what’s the difference? Expand You do not have to be living on the streets to be considered homeless. You may be legally classed as homeless if you are disabled and unable to return home because your property is no longer accessible, or if you are living in your own home but it is not suitable for you to live in independently. If this applies to you, it is important that you make a homelessness application. There are three stages to the homelessness process: Prevention Duty – At this stage, the Council will work with you to try to prevent homelessness from occurring. Relief Duty – If homelessness cannot be prevented, the Council will take steps to relieve your homelessness. At this stage, you may be offered temporary accommodation. Main Duty – This is the final stage. If the Council accepts Main Duty, it means they have accepted full responsibility for rehousing you. Adapted temporary accommodation is limited. If you are accepted as homeless, the Council has a duty to ensure you have somewhere to stay temporarily. Due to the shortage of adapted accommodation, the Council may sometimes make a “Homeless at Home” decision. This means you will remain in your current accommodation, but the Council accepts that you are legally homeless. You will therefore be given priority, and alternative accommodation will be offered when suitable housing becomes available. The Council may also assess whether you are eligible to be included on the housing register for permanent housing. To maximise your housing options, it is strongly advised that you submit a housing register application alongside your homelessness application. If you think you may be considered homeless and you are currently in a Spinal Injury Centre, you should speak to your Discharge Officer or Case Manager. Alternatively, you can contact your local authority housing team, who can help you understand your current housing situation and needs.
What does Local Connection mean? Expand To have a local connection, you usually need to have lived in the area for a set period of time. This time period varies from Council to Council. Depending on the Council, they may also accept the following as evidence of a local connection: Close family connections in the area (usually immediate family who have lived in the area for a considerable amount of time) The need to move in order to give or receive support Employment in the area To find out more about your Council’s local connection criteria, please refer to the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy. This is usually available on the Council’s website, or you can request a copy directly from the Council. If you do not have a local connection with the Council you have applied to, they may require you to apply to a different Council where you have a stronger connection. There are exceptions to the local connection rule. For example, if you are fleeing violence, you do not need to meet local connection criteria. Please note that the Council will usually require evidence if you are fleeing violence.
Returning from abroad/Foreign Nationals Expand If you are not a British citizen, you will need to get advice on what housing rights you have. This can be complicated to resolve but they will need to look into where you are from, how long you have been living in the UK, what type of visa you entered with and what your current status is. If you are British, you have the right to return to Britain at any time. However, it does not necessarily give you the right to access social housing and services. If you have been living abroad you will need to check on your rights, right to reside and determine if you have a ‘local connection’ to the borough you wish to return to. You may need to pass the “habitual residency test” to prove this. They will look at the reasons around why you left, what the purpose was for your leaving and whether it was your intention to leave the country to emigrate. The habitual residency test will be used to establish where you are deemed to be residing. If you should fail this test then you will not be eligible to apply for social housing and you will need to look for a temporary housing solution while you build up time back in the UK. Once you re-establish your residency rights you will be able to reapply for social housing. The Housing Advice service is not able to provide any immigration advice. If you need Immigration Advice please see website below: Find an immigration adviser: Search for an adviser - GOV.UK
I have received confirmation I’m on the register but want to check my information is correct Expand When your application has been assessed they should inform you in writing of the decision, which should include confirmation of: Property type and bedroom allocation (1,2 bedroom etc.) Your level of priority either by banding (e.g. Band A,B,C /1,2,3 or similar) or points allocation (e.g. 150 points) Your accessible property level (e.g. level 1-fully accessible) Please ensure that you have been provided with all of the above information, and if you disagree with their decision, then the letter will contain advice on how to appeal the decision or how to advise them of any inconsistencies. Please note there is usually a set time period to request a review of the decision (usually 21 days). Please note, sometimes your medical questionnaire will be assessed separately to your application. If your banding, bedroom entitlement or level of need looks incorrect, check if the letter states the medical questionnaire is being assessed separately. If it does, then this may not be your final banding and will be updated once your medical questionnaire has been assessed. If you are in any doubt or are unsure if they have received your medical questionnaire, contact your housing team to clarify this and ensure they are assessing your information correctly. For further information regarding banding/points, please refer to the Council’s Allocation Policy which can be found on the Council website.
How many bedrooms am I entitled to? Expand You may qualify for an extra bedroom if your household includes a disabled adult, child or non-dependant who needs overnight care from a non-resident carer or group of carers. The rules in relation to people who need overnight care specify that you must have been assessed by Social Services or CHC/ICB as needing 24-hour care. If you have not been assessed as needing 24-hour care, then the council cannot consider you for an extra room. The following are entitled to one bedroom: A couple A single adult 2 children of the same sex 2 children of either sex under the age of 10 Extra rooms: The number of bedrooms a household needs can be increased by one in certain circumstances. The rules in this area are complicated, and you may need to take advice on your individual situation, this can include the following; An adult couple who are unable to share a room because of a disability A child who would be expected to share a bedroom but cannot share because of their disability A foster carer The Council will require evidence usually from a medical professional to consider an additional bedroom.
Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) Expand A DFG is a means-tested grant for disabled people to enable you to make changes to your home to continue living there. It could be used to fund work such as: widening doorways installing a stair lift converting a room to a toilet or wet room fitting handrails making outside steps easier to use or installing ramps Kitchen adaptations (such as rise and fall counters) How much is available for a DFG? In England, it’s possible to get up to £30,000 In Northern Ireland, up to £25,000 is available In Scotland, the sum is discretionary, depending on the local council (for more information, see below). In Wales, up to £36,000 is available. Who can get a DFG? The DFG is means tested for people aged 18 years or over, so the amount that you could get depends on your household income and savings. The means test looks at your income and savings together with that of your spouse or partner and any savings over £6k. Other members of the household aren't included. As each local authority has its own policy, we're unable to provide you with information as to the threshold for income and savings. We suggest that you contact your local authority to find out more. If you do wish to go ahead with adaptations and you face a shortfall in DFG funding your OT should be able to advise you on other possible avenues of funding or grants available in your locality. However, these are unlikely to cover the full amount. If you are not eligible for DFG funding as you have not met the means test, the Council can still support you with the adaptations process even if you are funding this privately. Disabled children under 18 can get a DFG grant without the need for a means test. N.B. You cannot claim a DFG for works already completed or underway. We are unable to challenge any means test results. DFG funding will only finance adaptations that are reasonable, necessary and appropriate. It is usually the Occupational Therapist who will recommend what works are essential. Please note, the Council will choose the most cost-effective option for any works completed as DFG is public funding. Adaptations in Scotland Scotland operates slightly differently and does not follow a DFG process. Contact your local authority Adult Social Care Services if you think you need major adaptations. You should do this even if you do not want to apply for a grant. They will arrange for your needs to be assessed. This is usually done by an Occupational Therapist and will look at the difficulties you are facing in your home and suggest ways to help you. Your local Adult Social Care Service will decide, following the assessment of your needs, whether the changes needed to your home meet the conditions for essential work. The assessment will also consider how urgently you need a grant. You will be awarded a grant for works that are deemed as essential, this is called ‘mandatory grant’. The rules about mandatory grants apply to all Councils and there are two different levels of mandatory grant. Everyone will get 80% of the costs of work covered by mandatory grant. Some people will get 100% of the costs covered by grant. For more information on the grants process in Scotland please see here.
I’m waiting on adaptations through DFG but I don’t know what’s happening Expand If you are waiting for adaptations to your home and are unsure what is happening, it is important to establish what has already been done so you can understand where your case currently stands. When adaptations are needed, you will need to request an assessment from an Occupational Therapist (OT). You can do this by contacting Adult Social Care at your local Council. The OT will assess your needs and recommend what adaptations are required in your home. Following this, you will be referred for a means test to determine whether you meet the criteria for Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding. Once funding eligibility has been agreed and costs have been established, plans will be drawn up for approval. After this approval is in place, the works can begin. If you have not yet had an OT assessment, it is important to contact your local Adult Social Care team to ensure you are on the waiting list. If an OT assessment has been completed but you have not received any updates, you should contact your OT directly to request an update on your case. If you have been contacted by the team responsible for authorising the DFG (for example, if you have had a means test or a technical assessment by an officer or surveyor), it is advisable to contact the DFG team / Private Sector Housing (PSH) team directly to ask about the next steps. Please note that the DFG process can be extremely lengthy, and we are unable to provide specific timeframes.