Supported Living – Housing Benefit Workshop

Why might it be of interest?

If you have supported living on your radar for your young person at some point in the future it is as well to start learning about what is supported living and what options might look like – along with how it is all paid for.

United Response are a country wide care and housing provider who work in our locality.  They support several local supported living houses as well as working with people living in their own homes and providing additional services such as housing advice and activity sessions at their hub in Teddington.  United Response support about 2000 people around the country in 400 locations and they have 3500 members of staff.  They have recently celebrated their 50^th anniversary.

Their core service is care and support but they also provide housing and education and employment services in some locations.

There are parent notes in the Workshop Speaker Notes folder – Living the Life – which is the current supported living workshop that Sue delivers and that workshop is based on these notes to a great extent.

 

What is Supported Living? 

Supported Living (SL) is a model for independent living that separates housing from the care and support contract – each is an individual contract.  The care/support and housing providers can be the same organisation but they don’t have to be.  With registered care the housing and care/support contracts are rolled up together.

Supported Living is likely to provide more flexible support and to be more adaptable than larger, registered care homes which are more likely to organise their services around group needs than individual needs, although it is acknowledged that smaller care homes are sometimes good at achieving this too.  SL is a co-production between client and provider and can be more easily tailored to meet people’s preferences.  In SL a client has more choice – for example, they can choose what they will do and when and are not dependent on what the other people they live with are doing; they can decorate their room; decide who they will invite to visit.

As a tenant with a tenancy agreement in SL a client has more security of tenure than they would have in registered care.

Care and support in SL can be provided for clients with complex (health) needs as well as in registered care.  A client may need injections, a special diet, specialist equipment, for example and all of these can be provided for in SL.  SL providers also have additional responsibilities such as helping clients with benefits, their finances, managing their tenancy.

Regulation

United Response’s care and support services are regulated by the CQC.  When they work with registered housing associations those arrangements are regulated and inspected by the Regulator of Social Housing.  If a client is renting privately or living in a house owned by United Response (UR) general standard housing and tenancy laws apply.  There is no regulatory body for private landlords, but local Councils have a responsibility to ensure that rented accommodation in their area is safe, habitable and does not present an environmental health risk.

Where do houses for SL come from?

Houses could be rented from:

• A private landlord
• A registered housing provider
• The council
• UR might agree a lease with a private landlord with the agreement that they can sublet to tenants
• A housing provider might rent their houses, using specialist housing and support providers like United Response as their managing agents

Not all housing providers are disability specific and in these instances they might prefer to let the house to the tenant using a managing agent like UR.

• UR own some properties directly
• They may lease properties from a private landlord or commercial developer
• Sometimes they manage properties on behalf of other landlords
• Exempt accommodation: Accommodation provided by a county council, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation where that body or person acting on their behalf provides the claimant with care, support or supervision. In exempt accommodation the usual Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance Caps do not apply.

However, if the costs are more than the local housing allowance they would have to be justified and landlords will be asked to produce evidence that they are so.

Licence v tenancy

UR doesn’t use licences much because they are very basic and provide less security than a tenancy.  Care homes and hostels are probably the main type of accommodation where licences are issued. Sometimes they are used in supported living which is intended to be ‘short- term’.

A tenancy offers security to the tenant.  To end a tenancy the landlord has to follow a specific process which involves issuing the right notices and a court order.  The tenant has greater rights to repair and the standard of accommodation is generally higher.

What if a tenant does not have capacity to sign their tenancy agreement?

• If someone (probably a parent) has their Power of Attorney then they can sign the tenancy agreement
• If someone has a Court of Protection deputyship for property and affairs they can sign the tenancy agreement. This can be used in cases where the person lacking capacity is unable to give consent for PoA
• A person can apply to the Court of Protection for a one-off authority to sign the tenancy agreement
• Some housing providers will accept a ‘best interests’ decision in writing – at least temporarily while an application for a Court of Protection authority is in progress
  • The lack of a signature in this instance does not affect the person’s tenancy rights, but creates risks for landlords
• Some people can understand their tenancy agreement when it is represented in simple terms (for example, with an ‘easy read guide’) – and in this case they could sign

Housing Benefit (HB)

Most people on a low income will get help with their rent from the housing element of Universal Credit (UC).  You apply to your local council about a week before you move in – or as soon after as you can.  You will have 28 days to gather the paperwork you need for the application.

People in sheltered housing or supported living still get housing benefit to pay their rent even if they already receive UC for other things. There is a specific form to complete and again, you will have 28 days to provide supporting evidence.

Forms are complicated and it is recommended that you ask a professional advisor or advocate for support with applications, which must be made as soon as the tenancy starts or just before.

You have to provide a lot of evidence!  eg

• Bank accounts
• Savings accounts
• Proof of disability
• Proof of other benefits

If you have savings over £16,000 you are not entitled to housing benefit.  If you have savings between £6,000 and £16,000 your benefit will be capped.  Savings below £6,000 are disregarded.

HB is means tested so if you have an earned income your benefit will be reduced if you exceed the applicable amount.  Applicable amounts vary for each individual and are based on a number of factors such as the area you live in, disability status, age, other benefits and how many dependents you have.

To receive HB you must live in the property most of the time.  It must be your ‘ordinary residence’.  This doesn’t mean that you can’t go on holiday, visit friends or stay with family but the property that you receive HB for must be your usual residence.

HB can cover most elements of the rent charged by a landlord within the relevant cap and eligibility criteria. Many of the service charges as well as the core rent can be eligible for housing benefit.  These are considered eligible charges.  For example, if you are living in a house with other people HB would include an amount for ‘communal heat and light’; some aspects of property maintenance, communal furniture, etc.

In shared houses it is more likely that the landlord will pay for utilities, council tax, etc and you will pay the landlord – these costs might be wholly or partly covered by eligible charges included in your rent.

Your rent might include some elements which are not eligible for housing benefit, eg a percentage of the utilities allocated for personal use or a communal TV licence in a shared house. This is usually only a small portion of the whole rent.

If you are living in a self contained flat you will usually have to pay your own bills.

There are HB calculators which can give you a rough estimate of the housing benefit you might receive – three are on the government website:  https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

You will need information about your financial situation to use these calculators.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

If you are renting in the private sector or from an organisation like United Response (which is not a registered housing association) then your rent will be determined by the local housing allowance.  In Richmond, for example, there are 3 areas each with their own LHA.  And in each LHA area there are maximum amounts for different sized households:  https://www.richmond.gov.uk/local_housing_allowance

Service charges can still be included and the landlord can deal with your application with your consent.  You may also be able to get a council tax reduction.

If the landlord is also providing care and support the property is considered ‘exempt’ and the tenant is entitled to a higher rate of Local Housing Allowance, ie the LHA is not capped.  As we have said before, higher rents must be justified.  For example, due to their disability a tenant may require more space than most people.  This would need to be documented and evidence provided.

If you are single and under 35 you may only be entitled to the shared accommodation rate.  You are entitled to the one bedroom rate, even if you are under 35, if you receive a disability benefit but do not require overnight care.  For our purposes this will be the daily living rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or for a few people who are still on Disability Living Allowance they would need to receive the middle or higher care rate.

If you require overnight care you will be entitled to the 2 bedroom rate.  This applies even if you are sharing a house or flat with other people who also require overnight care – each person entitled to overnight care is eligible for the 2 bedroom rate.

Sourcing housing (if not supported living)

If you have a disability that means that you will need some support to live independently but not as much as a person living in SL then you will source your accommodation differently from above:

• Housing register of your local council (this puts you on the waiting list for Council and Registered Housing Association properties)
• Private renting eg; via private advert or letting agent

Councils will have bands for different priorities – and these priorities could be different from council to council.  Band A is the highest priority.  Your council might have a disability band or waiting list.

Housing associations may make their properties available through the housing register, although some might take self- referrals.

If you are renting from the council or a housing association your rent will be set at an affordable level – it is up to 80% of the private rental rate.  This is considered your ‘eligible’ rent and it is not governed by LHA.  If you are receiving UC then most, if not all of your eligible rent will be covered by the housing element of UC.  If you are earning then the amount you receive might be reduced, depending on your earnings.

Private renting:  The maximum amount of rent that will be covered will be the LHA.  As long as you receive a disability benefit (daily living component of PIP or middle/high rate DLA) you will be eligible for the one bedroom LHA rather than the shared room rate, even if you are under 35 (assuming you do not need overnight care).  This should cover most, if not all, of your rent.  Don’t forget that HB is means tested, as is UC, so the actual amount you receive might be affected by any earnings.

UR referrals:

• UR usually gets their referrals for SL from the local council’s Adult Services department rather than the general needs Housing Register
• UR will assess the potential tenant for suitableness. They check whether the property will meet their needs and in the case of shared housing, will also check they are a good match with other tenants
• UR have set up SL homes commissioned directly by parent groups

If UR are setting up somewhere new:

• They will look at high street letting agents and private landlords
• They will generally look to work with landlords looking for a long term lease
• The landlord leases to UR who then sublet to the tenants
• UR collects the rent from the tenants and pays the landlord
• The landlord gets their agreed rent regardless of whether the tenant actually pays or not
• United Response keep a portion of the rent to cover their housing management costs
• UR can manage the rent/repairs/tenant behaviour/ housing benefit claims etc

UR also work with housing developers and investment companies.  For example, if UR have a group of young people wanting to live together they can go to one of their developer partners to request that the partner provides the funds to buy the property – and then the developer leases the property to UR.

When UR is buying a property with a developer partner for a specific group of young people they will be looking for a property with the specific needs of this group of young people in mind.  A disabled facilities grant (DFG) can be used to make adaptations if they are not already in place in the property.

UR may, on occasion, buy property directly.

The above scenarios have to stack up financially.  Although a SL set up is exempt and higher housing benefit rates can apply UR have to be able to justify the higher rent.  Financial viability can depend on a variety of factors including estimated maintenance costs and what return the landlord is looking to achieve on their investment.

Other options

• A family, or a group of families, may choose to buy a property together
• A family may want to look at shared ownership homes where they own a percentage of the property and pay rent on the other percentage

Family purchase

If a family buy a property and rent directly to their young person they can’t claim Housing Benefit for rent, but the young person might be entitled to the housing element of Universal Credit.

https://www.gov.uk/housing-and-universal-credit

This is not necessarily a problem if only the family’s young person has a tenancy at the property and the family are happy to accept a lower rental income for their investment.

If the family want other young people to share the house they need to consider how much Local Housing Allowance each tenant is likely to be entitled to and perhaps be prepared to cover the shortfall.

If the family lease the house to a charitable organisation like UR, so that UR become the tenants’ landlord and some care, support or supervision is provided by United Response or on behalf of United Response it will be considered exempt and the tenants can claim a higher housing benefit rate which will also include eligible charges.

A family could also set up a not for profit organization and arrange for care, support or supervision to be provided on their behalf, but the same ‘rules’ apply – the tenancies must be ‘real’ and the rent must be realistic – otherwise the local authority could consider the tenancy ‘contrived’, ie intending to deliberately take advantage of the housing benefit rules.

Basic occupancy rights can be assumed without a physical document if rent is payable, but it is in everybody’s best interests if rights and responsibilities are set out clearly in a tenancy or licence agreement. This is essential for claiming housing related benefits. It is also more difficult to enforce tenancy conditions such as acceptable behaviour, cleanliness of the property and tenant behaviour without a written agreement.

Eligible Rent

Eligible rent is the part of the rent which is potentially eligible for housing benefits.  It can include some service charges such as a caretaker, communal laundry facilities, communal heating and light.  These are eligible charges.  Ineligible charges are not covered by housing benefits and will include personal heating and light, water charges, etc.  Food is not usually considered as a rent chargeable item and tenants are responsible for their own food costs.

Shared ownership

My Safe Home:  https://mysafehome.info/.

This organisation is a specialist in supporting disabled people buy a share in a home.  Typically the buyer buys a percentage of the home with a mortgage on this share and then pays rent to the partner – likely to be a housing association – on the remaining percentage.

Having had a quick look at the website it looks as if you have to have quite a bit of money available to pay set up charges and, obviously, you have to be able to afford the mortgage and rental.  The guide you can download does talk about people on PIP and UC higher rates being able to enter into this sort of agreement.

Disabled Facilities Grant

This is available to make adaptations to your home – a home that you expect to be living in for at least 5 years.  You apply through your local council who may carry out an assessment to establish your need for the adaptations.  As of today (April 2024) the maximum grant in England is £30,000.

It is important that you do not start adaptations on your home before having a grant agreed.  And to be aware of whether you might need planning permission to carry out your adaptations.