Housing for people with a disability: time for a new roof

Housing for people with a disability: time for a new roof Simon Brooke Head of Policy Clúid Housing Association

 18 years old  Owns or manages nearly 5000 rented homes across the country  Mainly ‘general needs’ housing - also nearly 500 units of sheltered housing for the elderly and some housing for people with disabilities

Social housing  Social housing is rented housing provided for people who cannot afford to buy, or to pay private rented sector rents  Social housing is subsidised by the state  Social housing is allocated by housing need  Social housing tenants pay an affordable rent – the differential rent system  In Ireland most social housing is provided by local authorities but housing associations are playing a growing role

What are housing associations?  Providers of social housing  Independent organisations with voluntary board of management  Confusing labels: ‘Housing associations’ = ‘voluntary housing sector’ = ‘approved housing bodies’  Funded by rent from tenants and subsidy from government

Housing options for people with a disability  Owner occupation is expensive  Private rented housing: limited security of tenure, some poor conditions  Rental Accommodation Scheme may an option for some  Social housing is likely to be the best option for many

‘Time to Move on from Congregated Settings’  Very impressive report  Overwhelming evidence that independent living in the community is better than institutional care  Better quality of life  Better value for money  In line with thinking and practice in other areas e.g. older people, homeless people  But does it go far enough?

Some housing principles  There should be a legal right to housing  Housing is a necessity, and for some people support is a necessity too  There should be an explicit presumption that everyone, whether or not they have a disability, can live independently, with support if needed, unless they are not able to.

Some housing principles  Provision of housing should be separate from provision of support o Landlord/tenant relationship is different from support relationship o Allows for flexibility or ending of support  The ‘Housing First’ approach works o People don’t need to be ‘housing ready’ before they move into a home of their own  ‘House’ and ‘home’ are two different things

Social housing challenges  Housing Policy Statement 2011: o New role for housing associations  New financial arrangements for housing associations o Private finance instead of grants o Will take time to become established  NAMA o 120,000 empty houses – so what’s the problem?

Social housing challenges  Will need special programme for people in congregated settings o Assessment of housing need  Housing 500 people a year for 7 years will be a challenge  If the will is there, it can be done!

Thank you