newly disabled housing search

[user1473065575]

Hi, not sure where to post this so please direct me if there's a more appropriate board.
My SIL had cancer removed from her hip last October. The surgery got complicated and the end result has been a full leg/hip amputation.
She is finally ready to leave hospital. However her flat is completely unsuitable for a wheelchair. The council can't/won't help as they own the flat (a 1 bed, 2 adults, 2 kids, mortgaged, tiny bit of equity). We're really lost how to get her home, find suitable accommodation ourselves. Hence my post. Thanks so much for any advice you can give.

Unfortunately they will have to turn lounge into bedroom until they can sell the house and buy something more suitable. It's beyond shit and I'm sorry they are facing this.

Thanks - they already use the lounge as a bedroom.
The problem is the doorway is too narrow, a wheelchair can't physically get through. At the moment she is stuck in hospital. "beyond shit" just about sums it up.

I really don't know what to suggest. I imagine she will be placed in some form of care home until proper accommodation can be found.

The council are saying because she owns her flat she isn't a priority.
The flat has been assessed by the council and deemed unsuitable. It is tiny (conversion) and can't be made wheelchair accessible.

Not quite sure how to move forward. It won't be quick to sell up and start renting, also leaves them very vulnerable financially as their mortgage is low compared to a typical monthly rent.

Any tips how to find wheelchair accessible private rental property? Have spent the evening searching online, search filters really don't work very well !

Contact local councelor ( cannot spell this bloody word) for starters. ‘Can’t imagine the guardian agreeing with shittyster council on this’. Also speak to citizens advice for proper help. May also do you good to contact disability organisation for amputees they will have a wealth of experience in dealing with this. Not saying it will be easy - I’ve had to fight many many times in my life to get things done /right a wrong - but there is support out there. Probably not a bad idea for her to get something in writing from any medical professionals who would support a move as well.

Just to say, be very nice to council. Won’t get anywhere by getting angry, trust me. But if you get the message across, it may help you ( ie wonder what the papers would make of this? )

It sounds like you're trying the wrong département at the council. I work for local authority, I wouldn't go through housing department and try getting re housed as she's not a priority while owning a flat.
We have an occupational therapy team who would deal with stuff like this, they may be a division of adult social care. There is often a financial assessment and depending on financial circumstances she may be expected to contribute to the cost

My other SIL (her sister) has done a good job exploring all avenues with the council & various organisations, and has things in writing from the medical team. Seems to be hitting a brick wall. The only thing they've suggested as an option is "micro living" where she lives alone. How can that even be an option? She has two young boys.

Adult social care will help with a grant /footing an adapted kitchen and bathroom but not in a property that is deemed unsuitable. I don't know where about you are op but by me the council and housing associations have socially adapted properties that are suitable for a range of disabilities. If one becomes available, people with disabilities get priority. I know, I have one.

I would get the local council housing allocation policy and go over it with a fine tooth comb. A friends dad owned a house with his wife and a slipped disc surgery that went wrong left him in a wheelchair. The council said they can't help him. He went through the hand book and looked at it from a legal perspective. It basically said " we rehouse people in need that suffer with financial or physical need" dust say anything about being excluded for being a home owner -her argued that his house was unsuitable as he couldn't even enter it and so therefore needed to be rehomed. It went to appeal and he won.

I would get the local mp involved, not a letter but actually make an appointment at their surgery even if it's by zoom or phone. Get councillors involved and most importantly get into at social care for a needs assessment.

This is all really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to post.

You could try disability law service.

I know my council wouldn't help; my friends husband was bounced from cottage hospital to cottage hospital for nine months for a similar reason - they refused to help and though reluctant in the end involved solicitors to get things moving. Even then there were issues.

Finding somewhere to rent that's accessible is a nightmare. Not least because "accessible" for some just means ground floor, you can also be stuck if you need adaptions e.g. I need adaptions but landlord is blacklisted after they agreed to adaptions and then evicted the person and gave the flat to a disabled relative (that person then couldn't get adaptions where they moved to as, here, they're only done once).

Our housing association properties are very expensive as they use "ground rent" as an excuse to charge much more than private properties, again, here the lease is only twelve months and you stay on the register and get reassessed every twelve months to see if you still qualify. HA isn't to be considered a long term option here and people are clearly told that, the intention is for the tenant to find somewhere more long term privately.

It varies massively around the country which is why I suggested the disability law service. They can help you find help in your area. If you're in Wales there is a charity called C.A.L.L. www.callhelpline.org.uk They have an online database of places which may be able to help as well (it's no use for elsewhere in the uk though).

dls.org.uk For disability law service.
I recommend their email service.

I work with a LA and this 100% would be an emergency in our place. I'm unable to return home from hospital due to unsuitable accomodation is one of the top priority groups in our procedure.

Follow the complaints procedure or approach and elected representative and they can put an enquiry in on your SILs behalf

The legal route looks defintely one we need to go down. it all just seems so wrong that no help is forthcoming.

Definitely contact the disability law service they can point you to specialist solicitors who can help you.

Going through complaints may be necessary first, but I know here that can take months, especially right now due to covid. So try DLS first. It's a good idea to give as much information as you can e.g. What assessments she has had done and, give a summary of what those contain.

It shouldn't be this difficult I know, unfortunately this is the reality of being disabled. I should have said when mentioning my friend above - she didn't approach a solicitor for a long time, I should have mentioned that as I don't want you to think her husband bounced around cottage hospitals for months whilst they were involved.

Speak to the Macmillan service at the hospital or citizens advice bureau. This is an emergency housing situation and the council has an obligation to help. The social workers and occupational therapist at the hospital should also be involved in her discharge planning. Make sure they know accommodation is what is holding up discharge.

Just had another thought, if all else fails, could they rent out their own flat and use the rental income to rent another more suitable property? It might work in the short term.

I’d have thought that she was discharged from hospital unsafely but that doesn’t matter now. I would also contact adult social care and self refer for an assessment.

Sorry, re reading and see she hasn’t been discharged yet. Trouble is, the solutions offered may not be very desirable.....

We are looking at renting out their property and renting one with disabled access but it's really not easy to find these. I'm not sure financially if this would be viable but will definitely look. Any tips for finding properties with disabled access - the search functions on the property websites are far from helpful.

Would a mobility scooter be able to fit through perhaps, if a wheelchair is too wide?

Has the OT actually checked the flat to say it’s not suitable for adaptations? Because the council absolutely will do work on privately owned properties.

It sounds like the flat is unsuitable even with adaptions made. Phone letting agents tomorrow and ask around, they will know which properties they have that are suitable and call you if anything comes up.
Taking off doorframes to get wheelchairs through is a pain.
Most new builds have to meet certain regulations and will have wider doors, lower light switches etc so may be worth looking at those first

You will have to go direct to agencies as disabled access is not a filter on the online searches. It is more likely fnding an older home with wide doors that you can adapt with a ramp, as already being wheelchair friendly is extremely rare I imagine.
Check with disabled charities too. My buyers are buying my house in particular because one child is a paraplegic and my 150 year old house has double doors at the front, wide hallways, wide doorways and several sets of double doors to the garden, which had a very large paved terrace and path up to the back of it to another terrace. They will have to make some adjustments, a few ramps, convert the downstairs loo and cloakroom to a wet room etc. It is being bought through a trust, and a charity is buying their old home which is of course already adapted for wheelchair use.

Thank you, some great tips.