Info on social housing.

[Upamountain43]

I've noticed a couple of threads on here about social housing and thought there might be people who know more about this than me.

I live with.my husband and 3 children with my Mum in her house - whilst this is not for everyone it has been fantastic for us. My husband worked and I was a SAHM so I could Home Educate the children. We have a number of pets, grew a lot of our own food - in general I was living the life of my dreams.

3 months ago my husband had a pain in his leg and to cut a long story short he had an above knee leg amputation. Our lives have been turned upside down - he can no longer do his job and everything has changed.

The OT came last week to look at adaptations for the house and has said it cannot be adapted and is totally unsuitable for my husband now. She is writing to the LA to say we need rehousing. We are completely devastated.

Can I ask how this works in this circumstance? I do not know how we can bid.on houses in the normal way without being able to visit and see if they can be adapted.

So do we have to wait for an adapted property to come up or do the LA have to find a property. How much choice would we have?

Ideally we would want to be near my Mum and my eldest has significant SEN and uses the garden a lot. The thought of my children losing the garden on top of everything else is heartbreaking.

I am so scared as to what is going to happen. We just wanted to stay at my.Mums with adaptions, we are all devastated at having to move but the house as it is means my husband is stuck upstairs.

As he can not work at the moment and we have no idea when he will or what he could do we are unable to get a mortgage so buying is not possible.

Does your mum live in social housing or does she privately rent / own her own house?

Assuming that you have not been paying a high level of rent to your mum, do you not have savings built up from your income that you could use as a deposit or to privately rent? That way you will have many more options available. Is your husband able to work now? If not get in touch with the CAB who will help make sure you receive all the benefits you are entitled to.

@RedHelenB great idea actually, assuming that your husband may not be able to work as easily now depending on what he does.

Thanks everyone - I have a bit more idea of how the system will probably work

I'm sorry if I sounded defeatist but learning the adaptations we needed were not possible has made a bad situation seem catastrophic.

They should help fund the extension if that is all that can be done to adapt the house and there is room. But its a maximum of 30k which won't cover the whole cost. They can pay the rest with discretionary funding if they have money left in the budget and add it as a charge (debt) to the house which would be repaid when house is sold. The first 30k might get added as a charge as well depending on your finance.
You don't have to move if you don't want to and they can't make you by saying it can't be adapted when it can with an extension.
With respect to moving they will mainly look at the physical layout of the house when considering if its suitable. As your children aren't at school it will be more difficult to say an area isn't suitable as you don't need to be in a particular place for school. You could say you need to be near your mum but if there's nothing nearby they will offer elsewhere.
Its the cheapest way to them of them resolving it for you. But ifbits not what you want pursue the extension.

Is there no way a through the floor wheelchair lift could be fitted?

I'd look at funding an extension with a dfg.

Another option is to adapt a privately rented property, with the landlord's permission, via a dfg. The landlord has to guarantee to rent the property to you for a set period of time (I think it's 5 years, but I might be wrong). You might be able to add a stairlift then.

A dfg would be means tested though.

Could your husband be the SAHP/home educator whilst you work? You won’t be solely in the hands of the social security system then, which will give you more options.

Hopefully you’ll be close enough to your mum that your DS12 can spend significant time there still. I know it’s not the same though, not at all.

I wish you luck. All the best OP.

Do you have a downstairs room that could be turned into a bedroom ? Or extension at the back ? As other have said you do not have to go with what the OT has said, you need to think what is best for you all. Things may change if he can use a prosthetic limb.

@Babyroobs

Do you have a downstairs room that could be turned into a bedroom ? Or extension at the back ? As other have said you do not have to go with what the OT has said, you need to think what is best for you all. Things may change if he can use a prosthetic limb.

Also has he applied for PIP etc so you can also claim carers allowance.

@Upamountain43

Honestly OT has had three stairlift companies and two builders look at the house and we fully accept the view the house cannot be adapted.

We assumed it would be possible but we have had it fully explained about turning circles for wheelchairs and now accept it is not.

Builders look to maximise their profits.

The council recommended builder said a ramp between our front door and the pavement would require digging up most of our front garden and cost £7k.

Our second hand eBay option was £300/400 (can't remember the precise amount) which we fitted ourselves.

Likewise stair lifts are £2 to 4k roughly. Our second hand ready for the scrapper option was £500 included fitting. Plus our stair case is very narrow, steep but the stairlift works.

Finally you need to see what works for your husband. Outside the house I am cautious on double crutches or I use my wheelchair.

But inside my house without my shoes and on familiar ground, I can cope with one stick and lean of walls or pull myself forward holding onto door frames or wall corners.

Lastly a turning circle on a wheelchair is only necessary when you need to turn around. Wheelchair also go backwards and you can do a 3 or 5 point turns like a car. So it isn't always necessary to have any turning points in a house sometimes.

Plus other options like using a barbers stool on wheels or an narrow manual chair to be used within the house.

Lastly any of their solutions will be months/years in the future, by which time you are very likely to have put in interim solutions. It could be you can stay where you are.

Just take things slowly and search/post fir solutions and find what works for your family.

Ditto stair companies look to maximise profits but eBay and local mobility shops are far more helpful and cheaper!

Lastly some modern folding powerchairs are very narrow, mine goes through standard doorframes and turns on the spot practically.

So have a look at those, if you have the money OR if you have to self fund a chair!

Home ed is a luxury you cannot afford anymore or you need to swap roles if he is able to do that.
It's such a shit situation for.you but you do have options.

Could your Mum sell her house and you all move together to a bungalow? Or is the house rented?

Thanks for all the comments but we have - of course - looked at all the options to adapt the house and none are realistically possible. We are also -of course -fully capable of working out our day to day finances and lifestyle.

I just wanted some info on how the social housing system worked for people who need adapted houses which I have been given.

I'm not sure if there is a way of stopping comments on a thread.

You won’t have to wait years not with a disabled husband and children with special needs. Unless your in London or somewhere like that? You’ll probably be band A or B I think. There’s used to be lots of bungalows that came up in my area each week for adapted living, More than houses or flats for people with no extra needs.

@Hhhh3345566 in many areas even out of London they will. There is little available housing and manu disabled people needing adapted accommodation sadly

Hi @Upamountain43

I'm very sorry to hear this

How about a private rental then you have more control of location etc??? And potentially bungalow which would be good for you

I know the social housing bungalows near here are general very small retirement bungalows so not ideal for people with children.

I would also contact england.shelter.org.uk

They're great to give advice and see what options are available locally

I hope you get something sorted

Are you fairly rural? Most new builds are on estates these days with everyone thrown in together...

I'd definitely look at the extension option

In my part of the south west there are very few ground floor properties suitable for families. It maybe you end up bidding on a house & a through floor lift fitted. You may need to ask about this, I got desperate & asked my social worker if such things were funded in my area. This is something I recommend you do. Good luck

@msbevvy

Is there no way a through the floor wheelchair lift could be fitted?

Our neighbour, in a very ordinary semi, has one of those rather than a stairlift.