Selling own home to move into council accomodation

[chocolatine]

Looking for advice.
My mum wants to sell her house and move into a council flat or bungalow. Does anyone have experience of this? I can see the advantages, but am not sure of any potential disadvantages.

My mum is disabled and needs a wheelchair to get around. She is living in her own home but since my dad died last year it is no longer suitable for her (she needs help to be able to move around inside and also to get out). It is not possible to adapt the house to the extent needed. The house is also in a really bad state of disrepair (needs total renovation).

She is on the council list for an adapted home and is likely to get offered a place soon. The advantages are that she would be in a community with other people of the same age, have a warden on-site, have help with things like putting out the bins which are a headache at the moment. She wouldn't have to worry about repairs or anything like that.

She would use the money from selling the house for rent if needed, and put the rest in the bank, and keep it in case she needs a care home later.
Obviously financially it creates new costs, but staying in her own home doesn't seem possible.

Does anyone have any experience of whether this is a good idea?

Will she really be entitled to a council property when she owns her own home and will have the proceeds from the sale sitting in her bank account? Isn't it the case that you have to be unintentionally homeless to qualify? With so little social housing available it seems inherently wrong that a person who has the means to own their own home gets given a council property. Can she not downsize into a privately run warden place?

If she wants to go into a council-run home, that's a different matter. They will expect her savings to fund her place, as they did with my nan.

Bookworm, yes she will be entitled if her home is unsuitable for her needs. Her own home may not sell for enough to cover the cost of buying a suitable property and ongoing costs. Wheelchair friendly properties aren’t cheap.

The point of social housing is the Society it isn't poor housing.

The only issue (apart from ignorance) I could guess at Chocolatine is that Mum doesn't settle.
Disability converted SH is rare and if Mum hates the place it could be a problem moving.

I think the rules are different for getting a council flat/house where there is a warden.

I looked into this for my Mum but they are allocated by a points system and I think my Mum is around 400 on the list. I thought it would be good for her to be in a 'community' type environment.

I think it would be good for your Mum OP it sounds as though she needs the support.

My sister has done this. She still owns her home and rents it out to pay the rent for her apartment. She is in her 50s .

I stand corrected! I apologise if my comment offended you, OP, I had no idea the rules were different. And yes, I see what you mean TheQueenF about it being 'social' housing. It's just that when we enquired about my nan, who lived in a council house, going into residential council care because she could no longer look after herself, we were told we'd have to top up the fees ourselves (sadly she died before it could be organised), so it seemed weird therefore that someone who had their own home already would get a council place.

A friend of ours who had a severe stroke in his early 60s has done exactly this recently, & it’s worked out really well for him.

His own house was a small 2-storey terrace in a very built-up area, front door on to the pavement with a very steep step. He hardly ever went outside.

He now has a 1-bedroom ground floor flat in a small modern block, with a communal garden & plenty of company. No disadvantages at all for him except that nobody can stay overnight, but there is a guest room in the block.

His own house hasn’t been sold yet but luckily he can manage the rent until it is.

Thanks everyone. As you say, the accomodation she is applying for is specifically for elderly people with mobility problems. The other options don't seem to be possible financially or practically. She does seem to have enough points (was shortlisted for the last one she applied for).

Renting the house out would not be possible - the cost of the renovations that would be needed are probably about the same as the price of the house itself, and it's not an area where there is a lot of rental demand. She's not in a position to take on landlord respobsibilities either.

GiantKitten - that sounds encouraging, the situation sound quite similar.

Thinking on though, he’s not normally in a wheelchair - he can be pushed in from outside in one, so the doors are wide enough, but I don’t think it has eg lower counters. The block is for elderly/limited mobility. Flats for wheelchair users might be scarcer?

My MIL did this, she moved into sheltered housing from her own home. She could no longer live in her own home due to health issues, she had money so rent wasn’t a issue. It was easier to organise careers going in and there was a warden on site in case of emergencies, my DH and SIL visited weekly, she was on a lot of medication and they had medical and financial POA, so lots of strands to consider rather than just a physical move. She is now in a nursing home, I believe it was easier to get her a place in the nursing home, when her condition deteriorated, rather than if she still lived in her own home.
My own Dm considered sheltered housing but in the end decided to spend the money, that she would have spent on rent on adaptions to her own home, she also decided to take the chance on arranging a large household repair. Which 2 years on has paid for itself. She now has a service for a small weekly cost that covers an alert pendant, special smoke / carbon monoxide alarms, vibrating pads. She also has an odd job man and we live locally we also have POA for when the time comes. This will all enable her to stay in her house for as long as possible, she doesn’t need the money from a house sale to fund these costs though.
Is your mum’s house going to be easy to sell a friend of my DM moved to sheltered housing assuming her flat would sell quickly it took a year and she had to fund her rent for all that time.

The wheelchair-adapted flats do seem to be scarcer but there are a few coming up. At the moment she can't get out at all without help (big step) so it's really hard.
Thanks for all your replies - I was worried there was some flaw in the plan that I wasn't seeing...

In our area there is very little wait for sheltered housing, you apply and pretty much get offered something straight away. Nursing home places on the other hand are very difficult to get.

Thanks coffeeonthesofa. My mum has a neighbour who is interested in the house for a family member, so hopefully it will sell.
We did look at the renovations, but there is a basic practical problem (can't install a ramp) so it's just not possible.

Yes I think this is a good idea. She’ll obviously pay full rent and hopefully have substantial savings. You can be sure the property is as suitable as it can be (which isn’t the case trying to adapt her current house) and she’ll be in a community of peers. Best of luck with it!

Sheltered housing doesn’t usually have a waiting list no. In fact most over 50s accommodation doesn’t. So don’t be shy to reject and wait for something suitable in terms of size or area

OP, just checking that your mother is looking to move into a property near where she / you lives? We're trying to do this with my mum (she has no health issues but doesn't have enough to buy a new property as she's divorced so only got half the house value which isn't enough to buy anywhere alone) but to move her near to us, she can only apply for rental housing in our borough. Annoyingly, there are spaces in flats in a nearby village but over the borough boundary and she can't apply as she has no named contact in that borough. I can understand why you'd give priority to people living locally, but to refuse applications from outside the borough altogether seems a little shortsighted.

Thanks for all the helpful replies!
SayOohLaLa - my mum wants to stay in the same area, so luckily she doesn't have that problem. It must be really frustrating - hope your mum finds somewhere soon.

At the moment she can't get out at all without help (big step) so it's really hard. As an interim measure, you can buy portable aluminium ramps for about £100 - depending on the height of the step that might help her to get out.

just wondering from these messages, if you sell a council house you are living in is it right that because of disability you could be given a council bungalow and keep the sale money ?