Sheltered Housing - council run

[Chewbecca]

Does anyone have any experience of this pls?

I’ve called the council and basically been told to fill in the application and they’ll let us know about eligibility so I am going to do this.

But it would be great to know beforehand a bit more about the process, is DM likely to be eligible, how much does it cost, what sort of availability levels are there, how long is she likely to wait, can she do visits?

She is 89, living alone in a house owned by her DC (for over 20 years). She is suffering with mobility issues and to maintain the house and garden.

I am sure it varies from council to council but any thoughts welcome.

I have no recent personal knowledge but there are some problems here I think stemming from the fact that she is not homeless and that the house is owned by her relatives. Does she pay rent? Has she had any kind of assessment from the NHS or social services regarding the house and her mobility issues? Not being able to manage your garden is not a reason to be rehoused by the council....There seem to be some gaps in the story here?

No rent, no assessment, although the council did install grab bars by the front door after a fall. We replaced the bath with a suitable shower ourselves when she couldn’t get in there any longer. No story gaps either, I am not trying to create a story, just trying to find out eligibility! I don’t want to waste her time and energy if she is not. Can’t find the information on the council’s website.

I don’t know why but I didn’t think sheltered housing was like other council housing, I thought it was more broadly available. The other option I guess is buying a retirement flat but have heard horror stories about re-sale and management fees and wondered about the many sheltered housing blocks I see around town!

She is just getting very old and cannot always get upstairs any more and worries and frets about the house and its maintenance. She would benefit from the social interaction too. She has a regular gardener and we help a lot but it’s probably time to look at alternatives to make her more comfortable.

How come her children own her home.
Was it to try and get out of paying for her own care.
Is it to dupe the system.
Did she pay FULL market rent.
The local authority can go back 20 years to make sure she wasn't depriving her assets to get out of paying for her own care.

She’s not trying to get out of paying for care, she doesn’t need care.

I am trying to get her somewhere suitable to live, not get it paid for?

If her children own the home could they sell it and buy something more suitable for her to live in?

My Dad lives in sheltered housing. He had been privately renting a house but couldn't do stairs, couldn't use the bath, needed a walkin shower etc he was 75 at the time so I contacted the council. They said i had to fill in an application and they would decide on what band he'd be for eligibility and urgency. He got accepted and was low banded until LL said they wouldn't renew tenancy and he was going to be homeless so council upped the banding and he got something 2 weeks before tenancy ended. We'd been bidding from the December he moved in last week of May. He got to stay in the area as I'm his carer and only family.

Best thing to do is fill out the form its very detailed and if you can get a drs supporting letter that helps as well. Its all about priority and availability. Some areas have more than others.

Also cost wise it is all means tested. My dad has nothing and had housing benefit in the privately rented house so gets it with the sheltered housing and pays 1 fee each month that includes rent, heating etc. He pays his own electricity and water but some sheltered housing thats included in the rent price. Some people have to pay full rent, some not. Goes by savings, income etc.

Due to work we had to move to the other side of the county and we were able to transfer my dad to another sheltered housing complex. Still had to fill out a new application etc and took 6 months to get something for him as he wasn't priority and i commuted the 3hour trip every weekend until he moved closer but hes now still close by for me to care for him. Hes 80 now.

Are there any privately owned rental properties you could pursue. There are some in my area for about £800 a month . Basically a studio apartment with 9-5 warden .

Whether it's possible will depend a lot on where you are, in some areas they will have vacancies in others long waiting lists. Here anyone over 55 can apply and there's empty units

Most people aren't eligible for local authority/council housing.

There are privately owned sheltered housing schemes. Apartments can be bought or rented.

The LA ones I'm familiar with are pretty basic. The building is secure. There's a communal laundry and bins. There's a community room, where residents can meet up, eg, to play cards. There's usually a weekly coffee morning, but not much else. The manager/concierge isn't often on site, as she has several schemes to oversee.

What are you expecting it to be like? I think you're probably thinking of Assisted Living.

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/housing-options/sheltered-housing/

Many thanks for the ageuk link - that's v helpful.

It clarifies that sheltered housing is just what we are looking for, she doesn't need assisted living.

We would be happy to sell the house and buy somewhere but given her age and the likelihood of her needs changing again in the relatively short term, didn't think buying is likely to be the best option. Buying a retirement flat appears to be most suited to people in, say their 60s who hopefully would have 15+ years there. It does seem that most rented sheltered housing complexes (in my area) are council run, not private, hence trying (& struggling) to find out more info.

We are not trying to get someone else to pay for her accomodation, she/we are happy to pay full rent just trying to find out what her options are. If council sheltered housing is only for people in existing council housing or with emergency need or a low income etc. , then it is not for her but it is not clear if that is the case & the purpose of this thread was to explore the option.

I'm also wary of suggesting or introducing anything to her which isn't actually an option because this will cause worry, hence trying to gather as many facts first.

I think the other option I need to explore quite a bit more is private rented retirement complexes but I am not sure there are many.

It sounds fine to me. She does not have a property to sell. In our area at least many sheltered housing have vacancies so she would get somewhere no problem. I work in social care.

I work in sheltered housing. Some of the most popular HA's will NOT be on council lists as they don't accept council referrals. Owner occupiers can apply to the council in this area (but are rarely top of the list) but most of the nicer Housing Association schemes you have to apply direct. In one local HA sheltered housing scheme (by the sea) the split is about 70% ex owner occupiers (self funding) and 30% funded by council (housing benefit).
Don't be put off if the costs initially look high as it's worth finding out what is covered- some cover ALL utilities so your relative doesn't have to worry about heating or electricity bills, council tax, water- as all included. As well as self contained flats (studios up to 2 beds in our area) there may be a scheme manager, gardens, social events, emergency alarm call, and sometimes even a cooked meal a day in the communal rooms (unusual but that particular scheme is very lively- about £1500 pm including everything). Most of the costs are covered by housing benefits if someone needs to claim except personal heating/ food.

The only thing I would say is that many people leave it too late to move and may get rejected as sheltered housing is independant living. It's for people age 55+ and many tenants stay for years. Visit a few to see which you like!

Yes as Rossfort says, we found a place for FIl through a HA that took Council referrals but also had their own waiting list - and had no one on it! I didn't find an easy way to find them, it was simply a matter of finding residential units and finding out who owned/managed them and phoning. FIL went in the Council list too, but they initially rejected him as he owned his own house, I had to read through their policy and tell them he was eligible under the needing to be near family for care section - but we got a place faster through a local HA anyway, He now rents out his old (unsuitable) flat to pay the rent on his new one.

Here's a website for finding sheltered housing not on council lists. housingcare.org/elderly-uk-sheltered-housing

It also lists other options eg care.

Thanks for the info. It sounds ideal, even if she is older than average for arriving!

She is independent still but a small place with very low maintenance and surrounded by peers and the occasional activity would be much easier for her to manage and retain that independence.

I'm waiting to hear back from the council now.

Look at any in the areas you want/think suitable and you will find they say which housing association they belong to. You do not have to go through the council. Contact them directly and find out if any vacancies, then go and view them. I did this for a relative, there were three options and they picked which they wanted and were in within the month. For obvious reasons there are often vacancies!
Don't discount the 'extra care' ones as they do not have to have the carers but could be useful later on (I work with older people in hospital and saves a lot of hassle if they are in extra care if they suddenly need a package of care eg after a fall). Ignore the posters saying you should buy one, they are dreadfully difficult to sell and often have huge service charges. My relative paid about £100 per week (few years back) but that included heating and hot water👍

In the area I live sheltered housing to rent is advertised to rent on rightmove

Ah, it isn’t the council I emailed, it is a local housing association who, as far as I can tell, manages all the sheltered housing in the area. Hopefully they will be able to advise on vacancies and eligibility. Only the private ones are advertised on Rightmove.

moss That’s just my fear with buying a retirement flat. She has a decent pension so can pay the rent and we would happily top it up if needed. Would be nice to separate selling the house from moving into a new flat too, she just is ready to go, don’t want to get in a chain or anything.

The ones I have my eye on are listed on the website you linked rossfort but they do refer to the housing association.

I'm a retired L/A housing officer. The situation is going to vary considerably depending on where you live, no-one can tell you anything until you have completed the application form, and it has been assessed. Where I worked we had a common housing register and housing associations advertised all of their vacancies through choice based lettings. So, there was no approaching housing associations direct. Extra care schemes were dealt with the same way. There was a lot of sheltered housing, the various schemes were all slightly different in layout, what accommodation was like, whether there were bungalows or only flats and also how much the rents were. Some would take over 55's, but others were over retirement age. Extra care schemes would mean that the applicant had to be assessed to ensure suitability. Having said all of that , you really need to discuss what is available with the staff where you live as it can ,and will, vary considerably. We did house owner occupiers who needed sheltered, but on the understanding that the property was sold. Hope that helps!

Makes sense lois, thanks.

Whilst all areas are different, I have definitely learned something from asking here so appreciate everyone’s comments.