Housing
Introduction
This section helps explain how young people and families can consider the housing options available to them. Every young person has the right to live independently, the adaptions to these plans should be in line with their wants and needs.
Paying for housing
Housing is usually supported by the housing element of universal credit (housing benefit as it was previously called), this could be paid to the landlord directly from the young person’s benefits or managed by the individual independently. The amount people will be able claim will depend on a case-by-case basis, different circumstances such as spouses or children will impact the award. More information regarding housing support through universal credit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/housing-and-universal-credit
It is important to note that there is often a local housing allowance for private renting, this is the amount of support that you could recieve. Follow this link to find out more through the governemnt website https://www.gov.uk/housing-and-universal-credit/renting-from-private-landlord .
ShelterCymru have information on the key areas to finding the right housing for young people with leanring disabilities: https://sheltercymru.org.uk/housing-advice/finding-a-place-to-live/housing-for-people-with-special-requirements/#toggle-id-1-closed .
It is important to note each housing solution will be different for each individual, speaking to the appropriate services such as your local social care team, the department for work and pensions and your support network will be essential.
Who to live with
Young people have the right to choose who they want to share accomodation with. In many cases young people stay with their families as it suits everyone in the relationship. However, with the right support young people can move out into their own living situation, using the support from home and within the community to live a fulfilled life.
If young people want to move out, it is essential that all of their needs, wants and outcomes for the future are assessed. This is particularly important if young poeple want to move out to live with other people - the compatibility of these young people is crucial.
At CC4LD we provide person-centred planning sessions that can help families understand how to approach their housing transitions. Get in touch with us here: Family Transition Service
Housing options
Council housing and housing associations
Council-owned properties are available within a local authority. Council accomodation can have a range of support provided within them, this includes: full-time support, semi-supported and unsupported. These will provide people with a varied amount of assistance with their living needs i.e. carers, staffed reception hours and activities.
Supported housing and residential settings are explained further by Dimensions on their website: https://dimensions-uk.org/what-we-do/supported-living/
The policy (often called “housing priority allocation policy”) of moving into a council supported property may vary from county to county. The process to apply can be found in the following links for each county in North Wales:
Denbighshire - https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/housing-homelessness-and-landlords/social-housing/apply-for-social-housing.aspx
Anglesey - https://www.anglesey.gov.wales/documents/Docs-en/Housing/Common-Housing-Allocation-Policy.pdf
Flintshire - https://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/PDFFiles/Housing/Common-Housing-Allocation-SARTH-Policy-English.pdf
Wrexham - https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/allocations-policy-2021.pdf
Private renting / living with family
Young people can decide to use their own money to live in a home through paid employment or money they have in savings. This could allow them to have more choice in where they live and the type of accomodation. More information cna be found here: https://www.gov.uk/private-renting .
Support can be provided to those living in their home through social care support. If individuals have an assessed care and support need, their support can help them within the home. An example of this could be a support worker visiting the house to assist the individual with day-to-day acitvities such as cooking or cleaning. The need for care and support is usually assessed by the local authority through a care and support needs assessment, for more information and how to apply follow this link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/
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