Case Studies: Rajinder's Story

Rajinder Chatha has purchased his own home through Shared Ownership where he owns a 50% share with a Housing Association. He receives support through his family and a local voluntary organisation.
Rajinder’s story illustrates how housing and support options can be achieved with little or no involvement from the Local Authority. It also shows how informal and natural supports can be just as, if not more, effective than other formal support mechanisms.

Setting the Scene

Rajinder is the oldest of a family of five - he has 2 brothers and 2 sisters. All but one sister live in the family home with their mother and father in West London.
Rajinder has autism and moderate learning difficulties. When he was diagnosed, his parents were told that Rajinder would not be able to do many everyday things that most people take for granted like reading, writing, cooking, cleaning and getting about by himself. Rajinder also has epilepsy which makes being independent even more difficult.

Rajinder’s mother rejected the idea that he would not be able to live a normal life and was determined he would get the same opportunities in life as his brothers and sisters – they felt that the basis of this would be getting a good education. At this time, this meant Rajinder attending a boarding school for young people with epilepsy.
He then went on to attend a residential college where he lived in a shared flat until he left when he was 21 years old. Here, Rajinder learned a lot of skills to help him live independently. When he returned to his family home, naturally he wanted to live more independently.

Rajinder’s family had tried their best to help him get a flat through the council but he didn’t have enough points to make him a priority as according to the council, he already had suitable accommodation.
They had asked Social Services to help but all they could offer at the time was a place in a group home because he needed support – and Rajinder didn’t want to live with a group of people who were strangers to him – he wanted his own place.

Getting a Home

Getting a home
Rajinder and his family felt desperate about their situation so they got in touch with the local Mencap to ask for help. Mencap were running a project in which they were developing and piloting housing options for people with learning disabilities locally. They sent out a housing advisor to talk to Rajinder and his family.
Rajinder was asked what his ideal living situation would be - he said that he wanted his own home and to live closer to where he attends Tae Kwon Do 3 times per week, he wanted a house with a garden where he could keep his dog, Tyson. He also needed some help as he had never lived by himself and needed to learn how to do things for himself - this meant having an extra bedroom so whoever was supporting him could stay overnight.

The options available to him were:

1. Private rented accommodation - this would not guarantee long term security or being able to keep a pet
2. Council or Housing Association rented accommodation - this meant challenging the previous decision so that Rajinder had higher priority though this would still be a long wait if he wanted to live in the area he had chosen
3. Outright ownership - it would have been difficult to find a property in the area he wanted that came under the £100k threshold that Income Support will pay on the mortgage interest
4. Shared Ownership - there were several Housing Associations providing Shared Ownership in the area, one was providing a Special Needs Shared Ownership Scheme.

Rajinder and his family chose options 2 and 4 - Rajinder would continue pursuing a higher priority on the council housing register and he would make an application for Shared Ownership with the Housing Association that had the special needs scheme.

Rajinder applied to the Special Needs Shared Ownership Scheme – the scheme meant that he could choose a home on the open market that was within a certain price range, according to the size of the property. The Housing Association would then buy the property, repair it and bring it up to certain standards and then sell Rajinder a share. They would also provide a maintenance service as part of the agreement which would be funded through benefits. Rajinder was accepted and put on a waiting list for this scheme.
As he was on this waiting list, he was also automatically put on a waiting list for 'Resale' properties - these are properties that have previously been purchased through Shared Ownership - often part of a development - that are being sold on by the current owners. Resale properties do not have a maintenance scheme attached to them as they are usually sold as 'general needs' accommodation.

Within four weeks of making an application, Rajinder had been invited to view a 'Resale' property. It was a 2 bedroom ground floor garden flat close to his Tae-Kwon-Do class and good public transport links and shops - it was exactly what he wanted except that he was not allowed to keep a dog there.

Rajinder had to make a difficult decision - taking into account the following points:

• Properties do not become available in this area very often.
• Property prices are so high in this area that he may not be able to find one that is affordable to purchase from the open market
• He would have to leave his dog at his family home if he accepted this flat
• He would have to pay for any internal repairs and maintenance himself

Rajinder and his family felt that the flat had all of the good things that he needed and wanted so he decided to take the flat and make some major compromises :

• Rajinder would keep his dog at his family home and return to walk the dog daily
• Rajinder would take out insurance to cover electricity and plumbing repairs
• His family would finance any other maintenance of the property

Getting Support

The Housing Association asked Rajinder to have a Community Care Assessment as a condition to being offered the property,. They needed to satisfy themselves that Rajinder would be appropriately supported to live in his home and maintain his contract with them.
The Social Services department carried out this assessment and confirmed that Rajinder would be appropriately supported but did not follow up with actually providing a support package. There were two main reasons for this:

• It would be at least a few months before Rajinder would be moving so they did not prioritise him in their caseload.
• They did not have the expertise to build a support package around Rajinder as they were only experienced in making placements in residential care and group homes

Whilst waiting to hear back from Social Services, Rajinder, his family and the housing advisor started thinking more precisely about what Rajinder needed in terms of support when he moved.

Rajinder is very able and open to learning new skills due to the constant support and encouragement of his family.

• He can cook simple meals, heat up ready prepared food, use the telephone and carry out most household cleaning tasks. He needed help to develop these skills in his own home.
• Rajinder has minimal reading and writing skills so he needs help with paying bills and dealing with other mail.
• Rajinder's biggest worry was being on his own - as he comes from a big family, he has never had the opportunity to even spend a night alone - he felt he needed somebody to stay overnight and support him at least to begin with.
• Rajinder also needed help to make friends to socialise with.

When the elements of support were broken down, his family felt that he could easily be supported by them in most areas. His brothers and sister were all attending university in Central London so it was easy for them to take turns in staying overnight with Rajinder.
Rajinder's mother could help him at home to learn independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning and shopping.
His family helped him with paying bills, mortgage and rent and did most of his through direct debit.
Rajinder took about 6 months to move into his home fully - spending only 2-3 days per week initially then gradually fully moving in. This has helped to make the process of becoming independent more manageable for him and those who support him.

Two years on and Rajinder is now able to live by himself as he has slowly built up his confidence. He is cooking his own simple meals and reheating the home cooking that his mother regularly puts in his freezer for him. His family have helped him to decorate his flat which he has learned to keep clean and tidy. Rajinder also regularly entertains his sister and niece and nephew who regularly come over on holiday from Hong Kong.

Rajinder now has a volunteer from a local befriending scheme who supports him socially. He also has developed stronger ties with others who attend Tae Kwon Do. Rajinder has now received his black belt and plans to go on and teach others.

Finance

When purchasing a home, as opposed to renting or going in to a group home set up, there are some major start up costs to consider.

Rajinder needed to engage a solicitor to help him with the purchase and completely furnish a 2 bedroom flat. His family were able to help him partly with the solicitors fees so he made an agreement with the solicitor to repay the remainder over several months. The solicitors fees totalled approximately £1200.
Rajinder applied for a grant from the social fund to furnish his flat - he was granted £1200 which covered the main electrical goods and bedroom furniture he required. He was able to get the remainder of his furniture from a charitable organisation and family and friends.
His mortgage and rent are funded by are benefits, his family helped him with legal fees and moving costs. He received a grant to buy furnishings.

• Capital
  Rajinder has purchased a resale property so there was no capital needed through the Housing Corporation or Local Authority to purchase the property for Rajinder specifically - this would have been different had he gone down the Special Needs Shared Ownership route operated by this particular Housing Association.
• Mortgage
  The total value of Rajinder's flat when he purchased it was £130k. Rajinder purchased a 50% share worth £65k for which he had to get a 100% interest only mortgage. As Rajinder is in receipt of Income Support and met the criteria for Income Support Mortgage Interest (ISMI) to be paid, his mortgage interest (£360 per month) is fully paid through his Income Support directly to the building society.
• Rent
  Rajinder pays rent to the Housing Association for the 50% of the property they own. Rajinder qualifies for full Housing Benefit which covers his rent (£160 per month).
• Support Costs
  As Rajinder's family provide most of his support, there is no cost to the Local Authority. Rajinder receives social support through a local scheme which is funded through the Local Authority. These costs are minimal and cover the project co-ordinator's salary and the volunteers expenses. Rajinder goes out with the volunteer once a week.
• Living Costs
  Rajinder receives Incapacity Benefit, Income Support, Disabilility Living Allowance and Council Tax Benefit. From this he pays all of his living expenses such as food, electricity, telephone, council tax and contents insurance. The only added expense Rajinder has because he owns his own home is for repairs insurance which is £120 per year.
  Rajinder's family have helped him budget well for these expenses and he still manages to purchase a regular supply of cycling magazines and save for his holiday in Switzerland.

Conclusion

Rajinder has a pretty good standard of living and compares well to many people of his age, he has a place to call his own which he chose, he has freedom, he has people around him who love him, he makes choices about his own life - the basics that we all expect and take for granted - yet sadly, these are the things that many people with a learning difficulty have never had and in some cases, never will have.

It would have been much more expensive for Rajinder to go into a group home where he may have had a poorer quality of life and not had the opportunities to develop the skills he needs to be less reliant on others - yet this was all that was on offer to him initially.

In the longer term, if Rajinder’s family are unable to support him with their time, he will require support purchased through the Local Authority - but with the valuable skills he has gained, this support will be minimal.

Rajinder had to make compromises when taking his flat - he cannot have his dog, Tyson with him and he still regrets this. Rajinder goes home regularly to make sure Tyson gets his exercise but he would still prefer to have his company in his own home.

There were many risks for Rajinder (and still are) particularly when he first started staying alone - especially around his epilepsy. There have not been any significant problems because of his epilepsy and in fact his seizures have reduced so much since his stress levels have gone down that he and his family simply do not see it as a problem any more.

Rajinder's mother says "We have just got to trust him and be positive". Rajinder says,"The most important thing for me is that I am independent".

They have weighed up the quality of Rajinder's life against the risk he is more exposed to in his living situation and chosen to go for quality.

Housing Options, Stanelaw House, Sutton Lane, Sutton, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29 5RY, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)845 4561497 E-mail: enquiries@housingoptions.org.uk