There are lots of housing choices available. These pages will tell you all about them.
1. Owning your own home
2. Renting your home
3. Shared ownership
4. Supported Housing
5. Residential Care Homes
6. Floating Support
7. Sheltered Housing
8. Good Neighbour Housing schemes
9. Extra Care schemes
1. Owning your own home
If you own your own home, you might live by yourself or you might live with other people, such as a friend, partner or relative depending on what you choose to do and what support you need.
You can pay to buy your own home in different ways.
Most people have a mortgage to buy their house. This means that you borrow money from the bank and pay the bank some of that money and a little bit more every month for a number of years until you have paid all the money back.
If you have a lot of money you can buy a house without taking out a mortgage.
2. Renting your home
This is where someone else owns the home you live in. This person is your landlord and you pay them money to live there. This is called renting. There are two main types of landlord who you could rent a home from. These are:
Housing Associations or from the local Council
Private Landlords
Local Councils and Housing Associations provide low cost housing to people with low incomes or who have special housing needs. These are popular types of housing so there is often a waiting list.
Some changes to how you apply for a council house came into effect in April 2009 and the new way of choosing a council house will be called "Choice Based Lettings".
Choice Based Letting is a way of offering a council home. It allows you to bid for any empty council property that is to rent and is advertised. All empty houses and flats available to rent will also be advertised in Council offices and on the Internet.
In the meantime if you want to find out more you can speak to The Housing Options Team.
Your rights and responsibilities
The tenancy agreement is the document that lays down what your rights and responsibilities are. What it says will depend on:
what type of home you live in
the type of landlord you have
If you are thinking about renting from a private landlord you will be asked to provide a bond. This is a sum of money that you pay upfront. The amount of the bond required can vary depending upon the property and the landlord.
3. Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership means that you buy part and rent part of your home with a Housing Association. These can be:
flats or small houses on a new development
bought for you by a charity or housing association
You will have to pay some money to the Housing Association as rent and you pay some money back to the bank or building society each month as a mortgage.
It is important that you always take advice from a specialist before signing any agreement for shared ownership. These are complicated and give you important responsibilities. You may be able to claim Housing Benefit on the rent part of the shared ownership contract.
4. Supported Housing
This is where you choose to live in housing that has support workers there to provide you with help to live independently such as:
paying bills
going food shopping
making a meal
dealing with letters
If you are interested in Supported Housing, contact the Learning Disability Team. Telephone 01325 555940.
The Supporting People Team can give you information about the different Supported Housing services available in Darlington.
You can discuss these options with others to decide which type of accommodation may be good for you. The Supporting People grant can pay for housing related support in eligible services if you receive Housing Benefit or have had a successful Financial Assessment.
The Supporting People team can arrange for you to have a Financial Assessment. If you do not receive Housing Benefit or have not had a successful Financial Assessment then you will have to pay the support charge yourself.
Sharing your home with other people
Some people like to have the company of other people:
to share the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning and paying bills
to have someone to talk to
Living with someone else means that you would have to give a lot of thought to things like:
what the other people you live with want and need
you might not always get on with the person or people you live with
It is important to remember that when you share your home with other people it can sometime be difficult.
There are many ways you can share a home with someone:
you can rent,
buy,
be a lodger. This is where you live in someone else’s home with them and pay rent to live in the home with them
5. Residential Care Homes
Most care homes have single bedrooms with other rooms that people may share such as the lounge and the dining room. Residential Care Homes usually provide 24 hour care for those people who need a lot of help and support.
You can find out details of all the residential care homes for people with learning disabilities in Darlington by contacting the Learning Disability Team at Upperthorpe. Telephone 01325 555940.
6. Floating Support
Floating Support services can help you live as independently as possible. You will have a support worker who visits you in your own home (this can be any type of home - your own home, privately rented, Council or Housing Association rented housing).
Your support worker can help you with lots of things this could be:
to pay your bills
develop cooking skills
deal with paperwork
7. Sheltered Housing
Sheltered Housing schemes are where you live independently but there is someone on hand to provide a little support if you need them. Generally they are available for older people with learning disability as long as the service is able to meet their needs.
Sheltered Housing properties have individual flats that are under the same roof. You would have your own lounge, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. As well as this, you would be able to use other areas such as:
the communal lounge
guest rooms
laundry
Sheltered Housing accommodation has a warden service. These schemes offer low-level support for older people.
8. Good Neighbour Housing Schemes
These are flats and bungalows that are grouped together in the same area. These schemes can offer:
good community spirit
neighbours of a similar age group
a communal lounge for social activities
gardens
guest rooms
laundry
9. Extra Care Schemes
These are available for older people who need more help with personal care. These schemes have 24 hour support from a care team on each site.
The Extra Care schemes are for people over 50 who have been assessed as needing a higher level of support. All of the individual flats have special features such as flat floor showers and are wheelchair friendly.
Who can help you decide what option is best for you?
Once you have decided if you need care and/or support to live independently, you can ask for housing advice from the Housing Options Team at Darlington Borough Council.
The Housing Options Team can give you information and guidance on a wide range of housing options, including help with applications for:
council housing
other social housing or Housing Associations
a private rented property
The team can also help you to stay where you are living now until you are ready to move or plan a move. They can also direct you to specialist services in Darlington that can also help you with your housing needs.
The Housing Options Service can be contacted through the Customer Services Advisors. Telephone 01325 380651.