Making the Most of Adapted
Housing Stock
Dave Arkle
Housing Manager
Amber Valley Borough Council
Amber Valley
• Amber Valley – Derbyshire authority with a mix of
rural and urban areas
• Historically contribution of £550,000 from own funds
• 1493 Number of adaptations completed over the last
eight years
• Presentation is very much the product of work
completed by a number of partners in the area
specifically Futures Homescape, Derbyshire County
Council, Metropolitan Home Improvement Agency &
iDecide Older Persons Housing Advice Service
Daniel’s story
• Daniel had a car accident that left him paralysed from the neck
down which left him in hospital for a long time
• He was under 18 with a family
• He wanted to leave hospital and be with his family
• FHL supported the move to one of their general needs
properties that had a through floor lift and other adaptations
• Tenancy in trust with his mother until he was 18 and other
adaptations are being completed.
• Being at home is making a difference to his quality of life
• Completing other adaptations but far more minor and have
enabled us to protect the previous investment
Motivations for Thinking Differently
• Competing demands for the Council’s capital programme
• ‘we have put in the same adaptation in the same property 5
times now’ Amber Valley Community Care worker
• Projected increases in older people that will need adaptations
• Is there any point providing an adaptation where the applicant
cannot afford to heat and maintain their home and we can offer
an alternative that will help the person to keep safe and warm in
their later years?
• Levels of disrepair in owner occupied homes especially
bungalows
• We cannot afford to deliver quick adaptations without increasing
options as an alternative
• There are lots of adapted properties out there
Role of Futures Homescape
• Futures Homescape (formerly Amber Valley Housing) –
separate entity, but with strong links to the Council in areas of
shared interest
• Homelessness contractor and manage choice based lettings
• Development Partner
• Has a high proportion of stock designated for older persons
many of which have previously been adapted
• AVBC pay for majority of adaptations in FHL stock
• Historically between 40 and 60% of applications from FHL
tenants despite being only 12% of the overall stock but this has
dropped significantly
• We want to keep recycling the adapted properties
Case Study
• D’s health declined and needed a wheelchair, her
property could not be adapted to meet her needs
(aged 41). Instead of adapting her existing property,
she was offered a property which was about to
become vacant which had a ground floor extension,
with an additional bedroom and wet room downstairs.
The property was also suitable for her 2 daughters
and partner to maintain a family lifestyle, and had
enough room for her carer to stay
What Have We Been Doing?
• Challenging traditional thinking and trying to provide housing
advice prior to assessment
• Circulating property details of adapted properties amongst Adult
Care teams and advocates of disabled people
• Using community champions that have downsized to promote
the concept of moving to more suitable properties
• Lots and lots of networking and promoting messages about
issues facing asset rich, cash poor owner occupiers
•
Commissioned a DVD ‘Happy in Your Home’ that can be viewed via
DCC website
http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/social_health/adult_care_and_wellbeing/ac
commodation_and_housing/default.asp
Use of Home Options
‘Nice flat in quiet rural
location with country side
views. Bus route on main
road. Flat access shower
installed. Benefits from a
lifeline alarm system
which is monitored 24
hours per day. Our
visiting support service is
available if required.’
Thinking Differently
• New Homes Bonus has been earmarked to support
strategic housing purposes
• NHB used to support new development, tackling
empty properties and DFG, but can only be spent
once
• £20K = 1 new house or 5 level access showers
• DFG does not support growth
• FHL by recycling adapted properties can potentially
release funding for new affordable housing
development
Case Study
• Mrs W required adaptations to her home but
an adapted property had become available
on her street – (no. 29) she gave her up
property at no 5 (not adapted) and moved
into No. 29, thus making use of the
adaptations in the property – (stairlift and
level access shower)
Health and Social Care
• Raised on Total Place Agenda to get buy in from Clinical
Commissioning Group representative and Adult Care
• This has paved the way for better integration of HIA and OT
• Shared investment in the HIA
• Through public health leadership conversations are taking place
locally that may lead to health paying for door widening and/or
other measures for those that are stuck in a care environment
which will lead to big savings for health/social care
• Part of a plan to improve awareness of housing within Adult
Care and Health
Process Improvements
• All FHL referrals to DCC are checked by allocations team to
offer internal support and confirm that property is suitable for
adaptation
• Triage service delivered by HIA which although in its infancy will
pull in a range of housing advice components, so that when an
OT or CCW makes the assessment they are confident that other
options have already been explored
• This will reduce the cancellation rate which has been as high as
20%
• Use of second homes money to support discretionary payments
to help eliminate barriers for private tenants and owner
occupiers willing to move to already adapted properties
• Benefit of pushing fuel poverty
Outcomes
• OT’s and CCW’s embrace a wider assessment of housing need
and refer into support services which has reduced the number of
referrals for DFG
• FHL provide financial incentives to their own tenants to move
linked to Welfare Reform
• In 2012/13 FHL re let 46 adapted properties
• Several needed small further adaptations, but nothing like the
number that would have been required otherwise
• Better connections with Hospital discharge teams
• Referrals dropped significantly
• Some really happy grateful people that did not know they could
access social housing
Case Study
• Tenant S had a disability and needed to downsize following
some of her family growing up and moving out. This left a
couple and one child in a 3 bed adapted house with a ground
floor extension housing an additional bedroom and wet room.
She was supported to move to a 2 bedroom bungalow, thus
avoiding the “bedroom tax”
• The adapted house was then offered to another FHL tenant
whose wife was in a nursing home and couldn’t return home
until their home was adapted. Instead of completing expensive
adaptations the couple moved to the home above vacated by
tenant S. The couple also had 2 grown up sons that lived with
them, so would make the most of the 3 bedrooms upstairs.
Next Steps?
• More confidence to now transform the speed of delivery
• Assess and evaluate the triage process
• Increase the level of integration with Adult Care and Health to
improve housing support to those that need it
• CCG commissioning a process of identifying those with long
term health conditions so we can be more proactive than
reactive
• Fight to ensure that as many properties that have adaptations
are made available for people like Daniel who don’t want to be
in hospital and want to be at home with their family.
• Oversight of issues cause by Welfare Reform for properties that
have received expensive adaptations
Thank you for listening
Dave Arkle
01773 841334
david.arkle@ambervalley.gov.uk