What are my housing options and where do I start?

There are three main options:

Renting from a private landlord (a house, flat or room in a shared house)
Renting from a social or not-for-profit landlord – a local authority, housing association or housing cooperative
Buying (or part-buying) your own home.

There are pro's and con's to each:

Private Renting

Private renting will give you more choice of where you live and the type of property, but it is usually more expensive. You will need to have a deposit and often a months rent in advance. You can also find you have less rights and private landlords are less open to changes being made to the property. However there is no waiting list for private rentals and if you receive housing benefit or the housing element of UC, you may be able to get help with rent shortfall, rent deposits and rent in advance (if you need to move home). You can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP), further information can be found on GOV.uk.

Renting from Local Authority or Social Housing

Social housing is often cheaper and you are likely to have more rights as a tenant. Councils and Housing Associations also usually make adaptations for you or support you to get funding for bigger adaptations. They are also more likely to allow you to make your own changes to the property. Sadly, local authority and social housing is increasingly rare, making the waiting lists long.

Apply to your council who will assess your priority and explain how to bid for properties. To find your local authority search on GOV.uk. Often your application for council housing will incorporate an application to housing association landlords as well.

Supported housing

Is where some form of support or care is linked to the housing. You will normally need to demonstrate you have a need for the support as well as housing. Further information on supported housing can be found on the SeeAbility website.

Buying or part buying your own home

Own your own home can be particularly attractive to people with sight loss, as it gives you the security of a long term stay. Meaning you can permanently adapt and set up your home the way you want and need it, without any landlord restrictions. However buying your own home is now harder than ever, but there are schemes available to help you. Schemes include Shared ownership (when you buy part of a property and rent the rest), Home ownership for people with long term disabilities (HOLD) and the First homes scheme. The My safe home website has lots of information and advice on buying a home if you have a disability, they can also help you apply (certain criteria applies)