Home ownership for
people with long-term
disabilities (HOLD)
Factbook
About shared ownership through
HOLD, and a step-by-step guide for
the professionals leading the process
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Document title primary colour
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The Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Adult
Social Services (ADASS) is working with key national organisations to support
delivery of the Transforming Care programme, aimed at improving care and support
for people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that
challenges, including those with a mental health condition.
About this factbook
This factbook is about the HOLD shared ownership scheme and was developed to
support those professionals who are working with people with a learning disability,
autism or both as part of the Transforming Care programme. However, shared home
ownership is a possible option for a much wider range of people; this guide is
therefore relevant to other professionals too.
Shared home ownership won’t be right for everyone, but we do know that it can
work really well for some people who may have very specific housing requirements.
We know, for example, that individuals with complex and challenging behaviours
often require tailored solutions that will minimise the triggers for behaviour, in some
cases with significant adaptations and/or modifications, and where location and
environment are very important in achieving sustainable housing solutions for people.
Where the person lives, who they live with, the design of their home and how they are
supported (including in an environment that they are comfortable with) can have a
significant impact on wellbeing and behaviour.
Home ownership under the HOLD scheme enables the individual and their family
to select a property from the open market, within their budget, just like everyone
else who is looking to buy a property. This gives them a much better opportunity to
choose where they live and the kind of property they will be living in, coupled with
the security of tenure that only home ownership delivers.
The step by step guide included in the second half of this document is a guide for
those professionals involved in the process to help ensure things run as smoothly as
possible. Anyone who has ever bought a house knows that it can be full of twists and
turns, so keeping a strong commitment is critical to success.
Introduction
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About the HOLD scheme
and how it works
When the individual decides to move on or dies,
the property is sold. The grants from the HCA are
paid back, to be recycled and invested into other
property.
What is SMI?
SMI is a Government loan (prior to April 2018 it was
paid as a benefit). The loan will need to be repaid
when the property is sold or transferred, subject
to available equity. In these cases, the mortgage
provider will retain First Charge on the property and
receive its money back when it’s eventually sold, as
will the Housing Association. Other funds used for
the purchase are secured via a Second Charge.
Once the First and Second Charge obligations
have been fulfilled, the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) is able to claim back the money
paid out via SMI.
If the amount of equity available after the sale
of the property is less than the amount due to
be recovered the balance will be written off. For
example; a claimant has an SMI loan of £10,000,
when the property is sold the equity available after
clearing prior charges is £8,000. DWP will recover
£8,000 and write off the balance of £2,000. The
individual might also benefit from any uplift in the
property price at point of sale, which could off-set
the loan in some circumstances.
It is important for people to understand in
detail what SMI is and how it works. It will also
be important to be aware of the length of the
mortgage term and to plan accordingly for the end
of it when the loan will need to be repaid in line
with Government guidance.
You can nd out more here:
www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest
What is the HOLD shared
ownership scheme?
Shared ownership schemes have been
established as a low cost home ownership option
for people of modest incomes for many years.
HOLD is a similar government-backed shared
ownership scheme specifically for people with a
long term disability to share in the ownership of
their home with a housing association.
HOLD is available (subject to lender approval) to
people aged 18 or over with long-term disabilities
(this covers physical and learning disabilities,
cognitive and sensory impairments and enduring
mental health issues).
How does it work?
Under this model, when it has been used with
people with a learning disability and/or autism,
a housing association buys the chosen property
with the individual and their family. To buy its share
of the property the housing association uses grant
funding from the Homes and Communities Agency
(HCA) which helps to keep the rent low.
On the day the property is purchased, the housing
association sells a share of the home to the
individual with a learning disability/autism. The
individual gets a mortgage to pay for his or her share
of the property, with mortgage repayments covered
by a repayable loan called Support for Mortgage
Interest (SMI) – see below for more on SMI.
The shared owner with a disability pays rent on
the share of the property owned by the housing
association. The housing association may
retain responsibility for many of the repairs
and maintenance that shared owners may need
help and support with. The cost of this is then
included in a service charge. The rent and service
charge is eligible to be covered by the person’s
housing benefit.
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What are the benefits of
the HOLD model?
These are the main benefits of the scheme that
people and families have told us about:
• Security of tenure. Ownership offers the most
secure tenure available to people and promotes
the separation of accommodation and support.
This separation means that the individual can
choose to change his/her care and support
provider, without the risk of losing their home
or facing eviction/notice on the property.
• Personalised. It allows for an individualised
environment that meets the specific needs
of the person; bespoke accommodation,
environment and location can be key to
managing behaviours that are a challenge.
• Choice and control. It allows for choice about
where the individual wants to live and with
whom. Some people may want to live with other
people. However, some people don’t want to.
We know that shared living arrangements are
not right for some people and can have an
impact on behaviour. This can lead to placement
breakdown.
• Promotes natural relationships. This model
follows the principles of an ‘ordinary house,
in an ordinary street’ – the same as anyone
else, and allows people to be a part of their
community, with the right support.
• Long-term settled accommodation. Many
people with a learning disability and/or autism
who have bought a house through HOLD have
chosen to remain in the same place. Where
people move on, this is usually because family
moved, their needs changed due to aging or
they passed away
1
.
1 My Safe Home, who help people with disabilities secure HOLD
mortgages, have estimated that 79 per cent of all HOLD buyers
that they have helped since 1999 are still living in the same
property, of which 80 per cent have a learning disability or autism.
From the perspective of health and social care
commissioners and others who are working
with people and families to look at housing and
support options for people there are also some
additional benefits:
• Uses other funding. This model draws down
funding from other sources beyond health and
social care, and secures additional investment
from HCA and housing associations
What are the limitations
of the HOLD model?
• Not suitable for everyone. The model won’t
be right for everyone. Not everyone will want to
live on their own, and there are other issues that
might not make it suitable – for example, there
are likely to be issues in securing a mortgage
where someone has a criminal conviction.
• Not everyone will be eligible. For example,
there are certain welfare benefits that people
must be receiving to be eligible for SMI (see
above). It is also limited to people who are
unlikely to be able to work. This is due to some
of the rules around SMI and the benefits you
need to be receiving for an unlimited period.
From this perspective, HOLD is an option for
people with a learning disability and/or autism
who meet the following criteria:
◦ eligible for high or middle rate care
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/ Personal
Independence Payment (PIP), or Attendance
Allowance for over 60s
◦ over the age of 18
◦ have a clear credit rating, no judgements/
court orders in relation to debts, bankruptcy
and no borrowing or rental debts in the past
◦ have capacity to manage their property
and affairs or someone acting on their
behalf (Court Appointed Deputy etc)
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◦ be on the electoral role or have ID
◦ not be able to gain employment replacing
their benefits in the future
◦ no criminal convictions.
• Availability of mortgage lenders. Although
HOLD is a nationwide scheme there are
relatively few lenders who offer the model,
which means it is not currently available in all
areas of the country.
• Buying a house is hard work. There are
lots of things to think about from finding the
right sort of house, securing a mortgage,
making adaptations to the property and so on,
including all the associated paperwork. For
commissioners, HOLD may not be a model that
they have come across before; it takes time and
energy to make it work.
• Changes to policy. The model is reliant on
things like the SMI loan and Housing Benefit
to cover mortgage repayments and the rental.
There are therefore always risks as we can
never guarantee Government plans. For
example, as noted above, the Government
has recently changed SMI from a benefit to a
loan. The loan accrued through SMI payments
will therefore need to be paid back when the
property is sold. In addition, the HOLD model
relies on HCA funding (as described above)
which could be affected in the future should
funding structures for social housing change.
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Shared ownership case study
My son had spent much of his young adulthood in hospital and also in residential services, where he
experienced significant abuse, underpinned by a lack of choice and control about how he lived his day
to day life. This has left him with significant trauma.
Despite this he has maintained a core of his being that is endowed with gifts and talents. He has
interests and abilities that motivate him and offer us a real gateway into helping him live a great life in
the community.
When we learned that he had an opportunity to access shared ownership we did what we could
to find out about how it works and what it takes. It’s a complex process based on good individual
service design. The home itself is just one part of the solution, as we also needed to make sure that
his support was right too. It was also critical that we coordinated these aspects so everything came
together at the right time.
Once we had approval in principle for the mortgage we were able to shop around to find the right home
in the right neighbourhood, close enough for us to visit and somewhere that staff could easily reach.
We used a home identification form that helped us determine what we really needed in a house,
including space for staff, parking, and outdoor space. Once we had an idea of the essentials, we were
able to look for a home.
Knowing my son as I do, I was able to get it just right. I met neighbours and found out what the place
was like at different times of the day, as I know my son does not tolerate noise well.
My son loves his home. He has security in his own home and his life for the first time in years.
He was able to get an assistance dog which helped him settle. He walks the dog and has got to know
his neighbours. He loves to mow the lawn and this new interest has now extended to helping cut grass
on recreational land as part of a local environmental group. His progress since moving continues and
now he undertakes lots of tasks requiring no prompting, such as feeding his birds.
Getting a secure home and the right support has made a huge difference to my son.
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A step-by-step guide for the
person leading the process
1. Identify a need
There may be individuals who have not been
able to be settled in the right house and the right
location, and where HOLD as an option offers the
best possibility of achieving the critical stability
that the person needs to live in their community.
Find out as much as you can about the person,
who supports them, what their dreams and
aspirations are and what gifts and talents they can
bring to the place they live.
The following Home Identification form is a
useful tool aimed at supporting people with a
learning disability and/or autism to think about
their housing needs and support the process of
developing a housing specification for the person:
www.housingandsupport.org.uk/site/hasa/
templates/general.aspx?pageid=476&cc=gb
2. Identify your partners
You will need:
• a housing association/registered
social landlord
• a finance person
• legal support
• advocate/family member
• care manager
• someone to help find a lender and apply
for the right benefits
• an organisation who can help you find
a HOLD mortgage.
Arrange an initial call to explain that you are
looking to develop shared ownership in your
area – explain that two weekly conference calls
will be needed to take this forward. Secure the
support of these partners.
Mental capacity and advocacy
Some people will need an advocate or a family
member to help. If a person lacks capacity
about their finances, the Court of Protection
(COP) approval will need to include something
specific about the deputy being able to agree a
mortgage on their behalf. This must be applied
for immediately if there is no COP and the
person lacks capacity. Failure to start this now
will mean big delays later.
Lots of these people won’t have heard of
HOLD/shared ownership as an option, so as the
professional leading the process, you may be the
one suggesting it.
You will need to be absolutely open about the
benefits and risks of the model to help people
make up their minds to see if it is right for them.
If you are working with an organisation to help find
a mortgage lender there will be costs associated
with this.
A good idea is to have a briefing session
explaining the HOLD scheme. As part of this,
you will need to make sure that you explain the
order of legal charges; this is about who gets
their money back when a house is sold, especially
when a few different bodies are putting money
into the purchase.
Banks and building societies always get their
money back first, because this is the law. Grant
making bodies may come next. Often (as in most
house purchases) the personal funding people put
into their home is lower down the list. This is only
going to be an issue if a house falls in value over
time, as there may be not enough money in the pot
after a sale to pay everyone back. The lower down
the list a contributor is the more risk of losing
money if the value of the property is reduced.
It is important that everyone understands this.
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3. Establish the person’s
eligibility to have a
mortgage early on to avoid
disappointments later
The following ‘checklist for shared home
ownership’ is a useful tool for the professional
leading the process. The first section covers
eligibility requirements for HOLD – get the person
with help from a family member, advocate or care
manager to complete the first section:
www.housingandsupport.org.uk/site/hasa/
templates/general2col.aspx?pageid=477&cc=gb
Like any of us asking to borrow money, lenders
will check that the person has no criminal record
or that they haven’t had any debt problems. Also,
if an individual has the ability to work in paid
employment this will significantly impact on the
welfare benefits they are eligible for, especially
with the move to Universal Credit, so this will need
to be considered up front.
4. Find out how much it
will cost
Ask the person and those who support them to fill
in a ‘home identification form’ (see step 1 above).
The questions will help everyone identify the type
of home needed and its ideal location.
Get people to look around on property sales
websites to find out a ballpark realistic budget
to meet the person’s housing needs. Have an
idea now about what the essential adaptations
are likely to be; you can’t finalise it now as it will
ultimately depend on the property – but get the
draft schedule of works listed at this stage and
put some ballpark costs next to each item.
5. Start to pull together
funding
Look at these streams of funding for the purchase
of the property:
• any capital funding from the buyer’s Local
Authority
• capital grant funding from NHS England, the
Department of Health or the local Clinical
Commissioning Group (CCG)*
• mortgage funding (likely to be £100,000 max)
• HCA funding – via the Housing Association
• the Housing Association’s own funding
• personal contribution from the buyer and/or
their family.
*The funding from the person and the grant
monies together must be at least 10 per cent
of the purchase price of the property.
Look at these streams of funding for adaptations:
• disabled facilities grant
• personal funding
• other eligible grant funding
• local charitable organisations.
Write down who is covering which costs.
You should also look at any increased costs for
property repairs due to any behaviour that might
lead to property damage; ensure that these
are either reflected in the service charge of
the housing association, or can be covered by
a separate funded resource (subject to funder
approval).
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6. Look at the ballpark funds
and the money you can get to
see if the project is feasible
7. Think about timescales
A property purchase usually takes at least six to
nine months – set expectations now about how
long it will take. Alert the individual buying the
property, their family and advocates about the
process from here.
Care managers will need to ensure that support is
available in the intended area. If a desired location
is remote it is likely that staffing support will be
problematic – support MUST be prepared and
ready for when the person moves in. Good project
management helps. Use the checklist to keep
activity ordered and on track.
8. Forms to fill in and
promises of funding
Make sure that you and the individual/their family/
advocates have completed all of the forms to
ask for the money.
A mortgage lender will need to be identified,
you can use organisations who are able to help
with this, as noted earlier.
9. Prepare your signatories,
get help with the legal aspects
Some grants might require signing from the
council or CCG legal team leads or finance leads.
They need to understand what they are being
asked to sign off. Prepare them so that when the
time comes they fully understand the project.
Similarly within housing associations this will also
need to be done.
10. Identify the house
The individual, their family and advocates will now
know what their budget is. They now need to find
the ideal home. Some housing associations will
have constraints on properties they will consider
taking on to manage (as they will be maintaining
the home) so people need to know what age, type
and energy efficiency rating is appropriate before
they set their hearts on something.
Once a home is identified everyone will need to be
made aware of the location, type of property and
asking price on the market.
11. Initial checks and offer
The housing association will want to look at the
home and approve it before an offer is made.
They usually put the offer in and negotiate with the
lender. If this is going to happen all contributors
need to agree that they are happy about who is
negotiating on the price.
Once an offer is accepted searches, valuations
and other checks can take place.
12. A formal mortgage offer
The lender should now be able to offer money
against the property and confirm this in writing.
13. Housing benefit and SMI
These need to be applied for as they will cover the
mortgage interest (SMI) and the rental element
(Housing Benefit). Help is available through
organisations who specialise in HOLD, or local
benefits advice agencies may be able
to help.
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14. Establish a completion
date
Check that care managers who may be arranging
support know about the completion date as
support will need to be carefully coordinated to
coincide with moving, especially where the new
house location is far away from current support.
The individual and their family/advocates will need
to arrange removal and decide on providing notice
at their current property/placement. However do
schedule time for adaptations and works to be
completed and quality checked before moving in.
The checklist has a range of other actions such
as establishing utilities like gas and electricity are
connected and new accounts are set up for the
buyer.
15. Completion date
This is the day when contracts are exchanged –
the buyer can usually get their keys!
16. Works and adaptations
Works and adaptations will need to be scheduled,
suppliers’ quotes considered and approved and
the works done.
Be aware that delays in works being done to the
new home will create delays in when a person can
move. Paying the rent element on both properties
can be costly if this happens, so perhaps it would
be helpful to have contingencies agreed ahead of
starting the process to pay rents if this is likely, as
housing benefit payments will not cover multiple
properties.
17. Support, neighbourhood
and community
Individuals will need a transition plan, which
could include people getting to know the
neighbourhood, transport activities, registering
with a GP etc. A full list is in the checklist. Support
staff will also need to know the neighbourhood
and what’s on offer and look at opportunities for
linking with communities and new activities. Any
care and support plans will need to be checked
for new risks as well as new opportunities and
amended as necessary.
18. Moving in
When the person moves in, plans will need to be
updated as new experiences come to light; be
aware that once this goal is achieved there will be
many more to follow! Although a person may settle
well it is important that care management remains in
touch and clinical support is there in case problems
arise later. Quick responses will help the person get
the right support and stop problems escalating.
19. Monitoring
The individual, their family, friends and care
manager will all have a role to play to make sure
that everything is going well. Bills and finances
need to be monitored to make sure that everything
is on track. Similarly support arrangements will
need to be reviewed regularly.
20. Don’t forget to celebrate
Moving into a new home is incredibly exciting
and should be celebrated to mark everyone’s
achievement and contributions. It’s good to share
success stories within organisations as this creates
momentum to do more shared ownership schemes
with more people in the future.
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Local Government Association
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London SW1P 3HZ
Telephone 020 7664 3000
Fax 020 7664 3030
Email [email protected]v.uk
www.local.gov.uk
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REF 25.65
© Local Government Association, April 2018
