Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house options?

Re: Any advice welcome

garw said:

Sorry if this is the wrong forum I wasn't sure where to put it.

Hey all I‘m new to this forum and I’m here looking for advice, I’m in my late twenties and have been disabled for several years due to an accident. I’m living in rented accommodation now but would really love my own little house and that’s where my problem starts I’m unable to work and will be for several years yet as I’m in between several operations and have no savings or assets.
As far as I know my only real option is a council house does anyone know of any other options I might have as I’d prefer to build a passive or low energy house and have it not just wheelchair accessible but as easy to live in as is possible,thank you for any info you can provide.

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Contact the Local Authority for the area you live in and see what they say.

Also Threshold (www.threshold.ie) should be able to give you advice.

Re: Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

Hi Garw and welcome to AAM,

Ive reformatted your post and changed your title to reflect your question more accurately.

As mentioned above Treshold might be a good first stop.

Threshold was founded in 1978 and is a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to secure a right to housing, particularly for households experiencing the problems of poverty and exclusion.

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aj

Re: Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

Sorry about that and thank you.

There is very little profile or understanding in Ireland of the needs of people with special needs and you may have a tough job on your hands which will require organisation and determination.

You probably know about most of the bodies involved in this field already? If not your Citizens Advice people can direct you. You might have to quote EU directives on barrier-free access (which is binding on member states, I think) and The Barcelona Declaration (1995) which sought to promote ‘access within the built environment, housing for people with disabilities in accordance with their economic circumstances, and access to transport (barrier free mobility)’.

I'm not sure if the Declaration has legal standing or is merely aspirational though there was commitment by the Irish government to ensure its implementation by at least 75% of local authorities in Ireland by the end of 2004. You could get a list of L.A.'s who have engaged with the issues.

I follow developments in this area with interest as I used to work with specialist housing associations in London building and designing for people with special needs.

Another thing you might do is approach the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland www.riai.ie and find an architectural student or chartered surveyor who would be interested in developing domestic buildings along specialist lines and would design a home for you for reduced fee as it would be a 'project' in her/his portfolio.

All the best with it.......

Have you contacted Respond? www.respond.ie Housing Associations aren't really that big here, not a patch on the UK, but Respond is the largest.

Re: Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

Thank you all for your advice and help.

I think the first thing to do is to put your name down with the council. They should be able to provide you with a house, granted you may have a long wait but you will have the option to purchase in the future. If you have land they may even be able to build a property. Certain new developments through local authorities are very energy efficient such as in Fingal and Kerry, so you may be lucky.

If you are interested in social housing through a voluntary association SarahMc mentioned, there are actually hundreds of them across the country. You should look at the Irish Council for Social Housing website for your local association. They only rent houses to people however so you don't have the option of purchasing in the future. On the plus side the rent is very reasonable and your tenure is very secure.

Eve

After my last post I looked up some of the specialist UK housing associations I worked with many years ago and found that one - Habinteg, who integrate needs-adapted housing within mainstream estates - have in the meantime expanded Ireland and Northern Ireland:-

Today, Habinteg is established in all England's Housing Corporation regions and has a scheme in Wales and sister associations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. During 2000, it completed its 2000th home.

This sounds like what you are looking for. Information here:- [broken link removed]

Re: Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

Thank you Eve1 and Marie for your help.

Foscadh Housing Association (social housing, like Respond) have houses in Louth and Tipperary and will have more in Louth and in Limerick in the future.

As was said above, you may not own them but you have security of tenure which is a great load off your mind.

Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

garw said:

Thank you Eve1 and Marie for your help.

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You are very welcome. Let us know what you find and how you get on.

Re: Late 20's, unable to work due to accident, no savings assets, council house optio

Hi there

Before you apply for a social or voluntary housing scheme you must first be on the council list or a housing llist of some sort. If you want to find housing associations go on to the ICSH website where you'll find the relavent housing association to yourself. . Intresting reading good luck with finding a home. You can not buy these homes but they are based as a starter home so you can save if you wanted or live there for the rest of your life. Rent is cheap as the minimum rent is now €22.00 weekly, which is nothing if you think about it. This minimum amount is in conjunction with Louth County Council.