The Role of Housing Associations and Disability Chris White Chief Executive Officer Boardmatch Ireland

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well- being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control” Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (ratified by the Irish Govt in 1953) In Ireland we haven’t made Housing a right, it isn’t made a right in terms of the Constitution and therefore it is not possible to take a legal challenge

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability In terms of Housing solutions, everyone in the State has the same options: Home Purchase Private Rented Patient Accommodation Social Housing (This includes homeless Hostels and other interventions) For individuals with disabilities the differentiation between social housing and patient accommodation can become blurred. Social Housing Two types of providers: Local Authorities Voluntary Housing Associations

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability What are Voluntary Housing Associations? Housing Association are Not for Profit housing companies that by and large have charitable status, they are regulated by the Dept of the Environment, Community and Local Govt (DoECLG) under the 1991 Housing Act. They therefore engage with the DoECLG rather than the HSE and the DoHC Their sole aim is to provide good quality, affordable accommodation to people in housing need, specifically: Low income families Homeless Elderly Disabled Travellers

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability How many Housing Associations are there? There are a surprising number of housing associations in Ireland, at present there are 400+ housing associations in the Republic and a further 39 in Northern Ireland. They provide in excess of 20,000 units or about 15% of all the social housing in the State. This gives an average number of associations in Ireland at 15 per county and only 6 per county in Northern Ireland. Many would be familiar names to us all: Focus Ireland (Homelessness) St Vincent de Paul St John of God Brothers of Charity COPE

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability What do Housing Associations do? They are a ronseal type movement, they do what you expect them to do, which is provide HOUSING! They are not primarily focused on the CARE of people, this a an important but secondary focus of Housing Associations activity. They look to provide the best quality accommodation, most fit for the needs of the tenants. They ensure that the accommodation is well maintained and looked after and that there is sufficient funds for all of the above. A secondary outcome tends to be improved conditions and the easier provision of care for individuals who need it.

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability How are Housing Associations Funded? Housing Associations are funded traditionally through two ways, Building (Capital) funds and Day to Day funds (Revenue). Building Funds Until very recently, building / acquisition funding was available from the DoECLG in the form of non repayable mortgages, these varied in length from 20 to 30 years. If the terms and conditions of the mortgage were breached by the Housing Association then the mortgage loan could be recalled. This funding stream was called the ‘Capital Assistance Scheme’ (CAS) and proved very successful in providing accommodation for people with disabilities. However it is a general scheme and not targeted specifically at the area of disability. Approx 7,000 units of accommodation for people with disability have been provided through this scheme.

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability How are Housing Associations Funded? (2) Housing Associations are funded traditionally through two ways, Building (Capital) funds and Day to Day funds (Revenue). Day to Day Funds The funds for building or acquiring housing come from the DoECLG but the expectation then is that the funding required to maintain the housing comes from the rent collected from the tenants. This rental income is for housing maintenance only and is not for CARE costs at any point. The maximum rent a Housing Association can charge through the CAS is €85 per week of which €55 a week should come through rent allowance now called RAS.

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability Housing Association Finance: The Dilemma Housing Associations are expected to be free standing entities by the DoECLG, but expectation has not been matched by application. Therefore many CARE association have availed of Housing funding to build or acquire accommodation. The difficulty then becomes that the application for rent allowance is rejected by Social Welfare on the grounds that the accommodation is funded through a section 38 or 39 agency. So the tenant through no fault of their own is disqualified from Rent Allowance because of the governance of the CARE body. The CARE bodies seem then to be equally reluctant to separate out housing stock that has been funded by the DoE because of being seen to dispose of assets and the perception that this is an expensive and costly activity.

ID Services -Housing -Care -Clinical -Respite Board Mr P Murphy Ms C O’Brien Mr A Devlin Ms D Smyth Mr S Murray Tenant No Rent No Tenancy The Role of Housing Associations and Disability

Housing Association Finance: The Dilemma (2) Some CARE association have been successful in separating out these functions, most notably ReHab who have a separate housing association Newgrove Housing Association. Being a: Free standing separate Company Ltd by Guarantee (demonstrated by the Cert of Incorporation) Tenancy agreements in place for each tenant in residence Rent Book for each tenant It does take time and in many cases appeals to the national appeal body but this is only worth while when the CARE association and the HOUSING are free of each other.

ID Association Care RoleLandlord Role Tenant ID Housing Association Mr P Murphy Ms C O’Brien Mr A Devlin Ms D Smyth Mr S Murray Mr P Murphy Ms C O’Brien Mr A Devlin Ms D Smyth Mr S Murray Tenancy Agreement Weekly Rent €85, SWA €55 The Role of Housing Associations and Disability

Housing Associations:The Future There are considerable challenges coming down the line at Housing Associations and they would be seen as: a)The significant reduction in Building Funding (Capital) b)The promotion of Private Finance Initiatives c)Acceptance by the Housing Finance Agency for funding loans d)The increasing important of individual rights e)The need for governance reform amongst very large CARE agencies f)The implementation of the Congregated settings report in partnership with the voluntary housing sector g)The protection of individuals rights to benefits h)Increasing regulation of the Voluntary Housing Sector i)The reduced role of the Local Authority social housing building programme

The Role of Housing Associations and Disability Many thanks Chris White Chief Executive Officer Boardmatch Ireland