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It may be possible to purchase a home of your own if you have a long-tern disability or mental health issues and are receiving certain benefits. This fact sheet outlines just how this is possible.

New Build HomeBuy (formerly known as Shared Ownership).
You will buy a share in a property and rent the remaining un-owned share from the housing association you purchase from.

You will not have to share the home with anyone unless you want or need to.

You will be able to choose a home in an area where you want to live, from the list of available properties on our website at www.housingoptions.co.uk. 

Mortgages and Rent costs

You will need to raise a mortgage for the share you will buy. Even if you are receiving benefits such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Income Support you may qualify for support from a specialist mortgage provider, details are below. They maybe able to help you raise a mortgage to cover the share you will buy.

This type of mortgage will be an interest only mortgage with the interest being paid through income support and the rent being covered by housing benefits. If there is any service charge this may also be covered by housing benefits. MySafeHome will be able to provide more details on how this works.

Eligibility

Firstly there will specific eligibility criteria that you must meet, please read the following before making an application.

You must be receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) plus one of the following:

• Incapacity benefit minimum of 13 weeks
• Employment Support Allowance (income based) 13 weeks
• Severe Disablement Allowance minimum of 13 weeks
• Income Support minimum of 13 weeks

You will also need to have initial buying costs of at least £4000. This will cover any mortgage arrangement, mortgage adviser and solicitors fees. 

After your application you will need to show that your current accommodation is unsuitable to your needs and home ownership is the better option.

You will need to provide evidence that a care and support package will be in place. This may vary dependant on the support needs of the individual and will be thoroughly assessed at a later stage than the initial application.
 

Stages to home ownership

Stage one
Complete an application form either online or by paper. If you require a  large print version of the application form please call us on 0845 230 8099 and we will be happy to post or fax one out to you.

Once you have received your application and if your application has been approved we will send you an approval letter outlining your next steps. If you are not eligible we will offer advice on what you should do next.

Stage two
If your application is approved you will receive a call from us after you have received your approval letter to discuss what you should do next and answer any questions you might have.

Stage three
If you have not begun looking for a home yet you should start looking now. You can find eligible properties through our website. Once you have found a property you think you may like and will be more suitable to your current housing needs, contact the housing association which is selling the property. You will be asked to come for a viewing.

You should also contact the mortgage specialists from MySafeHome who will take you through the financial eligibility assessment stage and work out if you are eligible for government assistance.

Stage four
Some housing associations are not familiar with HOLD/New Build HomeBuy so it is worth taking your HousingOptions approval letter and any documentation that your mortgage specialist gives you to provide evidence that you will be able to purchase the property with government support. If you have difficulty your eligibility to the housing officer or association MySafeHome will assist you in dealing with them.

Stages to home ownership

Stage five
Your mortgage specialist and the housing association will then take you through the rest of the buying process, including helping you find a solicitor and securing a mortgage.

Mortgage specialist
We advise you to contact the mortgage specialists at MySafeHome once you have received approval of your application to HousingOptions and for the HOLD/New Build HomeBuy scheme.

Contact details are as follows:

Mysafehome Limited
1 Sycamore Court
Birmingham Road
Coventry
CV5 9AU

Tel: 02476 402211 Fax: 02476 403311

E-mail: enquiries@mysafehome.info
http://www.mysafehome.info/

Other important information

How New Build HomeBuy works

• You will buy an initial share of between 25% and 75% with an interest only mortgage paid for by income support
• The upper limit for a mortgage is £100,000 in most cases (see How this works – Mortgages and Income Support for more details)
• You will then rent the remaining un-owned share from the housing association which will be paid for by Housing Benefit
• Housing benefit could also pay for service charge if this required for the property (please see below for further details on what this could include)
• You will be the leaseholder
• Staircasing is possible – buying further shares in the property at a later stage

Service charges
If service charges are expected to be paid, they will be added to the rent and paid for by Housing Benefits. Repairs and maintenance could be included into the lease although this is not guaranteed.

There are two different types of lease:
Standard lease with no adjustments - repairs and maintenance are the responsibility of the customer
Amended lease - repairs and maintenance being the responsibility of the housing association and covered by housing benefit

Further information
If you would like to speak to any of our Applications and Enquiries team for more information about how HOLD/New Build HomeBuy can help you into home ownership or to discuss if you are eligible please call us on 0845 230 8099.

HOOP - Home ownership for older people

HOOP is a shared ownership (part-buy, part-rent) scheme for people over the age of 60. The scheme lets you own a home without having to buy it outright - enabling you to live independently with the reassurance of 24 hour emergency assistance. We currently have three schemes in the borough of Ealing, consisting of one and two bedroom flats and bungalows. All three developments are in Ealing and offer:

• One and two bedroom flats and bungalows
• 24 hour emergency call system
• Onsite scheme managers at Castlebar Court and Walker Close

You can buy between 25% and 75% of the property and pay a controlled rent on the remaining share. The larger the share you own, the less rent you pay - and if you own the maximum share*, you don't pay any rent at all. HOOP gives you the chance to keep more money for your retirement than if you are buying outright on the open market. To be eligible to apply, you must:

• Be aged 60 or over
• Be able to afford the monthly outgoings All our sheltered homes are in the London Borough of Ealing.
• Please call Notting Hill Housing for details of homes available for older people on 020 8357 4764