There is little doubt that Shared Ownership will become an increasingly popular housing solution for disabled people. Government is keen to increase home ownership in the population at large and the recent Green Paper on the future of adult social care makes it clear services that meet the needs of individuals will be in high demand. Many Local Authorities have already included Shared Ownership in their strategic plans for learning disability services. 

As we mentioned in our vision statement, we want to create a true market for people who have a disability, who want to buy a home of their own using a mortgage. Our basic premise is that if we produce demand - the circumstances whereby a disabled person can access the necessary resources to part-buy a home - this will in turn create a supply of suitable property. 

We've spoken to a number of Housing Associations who in the past have been keen to provide Shared Ownership homes for disabled people, but have been concerned about demand. Indeed, we've spoken to some Housing Associations who've responded positively to Commissioners's assessments of need by producing Shared Ownership homes, only to find they cannot sell the property.

Our approach means you'll be responding to real demand, rather than assessed need. Every referral we make to you will be from a disabled person who has access to the necessary resources to part-buy a home of their own. We achieve this by:

	Having their Care Manager reassess their needs to confirm they'll be suited to move to a Shared Ownership Home and they'll receive the right level of support to allow them to live independently
	Checking their entitlement to: Income Support, to guarantee the payment of their mortgage interest; Housing Benefit, to cover the rent due on the non-purchased half of the property

This gives you the opportunity to expand your business at minimal risk. The opportunity is immense. Around 1.1m disabled people claim Income Support and potentially have access to the resources to buy their own homes. 

It also gives you the opportunity to create innovative responses to tenders for new business and provides an ideal re-provisioning solution for stock that is no longer fit for purpose.

It’s also worth remembering people who purchase a Shared Ownership Home get support from start to finish, to ensure a smooth and easy transaction. Full details can be seen on our consumer website.  

Please contact us for more information about the financial model used by our Housing Association Partners.