People affected by MS often have worries over their condition and how it will affect their future. This includes worries over how MS will impact on their ability to live independently and on the long-term suitability of their home and living arrangements.
Below you will find information on adapting your current home, finding an accessible property to rent or buy and applying for accessible social housing.
We also have information on different types of supported housing, extra care housing, sheltered living, assisted living homes and residential care.
Occupational therapy (OT) can help by assessing you and making practical suggestions for helping you participate in everyday home life activities. An OT can assess your circumstances and help you access equipment (such as moving and handling aids) and assess your home for any practical adaptations (such as widening doorways or accessible showering).
Most minor aids and adaptations costing under a thousand pounds (such as handrails and furniture raisers) will be provided by adult social care services. These independent living aids will likely be for free if you are in England or Scotland but if you are in Wales or Northern Ireland there may be a charge.
If your home needs a major adaptation to make life easier, (such as a doorway widening or a wet room installing), there may be financial help available. The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is grant funding for providing facilities or adapting a home to meet the needs of a disabled person.
AdaptMyHome is a website that supports you to check how well your home may meet your needs and makes suggestions for adaptations should they be needed. They have a self-assessment tool and a decision helper that can help you weigh up whether to say in your home or find somewhere new. Adapt My home also has a means test calculator that can help you work out if you would be eligible for financial help.
Although the DFG it is only applicable in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland you will need to contact the Housing Executive to see if there may be grant funding available. In Scotland there may be financial help from the local authority in the form of a means tested grant applied for through your local council’s housing office.
If you are not eligible for the DFG and can afford to pay for adaptations yourself, there are many specialist trades who are experienced in home adaptations. As with dealing with all trades it is suggested that you seek at least three quotations and make sure you understand exactly what work they will be completing. When dealing with trades, it is always suggested to ask for references and examples of prior work. you can use the Find My Home Improvement Agency website to find companies that can help. Citizens Advice also have good information on how to find a trader and check you can trust them.
As we’ve already highlighted, accessible homes are few and far between, so it is possible that you may have to make some compromises whilst property searching. There are certain features that may seem obvious such as looking for single storey living like with a bungalow, a ground floor apartment or a flat in a block with suitable access (e.g. a lift). Then there are not so obvious aspects to consider such as how wide the doorways are or whether there’s a downstairs toilet.
Apart from looking at Rightmove, Zoopla and local estate agents there may be additional help from other specialist businesses and organisations. Accessible PRS, who can work with disabled tenants looking for an accessible home in the Private Rental Sector have some great resources and list properties from all over the UK. Branch Properties is an estate agents and letting agents specialising in the accessible property market. In partnership with Disability Horizons Branch Properties have written a guide to finding an accessible home. because of the difficulties she and her family experienced when trying to source accessible accommodation.
Propertymark is the leading professional body for estate and letting agents and they have useful guides for tenants all about renting a home.
The steps you will need to take to apply for social housing will vary from area to area and you should go to your local council housing service to find out how to apply for social housing in your local community. Mostly this is now done online but if you struggle with online services your council should be able to send you forms. There are different kinds of social landlords from council housing stock through to housing associations. Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity have a good online tool that can help you find your local housing register. Shelter also have information relevant to all four of the home nations and quality guides to getting social housing.
Supported housing, extra care, sheltered living or assisted living properties are all types of social housing provided for vulnerable adults with additional needs including those with physical disabilities or conditions such as MS. Supported housing is suitable for those with care and support needs whose needs would otherwise only be met by residential care. Supported housing accommodation is usually owned by social landlords, housing associations, charities and occasionally private organisations. Normally a person pays rent to the landlord and a care and support package is arranged separately. MS-UK has some information all about care and support services including guides to purchasing and arranging care. Some sheltered living schemes are for the over 55’s but it is increasingly common to find assisted living schemes suitable for all adults. These kinds of accommodation options are usually arranged via your local housing team, social services or through direct contact with the relevant social landlord.
If your care needs have grown so that you need constant care and support, it may be that registered residential care is the best option to meet your housing and care needs.
You would need to have both a full care needs assessment and a financial assessment from your local adult social care team. Paying for residential care is means tested. MoneyHelper has some webpages all about how to get financial advice on how to fund your long-term care. MS-UK also has further information about care homes and care home costs within our pages on ‘how to access care’.
