Help available for older people
There are various options available for older people whether they wish to remain in their current home, need to move to something more suitable, or are homeless or at risk.
The housing needs team at Haringey Council will try to identify housing problems at the earliest opportunity to hopefully prevent you from becoming homeless.
If you are threatened with homelessness or are homeless, we have a duty to assess the circumstances of your homelessness, identify what your housing and support needs are, and to work with you to try to prevent your homelessness or support you to find you somewhere to live. We will provide you with a ‘personal housing plan’ which will tell you what we can do to help you and what you can do to help yourself. This might include actions such as attending viewings for private sector or supported housing or engaging with organisations that can assist older people.
For Haringey Council to be legally obliged to provide you with accommodation, we would need to be satisfied that you are eligible, homeless, in priority need and that you have not made yourself intentionally homeless.
While old age itself does not confer a priority need for accommodation, we look at all your personal circumstances and will take into account information we gather from various sources including any medical professionals involved in your care. Even if we do not have a statutory duty to provide accommodation, we will still actively work with you to try to resolve your housing need.
Our accommodation offer
We can provide housing for older people with housing and support needs in self-contained sheltered and good neighbour accommodation. Properties are mainly one-bedroom flats, with some bungalows, two-bedroom flats and studio flats. All homes have an emergency alarm and most have secured phone-entry systems. Support and assistance is provided by our support and wellbeing service.
Although most of the people moving into supported housing will be aged 50 or over, younger people may also benefit from supported housing if, for example, they have mental health support needs or a physical or learning disability and have been assessed as requiring both housing and support.
All applicants will complete an assessment of their housing and support needs before being accepted. Applicants must have a housing AND support need to be offered supported housing.
Our support offer
Our support and wellbeing service provides support to older people living in council-owned sheltered and good neighbour properties. Our model of support is called ‘hub and cluster’.
Eight of our supported housing schemes for older people have been designated as support and wellbeing hubs, offering an enhanced range of services, activities and on-site staff to support older people. Each hub is attached to a number of cluster schemes, where staff offer visiting support and tenants usually need less support. Everyone living in a Cluster service, and all older people living locally, are invited to use the facilities, activities and services at their nearest hub.
The support and wellbeing service can offer:
- support to access health and social care services
- support to participate in local activities
- help applying for benefits and completing forms
- help to arrange cleaning, shopping or handyman services
- support to manage money and address debt
- support to make sure your home is safe
Our service does not provide personal or domiciliary care. However, we can help tenants to arrange this, and we can liaise with social workers or care providers to make sure you are safe and independent for as long as possible.
Residents have access to welfare monitoring and response 24 hours per day via a community alarm. This service offers daily welfare checks and on-site response to emergencies. This service has a small weekly charge.
Other providers of accommodation for older people
As well as Haringey Council, a number of housing providers offer sheltered housing in Haringey. To access this accommodation, applicants will usually need to be assessed by our housing needs team.
Further information about supported housing and floating support for older people is available from:
- the housing-related support team
- the Almshouse Association which provides information on almshouses
- the Elderly Accommodation Counsel which has information on housing options and a directory of advice services to help you if you have any problems or need further information.
Buying/renting
It is sometimes possible to buy a flat in a housing complex, especially for older people. If you already own your home, it may be easier for you to buy than to rent, as homeowners are usually not given priority on waiting lists to rent from the council or a housing association.
Support available to remain in your own home
Visit our social care pages to find out about changes and adaptations you can make to your home as well as equipment available to help you maintain your independence and remain living in your own home.
Further information
Further information is available from Age UK.
You can also search for schemes in your local area through HousingCare provided by the Elderly Accommodation Counsel.
There are a number of social mobility schemes that are available to older people, including the national Seaside and Country Homes scheme.