Innovative scheme enables tenants with learning disabilities to pay their own rent

Dimensions, which supports people with learning disabilities and autism, has forged a partnership with United Welsh Housing Association in Wales enabling tenants with learning disabilities to be more independent and pay their own rent.

Some landlords and housing associations are often reluctant to have people with learning disabilities as tenants, due to worries over payment of rent.

For this reason, Dimensions often becomes the tenant of a property and then sublets it to an individual.

This does enable people with learning disabilities to live independently in suitable housing but stops them being empowered and involved in the rental process.

Ceri Meloy, operations director for Dimensions in Wales, who has been working hard to change this, says: “All of the people we support who have their own tenancy agreements have established tenant-landlord relationships. Years ago, it used to be a very ‘hands-off’ relationship but we really focussed on building relationships because people with learning disabilities need to have the same relationships with their landlords as everybody else does.”

Before these relationships were built up, people with learning disabilities didn’t have a wide choice of payment options to pay their rent.

About 18 months ago, United Welsh Housing Association decided to try a pilot to give people with learning disabilities options to pay the rent themselves.

The housing officer visited each individual supported by Dimensions and discussed options for payments with support staff. This included the housing officer creating photo symbols for each payment type so the tenant understood fully what was being proposed.

Ms Meloy says: “Most people chose to pay at the Post Office. This really has given choices to the people we support in the same way that everybody else has a choice. It has strengthened the relationship with their landlords and also has helped strengthen the support staff’s understanding of how the housing system works.”

The initiative has also raised the profile of people with learning disabilities in their local communities.

“People see them paying their rent in a public space – at the Post Office. Their community presence because of this has risen up and up and they love being part of the community and so involved with the process. They feel empowered and more confident,” says Ms Meloy.

The other two housing associations that Dimensions works with in Wales are now coming on board with similar schemes.

Dimensions, a not-for-profit organisation which supports about 3,000 people with learning disabilities and autism across England and Wales, supports many people who are tenants of privately rented houses and housing associations.