Housing Options Advice: Legal Definitions, Tenures, And Regulations

Legal Definitions of Ways to Occupy a Dwelling

You are a housing options advice worker for a housing association.  You have been asked to provide advice to the clients discussed below about the different courses of action that they can take to be rehoused. You are required to draw up case notes in preparation for each of these appointments. 

Task 1

To enable you to help your clients in general, draw up a table which identifies and provides a legal definition of the different ways an individual/family can occupy a dwelling, including the range of tenures, this should also include key features of each (1.1, 1.2)

Task 2  - Case Studies
Mrs Fiona Fitzpatrick has recently gone through a divorce, she has two children under the age of twelve. She is still residing in her marital home but needs to sell this as she cannot afford the mortgage repayments on her own. She would like to consider social rented accommodation as she feels this would be more affordable, but needs answers regarding the following:
What type of tenancy agreement would she hold if she was rehoused by either a Housing Association or a local authority, explain the difference?
What would her rights and responsibilities as a tenant be?
What would the responsibilities of the landlord be?
What do you think is the most suitable tenure for Mrs Fitzpatrick and why?

Miss Stephanie Evans is a current tenant of your organisation and has been with you for ten years.  She lives in a 1 bedroom downstairs flat in a popular area, she is fifty years old and has recently been burgled. She is feeling particularly vulnerable in her current accommodation and would like to move into accommodation which is not on the ground floor, has perhaps a secure door entry system and even better if there is anything specifically for woman or more mature people.  She has the following queries:

She would like to stay with the same landlord and has heard about mutual exchanges; what processes would she need to go through to be rehoused this way and how would this impact on her tenancy?
If she chose to go through the allocations process briefly explain the processes she would need to follow
Identify any regulation, legislation and legal responsibilities social landlords may have relating to allocations and mutual exchanges Which approach would you recommend Miss Evans should take, and why?

Mr Nigel Kennedy is twenty five years old, finished university two years ago and has embarked on a career as a trainee solicitor.  He would like to buy his own home but cannot raise a mortgage.  He no longer wishes to remain with his family, with whom he resides and would like to be more independent.   He has the following queries:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of homeownership and shared ownership in comparison to privately renting?
If he decided to go down the private rented market what is the legislation and regulation that applies to this route and how would he access it?
Which option would you recommend and why?

Mr Al Waysindet is looking for housing options.  He has been evicted from a Housing Association with whom he was a tenant for five years.  He now cannot get on their housing register until he has paid his debt off.  He has been advised that privately renting is an alternative option.  He needs to know:
How would a tenancy with a private landlord differ from his previous tenancy with the housing association?

For each appointment, prepare notes in response to each of the issues identified.  You should clearly identify which case study the notes relates to, and incorporate relevant policy and legislation where relevant.   
Points to note
1.You must answer each point for every case study
2.You need to consider different methods of occupancy; different tenures relating to private landlords, registered providers (RSL/LA), home ownership and shared ownership .

Safeguarding adults with care and support needs

The legislation and regulation that is relevant to safeguarding the adults with care and support needs is the Care Act 2014. This particular legislation lays down a clear legal framework as to how the local authorities and other parts of the system will protect the adults at risk of neglect and abuse (Giles et al. 2017). The resources for safeguarding the adults, the local authority, social workers, staff and the members of the Safeguarding Adult Board will carry out the safeguarding duties as per the Care Act, 2014. The mentioned act or legislation produces information and guidance as to how the Care Act will work in practice. The guidance of this act has a legal duty to have regard to it when they are working with the adults and carers. The adults, however, requires and needs care and support. Thereafter, the other legislation that governs the safety of the adults is the Data Protection Act, 2018. The purpose of this act is to control as to how the personal information will be used by the government or other organizations (Shaw et al. 2014). The personal data of the adults must be safeguarded and protected. There must be available rules and principles for protecting the data of the individuals. However, there are separate safeguards for the personal data that are related to the criminal offences and convictions. By applying the act, the information can be used lawfully and fairly. The information of the adults should be used for specified purposes and not in any unlawful manner. The information must be accurate and used relevantly. Therefore, the information should be handled in a way that will make sure that proper security is produced against the unlawful processing and damage.

There are expectations from the organizations that are in contact with the adults for proper care and support needs. As per the regulatory framework of the Care Act 2014 and the Data Protection Act, the adults must be provided with all the support and help (Yoeli et al. 2016). The legislation states that all the agencies must protect the adults at risk of neglect or abuse. Therefore, for protecting them, there is a legal requirement for all the local authorities that helps in setting up the Safeguarding Adults Board. The major purpose of the organizations or the agencies is to ensure that the arrangements for safeguarding the partners should carry out the activities in helping and protecting the adults. There are special areas include the needs for care and support, experience the risk of abuse or neglect and it acts a result of those care and support needs that are unable to protect themselves from the experience of abuse (Lee et al. 2017). Thus, this is what the statutory framework that should be followed for taking care and safeguarding the adults. Good practice should be promoted for preventing the abuse that were to be committed by themselves to the values that were underlined and the principles based on which the documents will be formed. The organizations are expected to encourage and permit the staff to attend the significant safeguarding adult training and produce appropriate resources for the staff to meet the requirements that have already been mentioned in the documents. The agencies or the organizations should also raise awareness of the adult issues relating to the abuse within their own agency and the wider community. Lastly, appropriate action needs to be taken for protecting the adults when the abuse has been identified. These responsibilities consist of the regulatory framework and the application of the legislation.

Case Study 1: Rehousing Mrs Fiona Fitzpatrick

For good practice in the housing sector for safeguarding the adults with care and support requires the application of the regulatory framework and the legislations that are mentioned above. For safeguarding the adults, there must be a duty of care. The role of housing is to prevent and address the adult abuse, which is being neglected in the legislation, practice, policy and research (Social and August 2015). However, the existing agencies should recognize a senior manager for taking a lead role in the organization and the inter-agency for safeguarding the arrangements. There must be good practices for protecting the adults by applying the legislation or the rule that have been mentioned above. However, during the good practices, housing support workers might be asked for making enquiries. Therefore, all the housing providers and the housing support providers must have a clear operational procedures and policies in the process of safeguarding the adults. Thus, the entire housing staff should be familiar with the relevant and existing principles that underpin the process of safeguarding the adults. The staff should therefore be trained in identifying the necessary symptoms of abuse and cautious to respond to the concerns of the adult safeguarding. Housing policies and frameworks should have the ability to recognize the abuses that the adults have faced.

For instance, when the customer or the tenant is being provided housing, he or she should be ensured with all the database that the vulnerabilities must be recognized. Secondly, when the tenant is being a part of the housing sector, the contracts formed should be monitored by including the vulnerable tenants. Thirdly, awareness must be spread for safeguarding all the individuals and ensuring effective reporting of abuse.

The two common examples of housing organizations in United Kingdom are the Genesis Housing Association and Hyde Housing Association that identifies customers need pertaining to support needs and property condition respectively. In case of Genesis Housing Association, it aims at providing repair services as it is considered as an important function being a property owner. A repair is considered as an emergency in case it poses a threat to cause death or injury. Several types of customers may expect different kinds of repair services like windows, fire doors, electrical wiring, etc. Therefore, the organization may recognize any such issues from the report that is lodged on the online repair page. Further, the company makes appointments at a time convenient for the customers and conduct inspection prior to appointment date. In case of emergency services, the service is completed within 4 hours.

Case Study 2: Rehousing Miss Stephanie Evans

In case of Hyde Housing Association, it aims at providing people with a roof over their head ensuring them to make a home, particularly to those people who are unable to satisfy their needs in the open market. Customer needs are taken care of through social media or website. In order to ensure that needs expressed through media or online, customer service team has been specifically established so that they can identify the needs of the customers to have roof over their head otherwise they are likely to be homeless.

In the case of external policy of the housing sector, the providers are inhibited in their effectiveness in adult safeguarding the barriers to the information that is shared by the adults or the individuals (Norrie et al. 2016). There must be high referral threshold by the adult social care and if there is any kind of failure of risk assessment by the adult social care. Hence, if the customer has different requirements and needs then it is the duty and responsibility of the property owner to protect and provide care to the tenants or the adults.

Professionals should know how to respond appropriately while safeguarding the adults with care and support needs. Professionals should be able to prevent and prohibit the abuse and neglect from letting the incident occur in the first place. Secondly, the professionals must make sure about their safety and well-being of the adults who has been subjected to abuse or any kind of neglect (Graham et al. 2016). The professionals should carry out their duties and responsibilities for the individuals or adults associated with the housing sector. The Housing Professionals include local authorities and housing associations. Local authorities refer to public authorities who must render services to provide temporary and emergency housing for homeless people and give them certain amount of priority in housing. Housing associations refer to independent organizations that are regulated and funded by the government providing housing for people in need. The other two professionals include police and NHS who also provide assistance to serve the needs of and safeguard the adults. The local framework for safeguarding includes a strategic plan for each of the financial year, that will complete the objectives and the members will therefore achieve it. The local community should be developed for being involved in the process. An annual report must be published that will state the framework of local authorities for safeguarding adults. Accountability for leading the process of development of the Safeguarding Adults hence resides with the Local authorities (Safeguardingdurhamadults.info, 2018). The Roles and Responsibilities of Safeguarding with care and support therefore includes following the local framework, the services provided to children as well as adults, equal access to criminal justice system and health issues.

Case Study 3: Housing Options for Mr Nigel Kennedy

Thereafter, the professionals must take action against those responsible for abuse or neglect taking place. Lastly, the professionals should ensure that they learn the lessons and make the modifications, which will therefore help in preventing similar kind of abuse that is happening for other people. Professionals should have all the information of the adults they are associated with, as it will help them to safeguard and protect them fast. It is their duty to safeguard the adult with care and support needs. Housing professionals should be aware of all the significant policies so that they can respond accordingly. Other partners and housing professionals should have knowledge about the adults with who they are dealing with (SAB 2015). Partnership should be involved between the adults and the housing professionals when protection and safeguard is being provided. Both the housing professionals and the partners will have the authority to provide appropriate reply while safeguarding adults with care and support needs.

In relation, to safeguarding adults with care and support needs there are a few internal organizational procedures. Policies and safeguarding guidance must be provided to every organization for protecting the adults. Therefore it can be stated that empowerment as a principal plays a massive role in preparing the adults. This states that presumption of person leads to the decisions and informed consent (Gibson et al. 2016).

When the risk or injury is presented the housing professionals must provide intrusive response based on the risk that has occurred to be adults. The principle of safeguarding adults in the intern procedure is protection. Providing support and representing those who are in greatest need is the work of protection. The purpose and work of the professional is therefore to provide protection without keeping any condition. To every extent, protection must be provided as it is the duty role and responsibility towards safeguarding the adults (MacIntyre and Stewart 2017). Communities have a part to play in preventing reporting and detecting the neglect and abuse that has occurred between the adults. Along with the housing professionals communities partner up with them for protecting and safeguarding the adults from any kind of abuse which they have faced. Lastly, accountability and transparency must be present while delivering safeguard to the adults. Every other who is involved with the abuse and neglect can reach to the house and professional and therefore these internal principles must be applied then. These are the internal organisational procedures in relation to safeguarding adults with care and support needs. Based on the research it can be observed that improvements can be made for better application of the procedures in the process of safeguarding. Firstly the concerns must be reported. This stuff is known as raising an alert.  

Case Study 4: Private Renting for Mr Al Waysindet

It is the duty of the local authority to take a lot seriously and consider them accordingly weather to initiate adults it but it was serious or not. However, the manager must provide support to the staff only if the local authority did not succeed in responding to the problems suitably (Cooper. and White 2017). They need to encourage the person who was made the allegation and hence the concerns should be taken into account while providing safety to people. Secondary social care managers must be able to comprehend what kind of function the housing stuff has to play in the process of safeguarding. The training provided by Multi agency in a Wendy’s freezing can be beneficial to different professionals on understanding the role of another. Thirdly getting the right language is important as all the staff has a basic consideration of the language along with the definitions of safeguarding.

It is important for the staff to know about the different types of abuse including physical sexual psychological and emotional. The Healthcare providers housing and police including the local authorities should follow the procedures of safeguarding. If there is a problem regarding the language proper training and guidance, regarding the use of consistent language related to safeguarding must be provided. The organization must raise awareness. Every individual associated with the organization where the level of training must engage with the role and we must be aware of the issues regarding safeguarding and protecting the people together at potential risk. Lastly, housing stuff and social care including the managers must supply proper guidance and training for people with care and support needs for helping them out to protect themselves (Romeo et al. 2017). Therefore, if these are followed then, then improvements can be made in relation to safeguarding the adults with care and support.

Since in the given scenario, the tenants involved include individuals of 20-40 age, who are mature students, but it is likely that they might be involved in harassment/abuse or anti-social behavior. Under such circumstances, domestic abuse is experienced by both men and women irrespective of disability, age and ethnic background.

Such circumstances must be dealt with supportive and sensitive manner. As landlords it si important to gather important information to safeguard the victim and give necessary advice and support.

There is a local framework for safeguarding adults with care and support needs. The legislation of the Care Act, 2014 sets out a clear framework as to how the local authorities and other partners of the housing professionals will protect the adults at the risk of neglect and abuse. In the process of safeguarding the adults, this particular rule or legislation should be applied. The local authorities have a few duties for safeguarding, which need to be applied and followed accordingly. However, safeguarding duties will apply to only those who require care and support even if the local authority is meeting or not meeting the necessary needs. The safeguarding is required while dealing with the rental business. If any individual is experiencing any kind of neglect or abuse then they will need to inform the housing professionals or the local authority. The local framework needs to collect the information and provide the source of advice as to the reply in case of any neglect or abuse. The local authorities include individualized person centered care and multi-agency working (Schermer, Custers and van der Hof 2014).

Safeguarding Adults with Care and Support Needs in Housing

Both these agencies have their own kind of importance and duties towards the process of safeguarding and protecting the adults from the torture of neglect and abuse. The common objective or purpose of these agencies is to provide proper guidance and safeguarding measures to the adults for supporting them. The role of the local authorities is to manage the risk in an active and positive way in the process of safeguarding. The enablement of risk involves supporting the individuals for recognizing and assessing the kind of risks that needs to be taken care of (Hartzog and Solove 2014). The legal framework lays down various other acts including the Care Act, 2014, the Human Rights Act, 1998, the Data Protection Act, 1998, the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and the Equality Act, 2010. These legal frameworks are also applied in the process of safeguarding the individuals (Brown, Barber and Martin 2015). Hence, the local authority is linked to my organization since it follows the same procedure of safeguarding the adults from abuse and neglect.

There is an arrangement of partnership between two partners in regulating the protection of adults. There is effectiveness of the multi-agency working as well as the process of individual protection. There are a few merits or benefits while when two partners are managing and handling the process of safeguarding the adults. The partners can share their skills of knowledge and expertise while dealing with the adults. Partners have the understanding and can carry out their duties and job effectively.Secondly, there is involvement of fostering the shared concept and process of decision-making. The responsibility is also shared between the partners for drawing up the joint strategies and procedures (Fuster 2014). Thirdly, while carrying out their duties and responsibilities, there must be co-ordination of the responses and incorporation of differing agency purposes. Different kinds of partnerships exist in safeguarding the adults. The effectiveness of partnership has a positive effect on the procedure of providing care and support needs. The relationship or partnership of two persons can carry out the activities in a better and faster way. However, the outcome of the partnership states that two people can handle and manage it in a better way (Beronio, K., Glied and Frank 2014). It is noteworthy to mention here that safeguarding and providing safety and care to adults is a national policy.

References:

Beronio, K., Glied, S. and Frank, R., 2014. How the Affordable Care Act and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act greatly expand coverage of behavioral health care. The journal of behavioral health services & research, 41(4), pp.410-428.

Good Practice for Housing Sector

Brown, R.A., Barber, P. and Martin, D., 2015. The Mental Capacity Act 2005: A Guide for Practice. Learning Matters.

Cooper, A. and White, E., 2017. Safeguarding Adults Under the Care Act 2014. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Fuster, G.G., 2014. The emergence of personal data protection as a fundamental right of the EU (Vol. 16). Springer Science & Business.

Gibson, J., Nicol, B., Ronayne, E. and Grant, M., 2016. Safeguarding adults in primary care: making a safeguarding adults referral. Br J Gen Pract, 66(647), pp.e454-e456.

Giles, G.M., Edwards, D.F., Morrison, M.T., Baum, C. and Wolf, T.J., 2017. Screening for Functional Cognition in Postacute Care and the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(5), pp.7105090010p1-7105090010p6.

Graham, K., Norrie, C., Stevens, M., Moriarty, J., Manthorpe, J. and Hussein, S., 2016. Models of adult safeguarding in England: a review of the literature. Journal of Social Work, 16(1), pp.22-46.

Hartzog, W. and Solove, D.J., 2014. The Scope and Potential of FTC Data Protection. Geo. Wash. L. Rev., 83, p.2230.

Lee, S., Johnson, R., Fenge, L.A. and Brown, K., 2017. Safeguarding Adults at Risk of Financial Scamming. Safeguarding Adults Under the Care Act 2014: Understanding Good Practice, p.240.

MacIntyre, G. and Stewart, A., 2017. Safeguarding Adults With and Without Mental Capacity. Safeguarding Adults: Key Themes and Issues, p.53.

Norrie, C., Stevens, M., Graham, K., Moriarty, J., Hussein, S. and Manthorpe, J., 2016. The advantages and disadvantages of different models of organising adult safeguarding. British Journal of Social Work, 47(4), pp.1205-1223.

Romeo, L., Lawson, J., Stanley, T., Taylor, M., Tapper, L., Gunner, J., Carr, S., Hafford-Letchfield, T., Baker, D., Bateman, F. and Manthorpe, J., 2017. Safeguarding Adults Under the Care Act 2014: Understanding Good Practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Romeo, L., Lawson, J., Stanley, T., Taylor, M., Tapper, L., Gunner, J., Carr, S., Hafford-Letchfield, T., Baker, D., Bateman, F. and Manthorpe, J., 2017. Safeguarding Adults Under the Care Act 2014: Understanding Good Practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Schermer, B.W., Custers, B. and van der Hof, S., 2014. The crisis of consent: How stronger legal protection may lead to weaker consent in data protection. Ethics and Information Technology, 16(2), pp.171-182.

Shaw, F.E., Asomugha, C.N., Conway, P.H. and Rein, A.S., 2014. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: opportunities for prevention and public health. The Lancet, 384(9937), pp.75-82.

Social, H. and August, P.C.Q.C., 2015. Policy and Procedure: SAFEGUARDING ADULTS AT RISK FROM ABUSE. Policy.

Safeguardingdurhamadults.info. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.safeguardingdurhamadults.info/media/10849/County-Durham-Safeguarding-Adults-Policies-and-Procedures/pdf/PoliciesAndProcedures.pdf [Accessed 6 Aug. 2018].

Stewart, A. and MacIntyre, G., 2017. Safeguarding Adults: Key Issues and Concepts. Safeguarding Adults: Key Themes and Issues, p.13.

Yoeli, H., Lonbay, S.P., Morey, S. and Pizycki, L., 2016. Safeguarding adults: from realism to ritual. The Journal of Adult Protection, 18(6), pp.329-340.