Cumberland Council

Suitable housing

If you are finding it hard to manage in your current house or flat you may want to consider altering it to suit your needs.
 

• Shelter - Practical housing advice and support online, in person and by phone.  Free confidential advice 365 days a year, helping with everything from mortgage arrears to finding a place to sleep.

• Citizens Advice - Housing - Information on renting or buying a home, handling problems with your landlord, and to help avoid losing your home.

Find out more in our Equipment and Adaptations section.

Useful links

Social housing

The six Cumbrian Local Authorities and eight housing organisations have worked together to develop a new way of letting their properties which will give more choice to local people needing social rented housing.

The eight housing organisations are:

Castles and Coasts
Eden Housing
Home Housing
Impact Housing
Accent Housing
Riverside
Two Castles
South Lakes housing

You will usually have to join a waiting list and you are not guaranteed to get a property.
 

• Cumbria Choice - Apply for social housing.

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Information and advice Living Well in Cumbria

If you are Homeless or at risk of becoming homeless

If you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, you will need to contact the district council in the area that you live.  Below are the telephone numbers for the homelessness teams with the website address for the 6 district councils:
 

Housing associations

Housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost housing for people in need of a home. Although independent they are regulated by the government and often receive public funding.  Many housing associations also run shared ownership schemes to help those who cannot afford to buy a home outright.

You can apply directly to a housing association, or often through your Cumbria choice.  You can apply to more than one housing association at a time.

Once you apply, you will be put on a waiting list.

Housing associations normally offer housing to people most suited to that particular property.  You may have to wait a long time for a suitable property to become available.
 

• GOV.UK - Housing association homes - Find out more about housing association homes.

Extra Care housing

Extra Care housing is a recent development in care for older people, offering independent living but with care and support on hand.

Extra Care housing offers individual one or two bedroom flats, or sometimes bungalows, within a larger development. Care and support services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Extra Care also has the benefit of allowing couples, who may have very different care needs, to stay together.

The schemes are for older people, usually in their 70s and 80s.  However, all schemes are different and some cater for a wider age range.

Extra Care housing can be bought or rented privately, or it may be provided by a local authority, subject to eligibility.

Find out more in our Extra Care housing and Supported Living section.

Sheltered housing

Sheltered housing is mainly for older people and usually takes the form of a group of small bungalows or flats supervised by a scheme manager, who may or may not live on site, and who can give help and support in an emergency.

Sheltered housing can be bought or rented privately, or it may be provided by a local authority, subject to eligibility.
 

• Cumbria Choice - Make an application to sheltered housing schemes.

Supported housing

There are some ‘group living' schemes which offer communal accommodation to small groups of people in a similar situation, a kind of house-share.

These schemes are mainly for people with learning disabilities and for people with mental health problems.  Group living schemes are run largely by voluntary organisations or housing associations.

Shared Lives

A Shared Lives carer is a person who offers accommodation and support and/or personal care in their own home under the supervision and support of a Shared Lives scheme.  The carer must be willing to include the people who live or stay with them in their family and home life alongside other family members.

Shared Lives carers come from all walks of life, may have had some caring experience, either as a professional care worker or as a family carer.

For more information about shared lives in Cumbria e-mail: sharedlives@cumbria.gov.uk