Housing
Part of RNIB’s Starting out series
Contents
Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Staying where you live now
Section 3: Alternative housing options
Section 4: Your rights
Section 5: Further information
Section 1: Introduction
If you have lost all or some of your sight you might be thinking about changing where and how you live. You could be concerned about whether or not you can remain in your current home, you may be moving out of your parents’ home for the first time or you may be thinking about moving to rented accommodation, and wondering what support there is for you.
This booklet is a good starting point to get you thinking about your housing options. Your potential options are quite wide, and range from sorting out how you can live safely and independently in your own home, to moving into residential care if you feel that you need the level of support that kind of accommodation offers.
This booklet also provides lots of sources of advice and information to help you further in dealing with this very important part of your life.
Section 2: Staying where you live now
Even if you have lost your sight you can often carry on living in your own home. There are a number of changes you could make within your home to make it safer and easier to live there and to get around. There are also many aids and products which can help you to live more safely and independently.
Adaptations
Adapting to life when your sight is impaired is about learning new skills and techniques, making changes to your environment to accommodate your new circumstances, and making the most of any useful remaining vision you may have.
If you are losing your sight or have a sight problem you may need to carry out improvements, repairs or adaptations to your home to help you continue to live there independently. A lot of the suggestions for making adaptations are common sense, practical
ideas. Some might involve using an appropriate tradesman or buying an item or aid that will help you at home.
Colour contrast
Making use of contrast in your home is a simple way to make things easier to see. Contrast is about how much something stands out from its background because of the difference in colour or tone used on different surfaces, and on fixtures and fittings. It is harder to see things that are similar in colour to the background that they are on, so you can use different colours or tones to make them stand out. For example a natural wood door handle on a natural wood door can be difficult to see, but a door handle painted in a darker colour or perhaps made from metal should be easier to see.
Below are some other examples of how you could use contrast around your home to make it easier for you to see things.
Paint the handrail or banister on your staircase in a contrasting colour or tone that makes it stand out from the stairs and the wall.
Make the edge of each step stand out by securely fixing a contrasting white plastic or metal strip, called “nosings”, on the edge of each step.
To make doors and door frames stand out, paint each in a contrasting colour or tone from the door frame and the wall respectively to make both easier to see.
Stick a contrasting, coloured strip on the inside or the outside edge of cupboard doors to help you notice when one has been left open.
To make it easier to see whether sliding glass doors are open or closed, and avoid a potentially serious accident, you could stick a coloured transfer design on the glass.
In the bathroom
Use safety flooring which is non-slip and non-reflective and is a contrasting colour to the walls.
Choose wall tiles with a matt finish and pick tiles that are in a contrasting colour to the colour of the floor.
Fit a grab rail that contrasts with the wall colour.
Choose soap dispensers, toilet rolls and toilet roll holders which are a contrasting colour from your bathroom wall, washbasin and toilet.
Choose toilet seats or washbasins that contrast from the surfaces they are near, such as a dark wood or black toilet seat on a white toilet bowl.
You can also use tactile or audio labelling to make it easier to find and identify different items in the bathroom.
For more information about using contrast and labelling, see our booklet in this series “Making the most of your sight”.
In the kitchen
Paint or put tape on the edges of work surfaces and shelves in a contrasting colour or tone to make the edges easier to see.
A sink area of a contrasting colour or tone from the work surface can be helpful.
The taps can be of another contrasting colour or tone to the sink.
Use products to help you in the kitchen. Use dark and light chopping boards for light and dark coloured foods respectively, and use coloured utensils so they stand out on work surfaces and in storage spaces. Kitchen products made or adapted for blind and partially sighted people include easy-to-see and talking timers, and audio labels for food items.
Having the best lighting for you is also very important in the kitchen. For more information see “Lighting” later in this section.
Electrical fittings
Some tips to help you use electrical appliances more easily.
Use switches and sockets which contrast with the walls, for example a dark red light switch on a white wall; or put a contrasting strip of tape around the outside of the switch.
Tie brightly coloured, contrasting ribbons or material onto pull cords for lights.
Use brightly coloured, contrasting markers – called “bump-ons” – on the control knobs on your appliances so that you can see and feel them more easily.
Stick written labels, marked in big letters with a thick black felt-tip pen if this helps you, on to things to make them stand out.
Bump-ons and large labels are available from RNIB.
Manufacturers can supply tactile adaptations for kitchen appliances.
Painting and decorating
Choose paints with a matt finish – gloss finishes are shiny and can cause glare.
Walls painted or papered in pale colours reflect light into the room but be aware that white walls can cause glare.
When putting up new wallpaper or buying new furnishings select plainer paper and fabrics as things stand out better on plain or subtly patterned surfaces or backgrounds.
On walls, floors, ceilings and doors use colours or tones that make them stand out from each other.
A border around the edge of a room can help to make the walls stand out.
Consider using plain or patterned borders, or a coloured dado rail, in your hallway and corridors to help you to find your way around.
Outside your home
Repair broken paths or loose paving and keep grass short to reduce the risk of trips and falls.
Improve the lighting near your front and back doors to reduce the risk of falls after dark, for example fit a sensor so that the light comes on automatically.
Choose front door handles that are easy to see and grasp.
Remove plants or weeds that are causing an obstruction and make sure that garden ornaments and features are not blocking paths.
Put away gardening tools and equipment safely after use.
Paying for adaptations
If you feel that you would benefit from improvements to your home, you can contact your local council social services department and ask them to arrange for a social worker to assess your needs. If you are a homeowner with savings, it is likely that any work needed will be your own financial responsibility. If you aren’t able to pay for work yourself there are other options available to you.
Funding from social services
Social services departments have a duty to help to provide adaptations or additional facilities to secure safety, security and convenience for people with disabilities, if they agree the changes are necessary and you meet their criteria. In practice, housing authorities generally take responsibility for structural alterations and fixed equipment. Social services departments generally deal with forms of equipment which can be removed with relatively little or no structural modifications and which are not covered by a Disabled Facilities Grant, such as stairlifts.
Disabled Facilities Grant
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a grant that you could receive for home adaptations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is available to you if:
- you or another person living in a property is disabled, including having sight loss
- you or another disabled person in the property meets one of the criteria for which a DFG is paid. For example, you experience problems accessing your home or using the basic amenities within it, such as the kitchen or bathroom, or you need to improve the safety of your home, for example by improving the lighting or installing blinds
- your local housing authority agrees that the works are reasonable and can be carried out.
Contact your local housing authority, or in Northern Ireland your local Housing Executive Grants Office, for a DFG application form.
If you live in Scotland your local authority can provide grants, loans, subsidised loans, and practical assistance for repairs, improvements and for structural adaptations to a house which are essential to your needs as a disabled person.
You may also be eligible for other grants to repair, improve or adapt your home. Contact your social services department for further details about discretionary grants.
Lighting
Making simple changes to the lighting in your home could make a huge difference to your daily life.
Improving the lighting on the stairs and in the kitchen will help reduce the risk of trips and falls. Make sure that your lighting can be switchedon and off at the top and bottom of the stairs. Good lighting is important in the kitchen, to avoid accidents when you’re working. Lights can be fixed to cupboards or shelves so they shine directly on to your worktop.
Different lights are useful for different tasks. Adjustable lamps are useful for tasks like reading, writing and knitting, as they shine directly onto the task item. Fluorescent bulbs produce more light, but although they can be more expensive to purchase they are cheaper to run in the long term.
For a detailed guide to lighting and light bulbs please visit rnib.org.uk/lighting
We sell a range of task, floor and portable lighting, including some fluorescent bulbs. For more information, contact our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit rnib.org.uk/shop
Safety and security
You need to feel free from the risk of accidents if you want to continue living in your own home. Often just a few small changes will make you feel safer. Here are some simple safety tips you can
follow to reduce the risk of falls and of hurting yourself on furniture and doors.
Always leave doors closed or fully open, not left ajar.
Close drawers and cabinet and cupboard doors immediately after use to avoid walking into them or banging your head.
Avoid clutter or anything that you could trip over, especially on the floor. If you have children or grandchildren, try to keep toys off the floor or limited to a designated play area, or both.
Make sure carpets and rugs are smoothed and that mats can’t slip.
Put up continuous handrails on either side of the staircase to hold on to.
In the bathroom use a bath or shower mat and non-slip mats on the floor.
Tidy up potential trip hazards around your home such as loose wires around household appliances and floor lamps.
Install smoke alarms to reduce the risk of fire. They are relatively inexpensive and quite easy to fit. If you also have a hearing impairment then consider installing smoke alarms with a vibrating pad or flashing light. You can contact your local fire service, which will often carry out fire safety checks and fit a free fire alarm.
If you or someone else in your household has reduced mobility then think about how you will get out of the property in an emergency. For people with serious mobility problems, consider having your bedroom as close as possible to an exit or a safe area.
Get a landline telephone for your personal safety, for example to contact a carer or relative if you feel unwell or have a fall. Mobile phones can run out of charge and the signal may fail. A telephone is even more important if you live alone. Big button telephones are available from RNIB and other retailers.
If you have registered your sight loss and are on a low income, you may be able to receive help towards the cost of your line rental from Telephones for the Blind (tftb.org.uk). There are also various schemes that provide low-cost telephone access. You can call BT on 118 500 or your own telecom provider for more details.
You can install an entry phone system to help you feel more secure. It is a telephone that allows you to speak to people who call at your home so you can check who it is without having to open your front door.
Get a community alarm. This allows you to call for help in an emergency even if you can’t get to a phone. You will be given a button on a pendant to wear at all times. When you press this, staff at a 24-hour response centre will alert the best person to help you, whether it’s your neighbour, a relative, friend or the emergency services. Contact your local authority for more details.
An occupational therapist or rehabilitation officer can give you advice on safety measures you could take. Contact your local social services department or call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 for more information.
Mobility training
You may be able to get mobility and orientation training to help you to move about and walk safely and confidently, both inside and outside of your home. This should help you to maintain your independence. The training will be one-to-one and will be provided in and around your living environment. The content of the training can vary but may include helping you to re-orientate 18
yourself around your home, learning some local routes, sighted guide techniques with you and your partner, other relative or carer, and learning to use a long or guide cane when outdoors.
Contact the Sensory Impairment Team in your local social services, as it is usually responsible for providing mobility training. The training itself may be carried out by an external agency such as a local society for blind and partially sighted people.
Section 3: Alternative housing options
Supported housing
Supported housing allows you to live independently in the community but with some support. The support varies between schemes but might include help with setting up a home and managing finances, assistance with cleaning and shopping, and peer support and befriending. Supported housing could be a short-term option for you before you are able to move into less supportive, permanent accommodation.
Supported housing is either accommodation based, where you live in a specifically designated property to receive support services, or non-accommodation based, where you receive support services while living elsewhere.
Action for Blind People has two especially designed supported housing schemes, in South East London and in Surrey. Contact our Helpline for further information at or on 0303 123 9999.
Thomas Pocklington Trust provide a variety of supported and sheltered housing, and care and support services, for people with sight loss in London, Plymouth and the West Midlands. For further information call 020 8995 0880, email
Sheltered accommodation
Sheltered housing offers independent living with extra help if required. It is aimed at couples and single people aged over 60 years of age, although some schemes are available for over-55s and for younger people with disabilities. You can rent, or you may be able to buy, a sheltered housing property. Sheltered housing is a purpose-built flat, house or bungalow and is self-contained, with a separate front door, kitchen and bathroom.
Sheltered housing has a scheme manager or warden on site to help arrange suitable support for you, manage any repair work and help out in emergencies. But they don’t however provide personal care services. You can have care provided by the social services department if you require it, such as meals on wheels, or someone to help to get you up in the morning, or to wash, or do your housework. Residents have access to 24-hour emergency care assistance via an alarm system linked to a monitoring centre, which will contact a family member, GP or emergency service.