by Alex FoxHomeshare is an elegant idea. Someone who needs some support or companionship to live independently in their own home is matched with someone who is willing to give that help in return for free accommodation. No rent is paid, but bills are shared. The costs of recruiting and vetting participants and supporting matches are low.
What could be more Big Society than a neat solution that is often intergenerational, typically involving older people with low-level support needs and young people at university, in poorly paid public sector jobs or stuck at the bottom of housing waiting lists? Participants come together to design their own solutions and hopefully form lasting, supportive relationships.
And yet, while about a dozen small schemes can point to some fantastic success stories, Homeshare remains tiny in the UK, compared with its worldwide significance. The UK doesn't have a great culture of sharing accommodation, but then neither do the US or Australia, where Homeshare succeeds.
Homeshare in the UK epitomises our struggle to balance regulation with independence. People create informal Homeshare-like arrangements all the time, without contacting an agency to help. This avoids red tape, but participants cannot access safeguarding measures like Criminal Records Bureau checks. Homeshare schemes, by contrast, have to tread a narrow path, meeting the threshold at which CRB checking becomes lawful, but avoiding regulated personal care and ensuring arrangements avoid employment and tenancy rights or minimum wage law.
Despite this, Homeshare is one of several co-housing approaches for older people that are starting to take hold in the UK. At present, like Homeshare, they are seen as unusual or even eccentric. But with pressures on care budgets and housing relentless, a coherent co-housing strategy could be just what is needed.
➔ More information and good practice guide on Homeshare
Alex Fox is chief executive of Naaps, the UK organisation for Shared Lives, Homeshare and micro-enterprises
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