Paper: People with learning disabilities renting their own homes

A recently published paper led by the University of York describes findings from a major School-funded research study looking at the rented housing sector for people with learning disabilities.

The project included a review of local authority learning disability strategies, a ‘national conversation’ with key stakeholders, and thirty-five, qualitative interviews with people with learning disabilities who rent their own homes.

The research found that local learning disability strategies are limited on the information available on rented housing for people. The national consultation identified a number of challenges in accessing rented housing for people wishing to do so. Interviews with people with learning disabilities renting their own place confirmed some of these problems but also, crucially, highlighted the success for most who rented their own home. People liked renting and were managing their tenancies well with relatively modest support.

View a video summary of the findings:

Read the full paper:

‘I wouldn’t change my flat for anything’. Is there scope for more people with learning disabilities to rent their own homes?
Deborah Quilgars, Eppie Leishman, David Abbott, Samantha Clarke, Becca Cooper, Stephen Hodgkins, Paul Scarrott, Andy Pollin, Lois Beech
British Journal of Learning Disabilities, February 2024
https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12584