Mrs S is a mother of two teenage children and found herself in a housing crisis. She was going through a divorce whereby her husband wanted to sell the family home and split the proceeds. Nothing unusual so far?

Their home, however was in a small village in Rutland, was fully adapted to suit the physical needs of Mrs S – as she suffers from multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair. Overall there was over £25,000 of grant work carried out including a downstairs bathroom and kitchen extension.

Her children attended the local school and were about to sit crucial exams.

Mrs S could not afford to buy any new home anywhere in the district. She approached Rutland District Council and they advised Mrs S of all the problems facing them in offering re-housing options and the technical problems of finding a home which would suit Mrs S in such a rural location – or -  being left having to fund adaptations once an alternative home was found.

As a solution, they asked Leicester Newarke Housing Association to assist and so the Group’s IBFN Officer, Alison Gladwin, visited Mrs S to offer to help.

After discussion with all parties a solution was agreed that LNHA would purchase the property and then immediately after Mrs S would use the equity from the sale to purchase a 30% share and become a shared owner of the property.

The sale negotiations were difficult due to the debts the couple had incurred during the divorce proceedings, but thankfully the sale completed in September 2007.

As the Chairman of LNHA, Mr Liam Morris commented, “This case shows how RSLs can offer the flexibility to assist people in housing need and helping people like Mrs S’s is really why we are in business.”

Mrs S is overjoyed with the solution, “I honestly felt that the family home – with all my memories and  the work that had been carried out to suit my needs, would have to be sold and my children and I would have to leave the village. I am so relieved to be staying in my home”.