SPOTLIGHT: Can I get a mortgage with CF?
T
he Independent Living report published by CFI in 2018 showed the Irish CF population are increasingly living more independent lives.
In 1998 74% of people with CF lived with their parents in their parents' home. By 2017 that had reduced to just 43%, showing that more and more people with CF were moving away from home and establishing independent lives. There are over 1,400 people with CF in Ireland and as of end of 2019, 54% of the Irish CF population were adults - see CFRI 2019 Annual Report. The increasing number of adults with cystic fibrosis presents new challenges for the Irish CF population as a collective group. Previously these challenges were limited to just a few individual experiences. One of the most pressing issues for adults with CF is suitable accommodation when they do leave their parents' home. The options fall into 3 broad strands - private rental, private ownership or local authority housing. Since many adults with CF are well educated with qualifications (as seen in the CFI Independent Living Report 2018), many enter the workforce either part-time or full-time. As a result, many are ineligible for local authority housing based upon means testing. The private rental sector is tough for anyone, but especially for a person with CF. Sharing your living space with others in shared accommodations and managing your CF with all its demands and impacts on your health is a very difficult experience for many. This was before COVID-19 arrived on the scene. Now with the global pandemic, many people with CF have been forced to give up their independence and move back with their parents due to the infection risk of COVID-19 by sharing accommodation with others who they could not guarantee would follow public health restrictions and public health advice around preventing the spread of COVID-19. Independent living is an ambition that many PWCF strive to achieve. Many PWCF find themselves living at the parental home longer than anticipated due to the chronic shortage of housing stock, rental units and excessively high housing prices and cost of renting. Independent living isn’t necessarily living separately to your parents however - you can live independently without moving out of your parental home where circumstances facilitate your independence to manage your own finances and lifestyle choices. Many PWCF may choose to continue to live in the parental home with all the care and love that is provided. Indeed many PWCF living in the parental home may find the carer role reverses where they become the carer for their elderly or infirm parents. Each person with CF will have their own concept of what independent living means for them and that can change as they progress through life. Adult PWCF living at home with their parents or family members can often feel cramped, both physically in terms of space but also mentally. This is especially the case for those who have had to give up their independent living arrangement to move back to their family home because of COVID-19 risk, financial circumstances or changing health circumstances.
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Spectrum / Summer 2021
