Adult social care

Disabled Facilities Grants

 

The Disabled Facilities Grant can be used to provide adaptations if you have a disability, to aid independent living and help you stay in your own home. Adaptations can include things such as stair lifts, ramps and showers. It doesn't cover decorative work.

You can read more about Disabled Facilities Grants on GOV.UK or on the AdaptMyHome website.

Eligibility for a grant

To find out if you're eligible to apply for the grant you need to have an equipment and adaptations assessment.

If you're assessed as being in need of major adaptations to your home, you can then apply for the grant if you're:

  • a disabled person who's an owner occupier or a tenant
  • an owner occupier or tenant who has a disabled person living in your home - either an adult or child
    (a child is classed as a person under 20 who qualifies for Child Benefit)
  • a landlord, on behalf of a disabled tenant

Our equipment and adaptations service will tell you how to apply for the grant.

You're not eligible to apply for the grant if you're a Berneslai Homes tenant. Find out about applying for minor or major adaptations to Berneslai Homes properties.

Response times

After your assessment, if the occupational therapist indicates your adaptation needs to be dealt with straight away, we aim to contact you within five working days of receiving the referral.

Some adaptations, such as stair lifts, are fast-tracked. We'll aim to contact you within four weeks of receiving a fast-track referral.

For all other adaptations there's a waiting list due to the high number of requests we receive for funding. We deal with requests in date order and will contact you when you're approaching the top of the list.

You can read our Disabled Facilities Grants policy for more details.

Frequently asked questions

Are there limits to the grant?

The maximum grant is £30,000. If the cost of your adaptations exceed this amount we may not be able to provide funding above this limit and other action may be proposed.

Will I have to contribute towards the cost of the adaptation?

The grant is means-tested, so you may need to make a contribution towards the cost of your adaptation.  Your contribution will depend on your income and capital. This means the amount you have to contribute could range from nothing at all to the full cost of the adaptation.

If the grant is for a child, or if you or your partner are in receipt of a passporting benefit (see below), you may not need to be means-tested.

Income and capital

You'll need to tell us about all of your, and your partner's, income and capital. Some types of income and capital are disregarded for the purposes of the financial assessment, but you'll still need to tell us about them. You need to include any of the following, as well as any other type of income or capital not listed below.

Examples of income

  • Attendance Allowance
  • Bereavement Allowance
  • Carers Allowance
  • Cash in lieu of coal
  • Child Benefit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Earnings
  • Employment Support Allowance
  • Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
  • Jobseekers Allowance
  • Occupational or private pensions
  • Pension Credit
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • State Retirement Pension
  • Statutory Maternity Pay
  • Statutory Sick Pay
  • Universal Credit
  • Working Tax Credit

Example of capital

  • Cash
  • Current accounts
  • ISAs
  • Premium Bonds
  • Property or land that you own but do not live in as your main residence
  • Savings accounts
  • Savings or investment bonds or certificates
  • Stocks and shares

Passporting benefits

The benefits below are classed as passporting benefits. We'll ask to see proof if you or your partner receive any of these:

  • Council Tax Support
  • Employment Support Allowance (income-based)
  • Housing Benefit
  • Jobseekers Allowance (income-based)
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit calculated on an income of less than £16,480

How do you work out my contribution?

To work out if you're eligible for the grant we'll do an assessment of your income and capital. If you have a partner, their income and capital will also form part of the assessment.

You'll need to tell us about all the income and capital that you and your partner have; we'll ask to see proof of this.

You can use our Disabled Facilities Grant calculator to get an estimate of your contribution.

What if I sell my property within five years of the adaptation being done?

A Disabled Facilities Grant is not normally repayable. However, where a grant has funded an adaptation over £5000 then a local land charge will be registered.

If the property is sold within five years of the adaptations being completed we may ask for some of the grant to be repaid. The maximum we'll ask to be repaid is £10,000.