Disabled Facilities Grant
The grant is for people with a permanent disability of any sort, including physical disabilities, learning disabilities, sensory impairments and mental illness.
If you are struggling to get around your home, there may be some things that could be changed to make it easier. This could include installing stair lifts, ramps or level access showers, for example. But there are lots of other things that could be done
Grants are available to assist home owners, private tenants and housing association tenants.
-
Eligibility
Grant funding is only available for certain adaptation works that are recommended by a health professional following a review of your needs. This is normally carried out by an occupational therapist (OT).
If you are in receipt of a means-tested benefit such as income support, guarantee credit (this is a form of pension credit) universal credit or income-related employment and support allowance then grant-aid is likely to be available to fully fund the cost of the works.
Grant aid may still available to you even if you don't receive one of the above benefits, but we will need to review your financial resources to see what help might be avilable to you. The financial review would also indicate whether you would need to make a contribution towards the cost of the recommended work.
-
What sort of information is needed for the test?
The form asks for information about your financial circumstances. The information supplied by you is strictly confidential and we will not share it with anyone else. We will use the information you supply to assess whether you would be eligible for any grant funding.
We can send you a financial information form or you can download it from this page. If you would like to carry out your own self test provisional assessment please click on the relevant link, complete the information and you will then receive an email with your assessed contribution. Please note that this link does not provide information to us so if you would like to discuss the results with us, or apply for a grant you will have to send us a copy directly.
Self test for Provisional Test of Resources
You will be advised as soon as possible after receipt of the form if you are likely to be eligible for the grant, subject to the work being suitable.
If you need help completing the forms then our caseworker can visit you in your home or talk you through it over the telephone.
Please note that it is necessary for this assessment to be done as part of the grant application. If you do not want to provide your financial information then we will not be able to offer you a grant.
The fact that you may have savings does not disqualify you from grant aid.
Other options
If grant aid is not available then it may still be possible to find other funding that could assist you to afford the cost of the recommended works. The caseworker will discuss this with you after the test of resources has been carried out.
-
Available funding
The amount of grant awarded will depend on the recommended work. The officer will determine how much funding is appropriate as part of the process. The disabled facilities grant has a limit of £30,000, but there may be some additional funding available if the required work is more than this amount.
-
Assessment of need
An occupational therapist will need to visit you at your home to decide if you need to make any adaptations to your property. Hampshire County Council has occupational therapists that can carry out this assessment. You can contact them direct on 0300 555 1378 to ask for an assessment. Once the occupational therapist has carried out the assessment, if they think an adaptation is required they will make a referral to us on your behalf for funding.
If the required works are relatively small scale, for example providing a handrail to help you to climb the steps at the front of your house, then that may be organised directly by social services.
Please note that if you are a housing association tenant, referrals may be made to your housing association in the first instance as they may be able to carry out the necessary work to adapt your property.
Alternatively, you can commission a private occupational therapist to carry out this assessment and send the report to us.
-
The grant process
A colloeague from our private sector housing team will visit you. The aim of the visit is to prepare a schedule of the works that can be considered for grant aid. The schedule would be used to obtain estimates of the cost of the proposed adaptations. The officer will consider if the works are reasonable and practicable having regard to age and layout of the property. The works need to be justified and cost-effective.
Please note that the works are not carried out by us. For certain works we maintain a list of contactors who are experienced at carrying out these works at an agreed price, although you do not have to instruct these contractors. For all works, it would be necessary for you to employ a private contractor to carry out the work on your behalf. We would be available to advise and assist where possible. We will generally need quotes from two builders if you are obtaining your own estimates.
The schedule of grant works, application forms etc will then be sent to you. Help is available from our caseworker to assist you to make your application for grant -
Applying for a grant
Applications can be submitted online or our caseworker will visit you and assist you in completing these forms. If you are making an application please note that we will require a report from an occupational therapist, quotes from contractors and permission from your landlord if appropriate. The application can be completed online here.
-
Grant approval
The contractor can be contacted and a start date agreed. Once the work has been completed satisfactorily, the grant will be paid normally directly to the contractor.
Grant aid will not be available if work has been started before a grant is approved. You should not start any work until you have received confirmation of an approved grant.
I am a tenant, are there any special requirements?
Your landlord (whether it is a private landlord or a housing association) will be contacted to requested for the adaptation to take place. They will also have to agree that the intention is for you to be resident at that property for 5 years. If permission is refused, then we may assist you to find alternative accommodation through the hampshire home choice system.
Please only make an application if you have all the necessary information to proceed or you have been asked to by us. Supplementary information can be emailed directly to us. Initial enquiries can be submitted to us using the information below.
-
No longer need your stair lift?
If you have a stair lift in your property that you no longer require, in some circumstances you can donate it to hampshire equipment stores who will service it and put it back into use in another property. Please see the hampshire county council website for more details. Equipment and adaptations | Health and social care | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)
-
Repayment of the grant
A local land charge will be placed on an property, where the grant applicant is an owner, and where the DFG adaptation exceeds £5,000.
The land charge will be limited to a maximum of £10,000 (this is a mandatory limit). The charge will be need to be repaid if the property is sold or disposed of within 10 years of completion of the DFG.
The above notes aim to provide basic information about the grants and loans that are available. If you would like more information then please do not hesitate to contact us using the online request for information form.