Disabled Facilities Grant for private homes

Disabled Facilities Grants are available to help you pay for work to make changes in your home, so you can carry on living independently for as long as possible.

The first step is for the needs of you or your child to be assessed by an Occupational Therapist. To get an assessment from an Occupational Therapist, you will need to fill in our online referral form. After filling in the first page, select ‘Moving around my/their home’. You can also contact our Access Team on 020 8379 1001.

After an Occupational Therapist has assessed your needs, our Private Sector Housing team will get in touch and arrange to carry out a property survey. If the work to your home qualifies for a grant, our Grant Officer or Surveyor will help you fill in a grant application form.

We will write and tell you within six months of your application if you have been awarded a grant. You are eligible if you are:

- a private tenant or the owner of a home which is not owned by us
- a landlord applying on behalf of a disabled tenant
- the parent or guardian of a disabled child under the age of 19

If you have been given a grant you will need to stay in your home for at least five years after it has been adapted.

How much you can get

You can get up to the maximum of £30,000. We will pay you according to your income and assets and the cost of the work we suggest could be done. You may need to pay part of the costs of adapting your home, and if this is the case we will tell you how much you need to pay.

We will also assess the income and savings of you and your spouse or partner. This will include all income from earnings, savings, pensions, benefits, stocks, shares and any other property owned. If you are applying for a disabled child under the age of 19, your income and assets will not be tested.

What kind of changes you can have

The types of work that can be paid for with a Disabled Facilities Grant include:
- widening doors and installing ramps
- giving easier entrance to rooms and facilities (such as putting in a stair lift or a level access shower)
- changing heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use
- making the building safe
- putting in an adapted bathroom or kitchen
- making it easier to get into your garden if you have one