The Disabled Facilities Grant is a grant that is provided by the Council (Local Authority) to help meet the cost of adapting a property for the needs of a disabled person. The maximum grant that can be paid is £30,000 in England and £36,000 in Wales.
If you are disabled, the grant is mandatory for those adaptations which are essential to give you better freedom of movement into and around your home and enable you to access necessary facilities within it.
The types of adaptations are:
- Making access to the property easier e.g. by widening doors, installing ramps.
- The provision of a downstairs bathroom in which there are accessible toilet facilities.
- Improvement or the provision of a heating system suitable to the needs of the disabled person.
- Making access easier to rooms within the property such as the living room, bedroom and kitchen.
- Improving access and movement around the home to enable the disabled person to care for someone that is dependent upon them and who also lives in the property (a child, wife, husband or a partner).
- The installation of a stairlift.
- The adaptation of heating or light controls to make them easier to use.
- Improving access to and from the garden of your home.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for a grant, you must be one of the following:
- An owner occupier.
- A private tenant.
- A landlord with a disabled tenant.
- A local authority tenant.
- A local authority association tenant.
Some occupiers of caravans and houseboats are also eligible.
If you are one of the above and applying for the grant for someone else who is disabled you need to state this on your application form.
For the purpose of the Disabled Facilities Grant, a person is treated as disabled if one of the following applies:
-
His/her sight, hearing or speech is substantially impaired.
-
He/she has a mental disorder or impairment of any kind.
-
He/she is substantially, physically disabled by illness, injury, or has an impairment present since birth or otherwise.
-
He/she is registered (or could be registered) with the social care services department.
Applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant:
The scheme is administrated locally by Doncaster Council. The contact number to arrange an assessment is 01302 737 391, the Adult Contact Team. The Children's Team can be contacted on 01302 736 186 (afternoons only). The Council will send you an application form which you must complete and have approved before any work is carried out on the property.
Please Note!
If work commences before approval you will NOT get the grant.
You will usually be asked to sign a certificate stating that the disabled occupant will live in the property for at least 5 years after the works have been completed, or a shorter period if there are health or other special reasons. You should be given a decision within a six month period from the date of your formal application. The Council cannot refuse to allow you to make a formal application or refuse to give you an application form. If you do not get a decision within six months of making the application you should write to them and ask why and request that a decision be made.
Grant Calculation:
Disabled Facilities Grants for adults are means tested. There is no means test if an application is made for the benefit of a disabled child or young person. The meams test is very similar, but not the same as the test for Income Support (IS) or Pension Credit (PC) if the person is 60 or over. If the disabled person's income and saving are bellow the test limits there will be no need for him/her to contribute to the cost of the works (for further detailed information please contact our helpline on 01302 327 800).
Grant Payment:
The Grant will only be paid when the Local Authority is satisfied that the work has been completed to its satisfaction in accordance with the granr approval. It is your responsibility to make sure that your builder meets the standards required. The Council may pay the grant in full on completion of the works or by instalments as the works progress. You will need to discuss this with them.
For further information or if you think you may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant please contact the Adult Contact Team on 01302 737 391.
DIAL Disclaimer
Whilst all the information given in this fact sheet was correct at the time of going to press,
DIAL Doncaster cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes.
