Disability grants for home adaptations

If the cost of your adaptations is less than £1,000, your council may give you a grant. These grants are not means-tested. This means they are not based on your income or savings.

If you rent your home from your council or a housing association, your housing provider should cover these costs. You do not need to apply for a small grant. Ask your housing officer how it works in your area.

You can use the grant to pay for things like grab rails that make it easier to get in and out of the bath.

If you are thinking of buying accessibility equipment for your home, ask your council if they will give you a grant to pay for it.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

The Disabled Facilities Grant (DGF) is a grant for adaptations that cost over £1,000.

The grant could cover the cost of adapting your home:

• up to £30,000 in England
• up to £36,000 in Wales

Sometimes local councils will pay more to meet your needs if it saves them money in the long run.

The local council must award a DFG if you are eligible. It is means-tested, which means you might have to pay some of your own money depending on your income and savings.

Ask your local council about how they work out how much you will have to pay. You can ask to see their DFG policy or search for it on their website.

Adults and children can be eligible for a DFG. DFGs are only means-tested for adults.

You can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant if you:

• rent from a private landlord
• rent from a local council or housing association
• own your home

You do not have to get other benefits to be eligible for a DFG.

Getting a DFG will not affect any other benefits you get.

Contact your local council. You will need to speak to the social care department or the housing department.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

If you live in a housing association home, you can also contact your housing association.

By law, the council must give you a decision within 6 months. Apply as soon as possible.

When you ask the council about a DFG, they will usually tell you how to request an occupational therapist (OT) assessment. An OT assessment is the first step in your DFG application.

The OT will visit you at home. They will ask questions to get to know you and understand what you need.

They might ask you to do some tasks so they can see how you do things. Depending on your home and your needs, this could include:

• getting in and out of bed
• getting up and down stairs
• reaching for light switches

Tell the OT if you do not want to do these things. They will find another way to find out what adapations might help you.

Home adaptations and occupational therapist assessments

The OT will make recommendations for what will help you live in your home. This could include adaptations or equipment.

How to get equipment and assistive technology

Sometimes the OT might recommend moving if your home is not suitable.

The OT will send their report to the housing department at your local council. Once they have done this, you can apply for DFG.

If you disagree with what your OT recommends in their report, you can challenge it. Contact your local council to find out how.

You can get support from:

• Citizens Advice
• your local Shelter office
• an independent advocate

If you are unhappy with the council's response, you can make a complaint to the local government and social care ombudsman.

Local government and social care ombudsman (LGO)

You could get a private OT assessment for a second opinion. But this can be expensive. And there is no guarantee that a private OT report will support your challenge.

If you rent from a council or housing association, your housing provider should apply for the DFG for you.

If you own your home or rent from a private landlord, you will probably need to do it yourself.

Most councils have online application forms. Your council must provide an application that is accessible to you. For example, you can ask to do the application:

• on a paper form
• on the phone
• in person

Asking for reasonable adjustments

If you are filling out the DFG application form yourself, you can get support from:

• your local Home Improvement Association (Find my HIA)
• Citizens Advice

You may need to provide:

• your OT report and medical information
• evidence that you live in your home
• permission from your landlord if you rent your home
• information on your income and savings
• quotes from builders

OT report and medical information

The occupational therapist (OT) will share copies of their report with you and the council. The report shows evidence of your needs and recommendations for adaptations.

The council might ask to see evidence of your condition. This is usually covered in the OT report. But they might ask for a letter from your healthcare team as well.

Evidence that you live in your home

This could be:

• a tenancy agreement if you rent your home
• mortgage details or property deeds if you own your home

Permission to make adaptations

If you rent your home, you will need to get permission from your landlord to make any changes to your home.

If you are a homeowner of a leasehold property, you might need to get permission from the freeholder. Check your contract for this information.

If you are disabled under the Equality Act 2010, you have the right to portable support aids or temporary adaptations when you are renting. These are called 'auxiliary aids'. Auxiliary aids include things like:

• grab rails
• special taps or door handles
• bath boards
• a portable ramp

The law says that you must ask your landlord's permission to:

• remove or alter a physical feature
• change shared areas, such as hallways and entrances in a block of flats

Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 (GOV.UK)

Landlords, disabled tenants and adaptations

Income and savings

The DFG is a means-tested grant. This means the amount you can get is based on your income and savings.

The council will want to know if you can afford to pay for some of the adaptations.

They will look at your household income and any savings over £6,000. Savings include ISAs and Premium Bonds.

Some councils will not look at your income and savings if you rent your home from the council. In this case, they will not ask you to pay any of the costs for adaptations.

If you receive another means-tested benefit, you will probably not be asked to pay for any of the costs.

If you do not receive another means-tested benefit, the council may ask you to pay for some or all of the cost.

Local councils calculate household income in different ways. They should not include money you get from disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

To check if you are eligible, you might need to show them:

• bank statements
• benefits award letters
• pay slips

You can get support with finding and submitting evidence from:

• your local Home Improvement Association (Find my HIA)
• Citizens Advice

Quotes from builders

You might need to ask for builders' quotes for the work. Your local Home Improvement Agency (HIA) can help you to get quotes.

HIAs and how to find your local agency (Find my HIA)

If you have a family member or friend who can do the work, you can still apply for a DFG. The council will only pay to cover materials. They will not pay for labour. Keep copies of all your receipts for the materials.

If your application is approved, the council will send you a letter.

By law, they must respond to your application within 6 months.

They will pay the money directly to the builders who do the work. They will not pay any money to you.

You do not usually need to pay back a DFG

A DFG is a grant not a loan. This means you do not usually need to pay any of the money back.

But you might have to pay some of it back if all of these things apply:

• you own the home you live in
• your DFG was more than £5,000
• you move out of your home within 10 years of getting the DFG

Check the conditions of the grant with your local council.

The DFG usually only covers up to:

• £30,000 in England
• £36,000 in Wales

Some councils have discretionary funding that can top up the amount if your adaptations cost more.

You could ask the OT if there are other ways to meet your needs within the DFG limit. 

If your needs change in the future, you could apply for another DFG.

If you are not eligible for a DFG, or it does not cover your full costs, you could also find funding from:

• disability grants
• fundraising
• family and friends, if they can afford it
• housing association grants if you rent your home from a housing association

If your DFG application is denied, you can ask the council to explain all the reasons why they did not approve it.

If you disagree with their decision, you can appeal. Ask your council about their appeals process.

You can get support from:

• Citizens Advice
• your local Shelter office
• an independent advocate

If you are unhappy with the council's response, you can complain to the local government and social care ombudsman.

Local government and social care ombudsman (LGO)

If you rent your home from a housing association, ask your housing association how they manage adaptations.

Your housing association may act like a private landlord. They may ask you to apply to the local council for a DFG on your own or with their support.

Some associations have their own fund for larger adaptations. This would mean that you would not apply to your local council for a DFG. Ask your housing association what to do.

You might get urgent adaptations or equipment through the NHS if:

• you are in hospital and need changes to your home to make it safe and accessible before you can be discharged
• you are unwell and would need to go into hospital without adaptations to your home

Your healthcare team will arrange these adaptations.

These will be minor adaptations like grab rails or temporary ramps. Some community NHS services can make recommendations for small non-urgent adaptations, but larger adaptations tend to go through your local council.

Your care team will apply for adaptations for you. They might arrange an assessment at your home. 

Care and Repair and Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) can support disabled and older people to stay in safe housing that meets their needs. They can help you find local schemes and grants to help with the cost of adaptations.

They may also help with:

• applying for Disabled Facilities Grants and other grants
• planning the work
• finding trusted tradespeople
• getting quotes

Home Improvement Agencies

Care and Repair Cymru in Wales

You can make a complaint if there are any problems with your DFG or home adaptations, for example:

• the council did not give you information you needed in a format that is accessible to you
• the builders did not add an adaptation that the council had agreed to
• the builders made your own less accessible to you
• the council or builders did not respond when you contacted them

Contact your council to make a complaint.

Find your local council (GOV.UK)

If you are unhappy with the council's response, you can make a complaint to the local government and social care ombudsman.

Local government and social care ombudsman (LGO)

The local government has more information on what to do if you have problems with home adaptations.

Housing adaptations for people with disabilities (LGO)

You can get support with making a complaint from:

• Citizens Advice
• your local Shelter office
• an independent advocate