Disabled Facilities Grants

The following types of work, when recommended for a disabled person by the Occupational Therapist, are eligible for grant provided they are necessary and appropriate and reasonable and practical having regard to the age and condition of the property:-

• Making the building or dwelling safe
• Facilitating access to and from the building
• Facilitating access to or providing a bedroom
• Facilitating access to the principal family room
• Provision of a room containing a bath or shower or facilitating the use of such a facility
• Provision of a room containing a W.C. or facilitating the use of such a facility
• Provision of a room containing a wash hand basin or facilitating the use of such a facility
• Facilitating the preparation and cooking of food (only if used by the disabled person)
• Providing or improving a heating system
• Facilitating the use of power, light or heat by altering the same or by providing additional means of control
• Facilitating access and movement around the dwelling to enable the disabled person to provide care for another person
• Where ever possible adaptations are provided within the existing property

The applicant (who may not be the disabled person) must either own the property or be a tenant.

All applications (except when the adaptations are for a child) are subject to a means test to determine the amount to be contributed by the applicant towards the cost of the works. Generally the means test focuses on the disabled person, his or her spouse and any dependent children.

A statutory limit £30,000 applies to mandatory Disabled Facilities Grants. Any costs in excess of the amount of the grant will need to be found by the applicant.

What We Cannot Do

The following cannot be included in a Disabled Facilities Grant:-

• Work not recommended by the Occupational Therapist
• Work that is not reasonable, practicable, necessary and appropriate
• Renovation, repair or maintenance work
• Portable items such as cookers, fridges, etc.

Able 2 will visit service users referred to ourselves along with our surveyor, who in conjunction will draw up a scheme that will be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant.

We will then revisit with the scheme that has been drawn up to ensure that our service user is fully involved with the process, ensuring that the scheme is acceptable both to them and to their families.

Our Occupational Therapists will then draw up a full and comprehensive specification and forward this to the relevant Grants Department for them to progress.