Disabled adaptations and the Disabled Facilities Grant

Direct answer

If you or someone you live with is disabled, you may be able to have your home adapted (for example a ramp, a level-access shower, a stairlift, or wider doors). A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) of up to £30,000 in England can pay for it. You apply through your local council. To start, ask the council for a free care needs assessment. For free advice, contact your council or Citizens Advice. If a repair the landlord has ignored is making a disability worse, you may also have a disrepair claim, call us free on 0800 030 4669.

Key facts

• A Disabled Facilities Grant is worth up to £30,000 in England and up to £36,000 in Wales. Some councils may give more. Disabled Facilities Grants, GOV.UK
• There is no means test where the grant is for a disabled child or young person under 19 that child benefit is paid for. Disabled Facilities Grants, GOV.UK

What the grant can pay for

A Disabled Facilities Grant helps pay for changes that make a home safe and suitable for a disabled person, such as:

• Ramps and level access into and around the home
• A level-access (walk-in) shower or other bathroom changes
• A stairlift or a through-floor lift
• Wider doorways and lowered worktops
• Better heating or lighting controls where a disability needs it

How much you can get, and the means test

• The most a DFG can pay in England is £30,000.
• For an adult, the amount depends on a means test of income and savings (the first £6,000 of savings is ignored).
• There is no means test where the grant is for a child or young person under 19 that child benefit is paid for.

How to apply

1. Ask your council for a free care needs assessment. You are entitled to one whatever your income or savings.
2. Apply to the council's housing or home-improvement team for the Disabled Facilities Grant.
3. The council should give you a decision within 6 months, and pay within 12 months of your application.
4. If you rent, you usually need the landlord's permission for the works, but a social landlord should not unreasonably refuse.

You can read more on GOV.UK or from Disability Rights UK.

Where we fit in

Support for Tenants helps with housing disrepair claims. We do not run the grant, your council does. But the two can overlap: if your landlord has left damp, mould, cold, or a hazard unfixed and it has made a disability or health condition worse, that may be a disrepair claim worth pursuing alongside any adaptation. Call us free on 0800 030 4669, send the short form, or message us on WhatsApp. See also where to get other housing help.

Sources

• Disabled Facilities Grants (GOV.UK)
• Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Equality Act 2010 (legislation.gov.uk)