People are healthier when they can be independent in their own homes.

You may be eligible for a disabled facilities grant (DFG) if you're disabled and need to make changes to your home to help you live independently. Grants are means tested and targeted at people on low incomes. Find out more about help to live at home and equipment, adaptations and technology.

The application process

1. Contact the Adult Social Care First Response Team on or call 01925 443322.  
2. We will arrange for you to have an assessment by an Occupational Therapist or Community Care Worker.  
3. If appropriate, a statement of need will be sent to Private Sector Housing who will administer the grant.

How much will I get?

It depends on your finances and your circumstances. You may have to contribute your own money if the amount of DFG you are awarded doesn't cover the total cost of the equipment you need, so you'll have to think about how you will pay for this – it could be from your savings, or you may need to borrow money from elsewhere. You might also be eligible for a grant from a charity.

If you can't raise any additional money to pay the outstanding cost of essential equipment, we may be able to help you with a low cost loan or adaptations loan (if you're a homeowner). In most cases, DFGs awarded to disabled children under 19 years old will be funded up to the grant maximum of £30,000, so you won't need to pay anything from your own pocket.

Low cost loan 

This is a loan of up to £5,000, repayable over a period of up to 60 months.  You will be assessed to make sure you can afford the repayments. The loan charge is equivalent to 5% of the amount that is borrowed. There is also an administration fee (currently £100) to set up the loan.  This fee goes towards the costs incurred by the council in providing the loan such as Land Registry and bankruptcy searches, obtaining proof of identity to satisfy money laundering regulations, registering the charge at the Land Registry and the loan agent fees.

Read our low cost loans information sheet.

Adaptations loan

If you are required to pay more than £5,000 towards the cost of your equipment, we may offer an adaptations loan to homeowners. This is an equity share loan, which means that the council takes a share of the ownership of your property in return for lending you the money.  You will need to pay for a property valuation report by an independent chartered surveyor. 

The loan is repayable on sale or transfer of the lease, or at your own request. The council's surveyor will carry out a property valuation and the amount repayable would depend on the % increase (or decrease) in the value of the property.

Read our Adaptations loans information sheet

At the end of 2021 changes were agreed to the Council’s discretionary assistance for disabled people under the terms of the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance)(England & Wales) Order 2002. The changes are as follows:

No means testing for works costing under £10,000

This applies to owner-occupiers and private tenants. Separate funding agreements already exist for social housing tenants.

Discretionary disabled facilities grant

This grant is subject to funding being available. Each case is looked at on its merits, considering savings, income / expenditure and the level of work recommended.  A further local land charge will be placed against the property to cover the cost of this grant for a 10 year period.

This grant can cover:

• Unforeseen works up to £10,000
• Top up funding of up to £10,000 where the cost of works exceed the maximum permitted under a mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant
• Help of up to £10,000 with the contribution calculated under the formal means test

Relocation grant

This can cover reasonable costs of moving to a more suitable property.  For an owner-occupier, reasonable costs can include all fees associated with the move, including stamp duty.  The grant will be registered as a local land charge against the new property for 10 years in the case of an owner-occupier.              

For tenants of both privately rented and social housing, a grant can be given to cover all reasonable costs associated with moving to a more suitable property but they would be limited to 1 grant in any 3 year period.              

This grant can also be used where someone needs to temporarily move out of their property to allow the building works associated with a Disabled Facilities Grant to go ahead – it would cover rent of a suitable alternative property for the duration of the building work.

Necessary works grant

Each case is considered on its merits but generally the work would be expected to fall within one of the following categories:

• Non-structural works to a property to allow Disabled Facilities Grant works to go ahead (available for all tenures). This might include specialist cleaning or removal of furniture etc
• Other essential repairs to a property to allow hospital discharge (owner-occupiers only)
• Minor works to make the property suitable for a specific need – eg dementia or visual impairment – works such as creating colour contrasts within the property (all tenures)