Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants

Adaptations and Disabled Facilities
Grants
Kay Harries CLM Birmingham

• A DFG is provided to fund major
adaptations(over £1000) Funds are
administered by district and borough
councils
• Does not affect benefits
• Is means tested in the case of adult
applicants, but not in the case of children.
Disabled Facilites Grant

• You or someone living in your property
must be disabled.
• One of you must be the owner or tenant
• You must intend to live in the property for
the grant period (currently 5 years)
Eligibility

The Local Housing Authority (LHA) must be
satisfied that the work is
• Necessary and appropriate to meet the
disabled person’s needs
• Reasonable and can be done according to
the age and condition of the property

You may need to get planning permission
and employ an architect – you can use the
grant towards the cost of these fees

DFG payment limits:
• England – up to £30,000
• Wales – up to £36,000
• N I - up to £25,000
• Scotland – not available
The LHA may however give further
discretionary assistance if they feel the
client’s needs are not being met

• Legislation requires the provision of a DFG
where a disabled applicant intends to use the
property as their only or main residence.
• This can discriminate against meeting the needs
of a disabled child where separated parents
have joint custody, or where a child spends time
in a residential school or college but wishes to
return to the family home during holidays.
• Authorities can use discretionary powers to
consider multiple applications.

• The LHA will require an assessment,
usually by an Occupational Therapist (OT)
employed by Social Services or the
council.
• The OT will recommend the most cost-
effective solution taking into account the
individual family circumstances.
Assessment of Need

• Solutions using equipment such as mobile
hoists, and minor adaptations such as
hand rails will always be considered in the
first instance.
• Adaptation of existing floor space to
provide facilities such as a downstairs
toilet will always be considered in
preference to building any sort of
extension

• The cost of work carried out by the
applicant or family prior to the assessment
will not be reimbursed
• Recent changes in the rules mean that
access to a garden is now a specific
criterion for entitlement to a DFG where
reasonable and practicable

• It is important that the final plan takes into
account any future deterioration in
function, where it might reasonably be
expected, as a DFG is usually only
awarded once to a property

• Tenure has to be established.
• Approval from the landlord is needed in
the case of rented properties.
• Landlords should be reminded that they
”may not unreasonably withhold their
consent” to the adaptation being
undertaken
The DFG Process

• A test of resources will be carried out in
order to assess the amount, if any , that
the applicant must contribute to the cost of
the work
• Charitable funding may be available in
circumstances where the contribution
expected is more than the applicant can
afford

• Most existing schemes set priorities based upon
medical risk and the social model of disability.
• Urgent – where the service user cannot return
home from hospital or utilise essential facilities
within the home without the adaptation
• Non-urgent where the service user is unable to
utilise home fully but can access toilet and
personal hygiene facilities
• Priority systems do not affect the mandatory
nature of the DFG or statutory timescales

• In the case of large adaptations, plans will
be drawn up and approved in collaboration
with the service user and family.
• Work will usually be carried out by builders
approved by the LA
• Work will be inspected and signed off on
completion

• Adaptations costing less than £1000 do
not need to be financed via DFG, they can
be supplied via the LA e.g. half steps,
external handrails, ramps, stair rails.
Minor Adaptations

• There are community equipment stores in
every area of England and Wales,
responsible for areas defined by post code
• Originally jointly funded by Health and
Social Services, many have been taken
over by commercial companies such as
Mediquip.
Equipment

• Community equipment stores are
accessed by therapists and nurses in
acute and community settings in order to
facilitate discharge from hospital, support
independent living and maintain safety
• The range of equipment they provide may
differ in each locality, and sometimes may
not meet the needs of the service user

• It is possible to obtain some specialist
pieces of equipment via social services
funding where the community store items
are not suitable e.g ceiling track hoists,
sleep systems, bariatric equipment.

• So….everything is good, all systems are
there to meet our needs……….

• Money – as ever. Budgets are set each
year, and are spent quickly so by the last
quarter of the financial period few grants
can be made, or special orders processed
• Expectations. The process is strict, and
often what is on offer does not match what
the service users think they should
have/deserve.
Problems :

• Time - the process can be very slow,
particularly the wait for the OT
assessment.
• In Birmingham, there are only 5 LA
Paediatric Occupational Therapists to
serve a population of 1,112,000

• Early referral and communication with the
services are essential.
• Alternative sources of funding e.g.
charities should be pursued.
• In cases where funding is refused,
proposals seem unreasonable, work is
delayed or poorly completed it is worth
taking advice – CAB or public law
solicitors may help.

Chronically Sick and Disabled Act1970
Housing Grants, Construction and
Regeneration Act 1996
Regulatory Reform (housing assistance)
(England and Wales) Order 2002
Delivering Housing Adaptations for Disabled
People – Home Adaptations Consortium
References:

Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants

Similar to Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants