Feb 6th, 2012
Who can claim for a Disabled Facilities Grant?
A “Disabled Facilities Grant” is a local council grant to help towards the cost of changing your home to enable you to continue to live there. A grant is paid when the council considers that changes are important to meet your requirements, and so the work is reasonable and practical. A note of warning Grants can take up to 12 months or more to be authorized
Who can claim for a Disabled Facilities Grant?
You can claim if you, or somebody living in your property/home, are disabled and you, or the person on whose behalf you are applying, are either the owner or renter (including licensees) of the property. You can certify that you, or the individual on whose behalf you are applying, propose to occupy the property as your/their only or main residence throughout the grant period – currently 5 years. A landlord may apply on behalf of a disabled tenant
Disabled Facilities Grants are available across the nation! England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scottish residents should contact the social services department of their local council for information on any grants that might be available
What can the grant funding be utilised for?
A grant can be used for adaptions to give you better freedom of movement into and around your home and/or to provide essential facilities within it. If you are disabled, acceptable types of work include:
Widening doors and installing ramps, Providing or improving access to rooms and facilities – for example, by installing Stair lifts or providing a downstairs rest room. Changing heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use.
Improving access to and movement around the home to enable you to care for someone else who lives in the property,eg a child. An occupational therapist will look at your circumstances and can advocate the sort of modifications needed.
How much are you able to claim?
The amount paid is mostly based mostly on a monetary assessment – a ‘means test ‘ – of your average weekly earnings re your spending. There isn’t any means testing for families of disabled youngsters under 19 years of age
Means testing will consider savings above a certain limit. Certain benefits including Disability Living Allowance and Earnings Support are generally ignored. If you’ve got a partner, your combined income will be assessed jointly. Capital is included in the means test. The 1st 6,000 of savings is overlooked.
A variety of premiums and allowances is used for all essential spending, as an example, lease/mortgage and personal expenditure. Actual outgoings are not considered. Depending on the result of this assessment the amount of financial help offered can vary greatly from 0 to 100 per cent of the cost.
Maximum grant amount
The maximum quantity of grant that a council is required to pay is 25,000 in Northern Ireland, 30,000 in England and 36,000 in Wales per application less any assessed contribution from you. If the cost of the eligible works is more, the council can use discretionary powers to increase the amount. A Disabled Facilities Grant won’t affect any benefits you are at present receiving.
For info on Disabled Grants and Outdoor Stairlifts Please come to Our site for Stairlifts Advice