How much can a Disabled Facilities Grant contribute to the cost of my adaptation?
If you believe you may need an adaptation in your home you will need to contact Call Derbyshire on 08456 058 058 to arrange an assessment of your needs. You can view the process the assessment will take on the How would I benefit page on this website.
The current maximum amount a Disabled Facilities Grant can contribute towards a cost of any adaptation is £30,000.
However, the actual amount a Disabled Facilities Grant can contribute towards an adaptation depends on two things:
The cost of the proposed work necessary to meet your needs. The proposed work has to be 'necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practical'.
For Adults
The outcome of a test of resources. This will take into account the income you receive and the interest from any savings you may have. This will then be used to work out the amount, if any, you have to contribute to the cost of the proposed works.
For Example:
A level access shower adaptation may cost £6,500 - if your assessed contribution is £3,000, the Disabled Facilities Grant will then pay the remaining £3,500 of the total cost.
A level access shower adaptation may cost £6,500 - if your assessed contribution is nil then the Disabled Facilities Grant will fund the full cost
For Children and young people with disabilitiesunder the age of 19
There is no means test. So, a level access shower costing £6,500 would be fully funded by the grant.
What happens when the cost of the work exceeds the amount of grant available?
We provide a small automatic top up on the basis of a sliding scale.
However, where the cost of the proposed work exceeds the level of grant allocated (or the £30,000 maximum) the householder/applicant will usually be expected to fund any shortfall.
In some cases of hardship the county council may provide a top up to the grant. If a top up payment is made a legal charge may be placed against the property so a proportion of this can be recouped if the property is sold. Currently we will place a legal charge if the top up provided is over £10,000.
What is a legal charge?
This means that if the property adapted is sold within a certain time frame a proportion of the grant will have to be repaid. District Councils can now place a legal charge on all grants between £5000 and £10,000. Please contact your district council for details.
Related documents
The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download software to view PDF documents for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)