Housing

Housing adaptations for disabled people

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a mandatory entitlement administered by local housing authorities to help fund the provision of adaptations to enable disabled people to live as comfortably and independently as possible in their homes.

Eligible work is wide-ranging, providing for access to the home and basic facilities within it, for example: providing ramps, door widening, stair lifts and level access showers. The grant is subject to an assessment of need and a financial means test. In England the current maximum limit for the grant will be £30,000 with effect from 22 May 2008.

On 25 February 2008 the Government:

This was announced alongside Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society which contains details of the DFG changes (in Chapter Six).

On 29 February 2008 Communties and Local Government and the Housing Corporation jointly wrote a letter to local authorities and Registered Social landlords clarifying the position on the current guidance for RSLs in the provision of adaptations.

Disabled Facilities Grant: the Package of Changes to Modernise the Programme sets out the changes the Government will implement; a timetable for the changes; and ongoing areas of development. This is part of the Review of the DFG programme and provides a response to the consultation - Disabled Facilities Grant Programme: The Government's proposals to improve programme delivery, which ran between January and April 2007. A summary of responses was published on 13 August 2007.

On 8 May 2008 Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities (see below) detailing the changes mentioned in the Disabled Facilities Grant: the Package of Changes to Modernise the Programme. The letter was sent with copies of Statutory Instruments:

which are the legal mechanisms to implement the changes. The General Consent letter is introduced to reflect changes to the charge on property. The changes to the DFG came into force on 22 May 2008.

On 14 January 2008 Communities and Local Government announced an additional £11.5m towards the DFG 2007-08 allocation totalling £138m. For further details see the news release, Government announces extra funding for home adaptations.

Note

If you are a householder and would like to apply for a grant please read the guidance on the DirectGov website (external link) and contact your local housing authority or environmental health department for an application form.

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