Disabled facilities grant

Applicants for disabled facilities grants must be referred by the council’s occupational therapy service or Ealing’s Primary Care Trust.

Major adaptations are arranged by the council’s repairs and adaptations service (RAS), and smaller jobs are handled by our home improvement agency (HIA).

The following types of work, when recommended for a disabled person by the occupational therapist, are eligible for grant provided they are necessary and appropriate and reasonable and practical having regard to the age and condition of the property:

making the building or dwelling safe
facilitating access to and from the building
facilitating access to or providing a bedroom
facilitating access to the principal family room
provision of a room containing a bath or shower or facilitating the use of such a facility
provision of a room containing a WC or facilitating the use of such a facility
provision of a room containing a wash hand basin or facilitating the use of such a facility
facilitating the preparation and cooking of food (only if used by the disabled person)
providing or improving a heating system
facilitating the use of power, light or heat by altering the same or by providing additional means of control
facilitating access and movement around the dwelling to enable the disabled person to provide care for another person

The applicant (who may not be the disabled person) must either own the property or be a tenant.

All applications (except when the adaptations are for a child) are subject to a means test to determine the amount to be contributed by the applicant towards the cost of the works. Generally the means test focuses on the disabled person, his or her spouse and dependent children.

A statutory limit of £30,000 applies to mandatory disabled facilities grants. Any costs in excess of the amount of grant will need to be found by the applicant. Only in exceptional circumstances will the council consider an additional discretionary grant top-up. The council may impose a condition requiring that part of the grant (maximum £10,000) be repaid at some stage in the future.

For further information contact the repairs and adaptation service (RAS).