Disabled Facilities Grants to adapt your home

You may be eligible for financial support from your council to make small adaptations to your home. For larger adaptations, you can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant.

What do I need to do to get support from my council?

First, you should get a care needs assessment from your local council. You can get these free of charge and you're entitled to one regardless of your income and savings.

Your local council will send a social care professional to come to see you to find out how you're managing everyday tasks and assess your needs. They'll then advise on what support you need, including equipment and home adaptations that would make things easier for you. If you're considered 'eligible', the council will have a duty to help you.

Find out more about the care needs assessment

Can I get equipment and minor home adaptations for free?

Following your care needs assessment, if the council recommend minor adaptations to your home costing £1,000 or less – such as installing grab rails, a dropped curb or outside lights – these will be provided and fitted free of charge.

Specialist disability equipment that they recommend will also be provided for free – for example, a hoist to help you get in and out of bed.

Can I get major home adaptations with a Disabled Facilities Grant?

For help with the cost of larger adaptations, you may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant. This can be used to cover a wide range of adaptations. Disabled Facilities Grants are means-tested and there's usually an upper limit on the amount you can get. You can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant even if the council decides you don't have eligible care needs, because they're based on separate criteria.

Disabled Facilities Grants are administered and paid by your local council’s housing department but they can usually only be used for work that your local council has assessed you as needing.

You can get a Disabled Facilities Grant whether you own or rent your property, but tenants usually need their landlord's permission to carry out the adaptations.

Social landlords (council or housing association landlords) will sometimes pay for adaptations, but you can still apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant and you should be treated the same as other applicants. 

Foundations, the national body for HIAs, also provides a Disabled Facilities Grant eligibility self-assessment tool, including a calculator to work out how much you may need to contribute to a Disabled Facilities Grant.

Find out more and use the self-assessment tool on the Foundations website

What if I'm not eligible for financial help?

After your care needs assessment, if your local council decides that you don’t have any eligible needs, they won’t provide you with any equipment or adaptations. But they must still give you free information and advice, such as where to buy useful equipment.

Check whether you're entitled to other help

Make sure you check whether you’re entitled to any other benefits. Many people who need help with care will qualify for a disability benefit – either Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance depending on your age. Neither benefit is means-tested so your income and savings won’t be taken into account.

Equity release

Equity release is a way of releasing some spare cash to fund home adaptations. You borrow money against the value of your home but pay nothing back until after your home is sold – either after your death or when you go into long-term care. Alternatively, you can raise money by selling all or part of your home, but continue to live in it until you die or go into long-term care.

Equity release is a big decision – you should consider all your options and get specialist financial and legal advice before deciding.

Find out more about equity release