Housing Improvement and Adaptations Policy

7.1. A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a mandatory grant available to provide essential adaptations to the homes of disabled people to ensure they have reasonable access into and around their home and to essential facilities within it. DFGs are administered under the detailed provisions of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. This section gives an overview.

7.2. A person is eligible to apply for a DFG in the following circumstances

• the applicant is an owner, a tenant or a landlord
• the applicant intends for the disabled person to live in the property as their only or main residence for a period of five years (or such shorter period as health and other relevant circumstances permit)

7.3. The need for adaptation is determined by an Occupational Therapist from the council. The council will only act on recommendations made by the Occupational Therapist, where the work is all of the following:

• mandatory under s23 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (see Appendix A)
• confirmed by the Occupational Therapist as being necessary and appropriate to the disabled person’s needs
• considered reasonable and practicable

7.4. Except where the disabled person is a child or young person as defined in the Act, the Council must carry out a test of the financial resources of the disabled person to assess how much they have to pay towards the work. Where the applicant is an owner-occupier or a tenant, the test of resources set out in the Housing Renewal Grants Regulations 1996 will be applied. Where the applicant is a landlord their contribution will be assessed based on the assessed increase in rental value.

The amount of grant is equivalent to the reasonable cost of the work (or the maximum statutory grant level, currently £30,000, where the cost of work required exceeds this), less the applicant’s contribution.

Where the applicant has a contribution to pay or is undertaking privately funded work in addition to grant funded elements, the Council will expect these amounts to be paid in full to the contractor prior to any grant funds being released. Confirmation will be required from the contractor that all monies owed to them by the applicant has been paid in full.

7.5. The following fees and charges may be eligible for assistance within the maximum grant calculation:

• fees in connection with provision of Proof of Title
• specialist contractor’s fees in relation to information required in support of an application - this may include Gas Safe or Electrical Contractors report fee, a structural Engineer’s fee etc.
• the fees of an architect or surveyor or other services for preparing drawings, detailed specification and overseeing the works
• any other fees and charges which the council determine to be eligible

7.6. For owner-occupiers the council will register a charge against under the Local Land Charges arrangements on properties where a grant is being paid.

7.7. For a mandatory DFG, the charge is only registered against adapted properties of owner occupiers where the mandatory grant exceeds £5,000. The maximum charge registered is limited to £10,000.

7.8. The DFG charge will be payable where the property is disposed of within 10 years (whether by sale, assignment, transfer or let).

7.9. The conditions set out in the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 will apply.

Consideration of the following will be given in determining the amount of the grant to be repaid:

• the extent to which the recipient of the grant would suffer financial hardship were he/she to be required to repay all or any of the grant
• whether the disposal of the premises is to enable the recipient of the grant to take up employment, or to change the location of his employment.
• whether the disposal is made for reasons connected with the physical or mental health or wellbeing of the recipient of the grant or of a disabled occupant of the premises; and
• whether the disposal is made to enable the recipient of the grant to live with, or near, any person who is disabled or infirm and in need of care, which the recipient of the grant is intending to provide, or who is intending to provide care of which the recipient of the grant is in need by reason of disability or infirmity

Given the pressures on DFG funding and high property values locally, the presumption will have made that it is reasonable to require repayment in the circumstances described in b), c) and d) above, unless the grant recipient would suffer financial hardship in doing so.

Repayment of preventative assistance applies as per the conditions of each specific type of assistance.