Disabled facilities grant

If you or someone living in your property is disabled you may qualify for a disabled facilities grant (DFG) towards the cost of providing adaptations and facilities to enable the disabled person to continue to live there.

The availability of a DFG is dependent on an assessment by an occupational therapist.

For 'mandatory' (prescribed by the Housing Grants etc Act 1996) purposes only.

Dwelling must be free from housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) catagory one hazards, except where forcing the fixing of such problems would prevent completing a DFG and therefore disabled person's ability to remain at home.

These grants are means tested according to detailed government regulations.

The grant is the difference between the disabled person's means tested contribution and the eligible expense. The eligible expense is what we consider to be a reasonable price for the work to be done. This may not be as much as the estimated expense.

The mandatory grant is up to £30,000.

A discretionary grant is also paid for the shortfall between £30,000 max mandatory DFG plus the disabled person's means tested contribution, and the eligible expense.

A 'self-fund option' is permitted whereby the grant applicant prepares a scheme of adaptations that is more elaborate than necessary, partly funding these works using the amount of grant that would have been paid towards a basic scheme, had that basic scheme been executed.

DFGs are not normally repayable.