Disabled Facilities Grant: help from your council to adapt your home

What the grant is for

The grant is applied for through your local council, not GOV.UK directly, and pays towards adaptations that a disabled person needs to live safely and independently in their home. It can cover things like widening doorways and fitting ramps or grab rails, improving access to rooms with a stairlift or level-access shower, improving access to a garden, building an extension such as a downstairs bedroom, or fitting a heating system or controls suited to someone’s needs.

You can qualify whether you own your home, rent it, or are a landlord applying on behalf of a disabled tenant. Disabled children under 18 can get a grant without a parent’s income being taken into account, and landlords can apply without their own income and savings counting, though a council may ask for the property to stay let to another disabled person if the tenant moves within a set period.

How much you can get

The maximum grant is set separately in each nation it covers. Local housing authorities also have a general discretionary power to provide further housing assistance for adaptations beyond the mandatory maximum — some use it to help with costs above that limit, though this varies by council and is not guaranteed.

How much you are offered, up to that maximum, usually depends on your household income and on savings above a threshold the council applies. Depending on your income, you may be asked to pay towards the cost of the work yourself. If your circumstances change later, you can apply for another grant on the same property.

If you live in Scotland

Eligibility and how the council decides

To get a grant, you or someone else living in the property must be disabled, and must intend to live there for the grant period, which is usually 5 years but can be shorter — for example if the person is terminally ill. The application must come from the owner, the tenant, or the landlord. The council has to be satisfied the work is necessary and appropriate for the disabled person’s needs, and that it is reasonable and practical given the age and condition of the property. Work is expected to finish within 12 months of the grant being approved.

That is a genuine risk, not a formality — approval has to come before the builders start, not afterwards. You also need to apply separately for any planning permission or building regulations approval the work requires, and the council may ask you to use a qualified architect or surveyor, whose fees the grant can also help cover.

How to apply, and the decision deadline

1. Apply through your local council, not through GOV.UK.
2. A council occupational therapist or trained assessor will usually visit to assess what changes you need.
3. Wait for the council’s decision before starting any work.
4. If your application is approved, agree with the council whether it pays your contractor directly or pays you to pass on.

That 6-month limit comes from the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, so it is a statutory maximum, not a target — if your council is close to it without a decision, it is reasonable to chase them. The government-funded organisation Foundations can help with the application itself. If you disagree with the council’s decision, you can appeal to the council, and if you are still unhappy after that, you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Related guides

• Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): a loan against your home, not a benefit
• Warm Homes: Local Grant: council-funded insulation and heat pumps
• Boiler Upgrade Scheme: grants for heat pumps and biomass boilers
• Council Tax Reduction: how much you could get off your bill
• The Crisis and Resilience Fund: help from your council in England