Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG)

Disabled Facilities Grants are grants provided to those eligible “to modify an individual’s home environment in order to restore or enable independent living, privacy, confidence and dignity for individuals and their families.”

Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) can be made, up to the value of £30,000, for essential major adaptations to your home. These commonly include:

  • Improving access to the home – for example ramps and half steps
  • Improving access and movement in the home – for example hoists and stairlifts
  • Providing suitable hygiene facilities -  for example bathroom and toilet facilities

Eligibility for Disabled Facilities Grant funding

To be entitled to a DFG you must meet the following criteria:

  • You or someone living in your property must be disabled
  • You or the person you’re applying for can either own the property, or be a tenant, but you must intend to live in the property during the "grant period" (currently 5 years)
  • The requested adaptation must be "necessary and appropriate" to meet your needs 
  • The requested adaptation must be "reasonable and practical" for your home environment
  • A DFG cannot be given for work that is already in progress or that has been completed, you must apply for DFG funding before you start any work at your property

Before agreeing a DFG the Council will consider and advise you if equipment or smaller adaptations can help you, these may be funded by us or purchased privately.

Financial Assessment

The amount of each grant also depends on a financial assessment of your household income and savings to decide if you need to pay anything towards the cost of the work to the property. Disabled children under 18 can get a grant without their parents’ income being taken into account.

The DFG Application Process

To discuss the help you need and start your application for a DFG:

Our process involves:

  1. Assessment by an Occupational Therapist to consider if equipment or an adaptation is "necessary and appropriate" to meet your needs or if there are other ways of managing your situation. 
  2. The council will decide if any proposed work is  "reasonable and practical" for the property, given its age, layout and condition. If your property is unsuitable for the adaptations work required, we will help you to look at other options - including moving home. 
  3. Based on the assessment a panel will consider the requested adaptation. If it meets all of the eligibility criteria, it will be approved in principle.
  4. You will be sent an Application Form to complete, when we receive the completed form (with the relevant evidence) we will carry out a formal financial assessment. You may be expected to pay a contribution towards the cost of the work or if you choose a more expensive option.
  5. We will need formal permission for the work from the property owner or landlord.
  6. When everything is agreed you can either organise the work yourself or the Council can arrange this.
  7. When the agreed work has been completed the council will check this and that the grant has been paid as agreed.

Repayment of Disabled Facilities Grants

If you are eligible for a DFG, you may (in certain circumstances) have to repay the grant if it is over £5,000 and you move or sell your home, or it is no longer your main place of residence, within 10 years of the works being completed. This will be explained to you if it applies.

Last Updated: 25 September 2019