Apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)

You could get a grant if you’re disabled and need to make changes to your home. For example if you:

• are physically disabled
• have a learning disability
• have age-related needs
• are autistic
• have a cognitive impairment, like dementia
• have a progressive condition, like motor neurone disease
• have a terminal illness
• have a mental health condition

You might need to:

• widen doors and install ramps or grab rails
• improve access to rooms and facilities, for example with a stairlift, or level access shower
• improve access to your garden
• build an extension, for example a downstairs bedroom
• provide a heating system suitable for your needs
• adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use

Who can get a grant

To get a grant, you or someone else living in the house must:

• be disabled
• plan to live in the property during the grant period (usually 5 years but this can be shorter, for example, if the person is terminally ill)

The person who submits the application must be either the:

• owner
• tenant
• landlord

We need to be happy that the work is:

• necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs
• reasonable and can be done, depending on the age and condition of the property

The work should be completed within 12 months of the grant being approved.

When we can cover all of the costs

In some situations, we can offer you a full grant without a financial assessment. This is if you or your partner get: 

• Income Support
• income-based Employment and Support Allowance (not contribution-based ESA)
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (not contribution-based JSA)
• Guarantee Pension Credit (not Savings Pension Credit alone)
• Housing Benefit
• Working Tax Credit and, or Child Tax Credit - provided the annual income for the purposes of assessing entitlement to the tax credit is less than £15,050
• Universal Credit, including any Universal Credit which introduced from 2013 onwards as a replacement for working age benefits and tax credits

If you do not receive one of these benefits, you may still qualify for a grant that covers the full cost of the works. You may, however, have to pay towards the cost of your required adaptation.

How to apply

Get in touch with us and ask for an occupational therapist to visit. They’ll assess your needs.

You can call us on 01202 123 654 or contact us online.

If they recommend adapting your home, we can then help you with the application process.

If you have already been assessed by your occupational therapist and want to have an update on your application, please call us on 01202 128 282.

If you’re a council tenant

Housing Landlord Services meet the cost and carry out the work.

If you own your home

If you own your home and the works will cost more than £5,000, we apply a local land charge against the property for 10 years. The most we can apply is £10,000, even if the grant was for over £10,000.

This local land charge means that you may owe us the money back if the home is sold within the next 10 years, or passes to other family members. This will be discussed with you and your partner if it is applied.

If your home cannot be adapted

You might not be able to adapt your home. If you qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant and need to move to a more suitable property, you may receive funding to cover eligible moving costs. One of the following will need to apply:

• the adaptations are not practicable
• major work is needed and it would be better and more cost effective for you to move
• you're a tenant and the landlord refuses to agree to the work

If you’re a tenant, costs for furniture removal may be covered.

As a home owner, costs for removals, solicitors and estate agent fees may be covered.

We assess your finances to work out if you have to pay towards the cost.

An occupational therapist and grants technical officer must agree that the new home can be adapted before you buy or rent a new property.

If you are a contractor, you can apply to join our advisory list of Disabled Facilities Grant contractors.