Contents
- Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant
- Non-Mandatory Disabled Facilities Assistance
- Agency Service
- Disabled facilities grant process
Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant
The Occupational Therapy Team at Nottinghamshire County Council will assess what adaptations best suit your needs and will advise us of the mandatory works that are necessary for you to remain in your own home. The Disabled Facilities Grant Process, shows this in more detail. The grant is means-tested, and is based on the disabled person’s financial circumstances.
Who Can Apply
Certain tenants, owner-occupiers or landlords acting on the behalf of a disabled person may make an application.
Conditions apply which may require repayment of the loan if the property is sold.
This is discretionary and may be available to help meet the cost of adaptations that do not meet the criteria for a mandatory disabled facilities grant. It could also be offered to help meet the cost of moving to a more suitable home where the adaptations of the existing dwelling cannot be considered appropriate.
This grant is means-tested and is based on the disabled person’s financial circumstances. Conditions of future occupation do apply and repayment may be demanded in the event of the conditions being breached.
Non-Mandatory Disabled Facilities Assistance
Grant Conditions: Disabled Facilities Grants Mandatory
The general conditions requiring repayment of the grant in the event of a breach of occupation, breach of letting requirements or the disposal of the dwelling do not apply in respect of Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grants.
Grant Conditions: Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants
It is a condition that if the property/dwelling ceases to be occupied in accordance with the certificate of future occupation submitted at the time of application the discretionary grant becomes repayable to the issuing authority.
A Discretionary Grant up to a maximum of £15000 may be considered to allow the >client to move to a more suitable property. £5000 will be available towards removal expenses with £10000 towards the cost of the adaptation works.
It is a condition that if an owner/s of the premises to which the application relates makes a relevant disposal the discretionary grant becomes repayable to the issuing authority by the recipient or owner of the property for the time being. The conditions apply for an indefinite period.
Such conditions will be registered against the dwelling in the land charges register.
Repayment Conditions and Mechanisms
It should be noted that the requirement to repay the grant can be challenged by the person/party responsible for making the repayment. Representations should be made to the Head of Environment and Housing and or other delegated Officer who will determine the outcome of the appeal.
Any representation requesting full or partial waiving of the charge must be received by the Council within 21 days of the date of the notice to repay being issued.
Who Can Apply
Owner-occupiers or landlords acting on the behalf of a disabled person may make an application. Certain tenants may also make an application.
Agency Service
The Council offer an Agency Service to all eligible applicants.
This is a full professional service which includes:
- Assistance with the completion of the required Disabled Facilities Grant application forms, if required
- Carrying out a survey of the property
- Producing an itemised specification for the required adaptation works, as per the Occupational Therapists recommendation, which would include for larger schemes of work obtaining any necessary Building Regulations approval and Planning permissions.
- Liaising with the Occupational Therapist to ensure required works meet assessed need.
- Obtaining all necessary quotations.
- Approval of the Disabled Facilities Grant
- Managing the adaptation works from commencement to satisfactory completion, including payment(s) to the contractor as and when required
A Non-Repayable fee is charged, however this is included as part of the grant.
Disabled facilities grant process
Important: If you do not respond within the allocated time periods there is a possibility that your application could be cancelled. If you are unsure about what we are asking for at any stage, please do not delay in contacting us on 01909 533161/534538.
The Legislation
A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a special grant towards the cost of adapting a disabled person’s home. It is available from Bassetlaw District Council and is administered by the Housing Solutions-Adaptions Team. This money is provided under an Act of Parliament – The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
The Housing Solutions-Adaptions Team work closely with Nottinghamshire County Council’s Adult Social Care and Children’s Disability Teams in order to ensure that any adaptations carried out are suitable for your needs.
Referral stage
A member of the Adult Social Care or Children’s Disability Team (OT’s) will/will have visited you to assess your difficulties and discuss what adaptations would best meet your needs. The OT will then complete a DFG Referral form, which you will/will have signed, detailing a brief description of the recommended adaptation.
The OT will then send this form to the Housing Solutions-Adaptions Team*
*In order to make the best use of limited resources available, any adaptation likely to exceed £10,000 will be fully explored by the Council’s Disabled Facilities Panel. The purpose of the Panel is to ensure that the adaptation will be the most appropriate and cost-effective way to meet a person’s needs.
Application stage
Once we receive the referral from the OT, we will send you an “Application Pack”, which contains the Application Forms, Agency Service Agreements, and a brief specification of works.
What you need to do:
Fill in and sign the forms in your application pack and send them back to us within 4 weeks. We will also require additional information, details of which are on the back of the application form.
If you need help completing your forms, please telephone us on 01909 533161/534538 to arrange an appointment. We will visit you at home if necessary.
Once we receive the completed forms, we will check them along with any supporting documents. If we have any queries or need any other information, we will contact you.
What you need to do:
If we have requested additional information, please forward it to us within 4 weeks of this request.
If you are not in receipt of a ‘passporting’ benefit, we will need to do a detailed financial calculation (called a “means test”) to confirm how much, if anything, you will have to pay towards the adaptation. We will inform you in writing if you have a contribution.
(This does not apply if your application is for a disabled child).
What you need to do:
If you have a contribution, let us know whether you wish to proceed with your application.
(This figure may increase, if the cost of the adaptation works is higher than the maximum grant the Council can give. If this situation occurs, you will be given further information about funding the additional cost.)
Survey stage
One of our Building Surveyor will visit you to carry out a survey. A copy of the detailed specification of works will be sent to you and your OT for approval.
Please note: The grant processing time for larger, extensive, or potentially restrictive schemes of works will take longer as it may require the appointment of an architect or other professional services. Should plans be required, proposed drawings will be drafted. These will need to be agreed by all parties involved. Following this, should planning permission and/or building regulation approval be required this may take up to an additional 12 weeks to obtain, may/may not be granted.
If the recommendation is for installation of specialised equipment, your OT may have already arranged for a company representative to visit you to carry out a survey and provide quotations.
Tender stage
What you need to do:
Sign the “Appointment of Contractor” form and send it in to us – we cannot approve your grant until we receive this form.
Please do not allow any work to start until you have received confirmation in writing that your grant application has been approved.
Approval
When you have returned the ‘Appointment of Contractor’ form, we will proceed with your application and formally approve your grant. Within 2 weeks of your grant being approved, we will send you an “Approval Pack” containing your (1) Approval Notice, (2) details of the works, and (3) details of costs involved.
The agreed contractor will be informed, and asked to contact you to arrange a date for the works to start
If you have chosen to manage the works, you can now arrange a start date with your contractor.
Please note: If you have a means tested contribution which you cannot afford, or the total costs will be more than the maximum grant limit, you may already have or intend to apply for a ‘Top Up’ from Nottinghamshire County Council. Should this be the case your Occupational Therapist will be informed that the grant has been approved. This may incur further delays with the start of work by the contractor as they will not be instructed or be able to commence works until all funds are in place.
Works stage
What you need to do:
As soon as you have agreed a start date with the contractor, you need to let us know - do not wait until the works have started.
We may make interim payments to the contractor, throughout the course of the works.
Completion stage
When the adaptation work is completed, one of our officers will visit to check that all works are done to a satisfactory standard, if so, they will ask you to sign a ‘completion notice’. This form tells us that you are happy with the work and authorises us to pay any amounts outstanding. The OT will be informed that the adaptation is complete and will visit you to ensure the works are satisfactory and meet your needs.
Last Updated on Tuesday, January 14, 2025