Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Disabled Facilities Grant (Kingston upon Thames)

Kingston Council's mandatory, means-tested grant of up to £30,000 for homeowners and tenants to adapt a home to meet the needs of a disabled person, following an Occupational Therapist's assessment. Works are for access in and around the home and to essential facilities such as washing, toilet, cooking, the main living room and a bedroom. Where costs exceed £30,000 a means-tested discretionary top-up may be added (repayable on sale), and where a home cannot be adapted a relocation grant of up to £15,000 may help the person move.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £30,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Homeowners and tenants in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames who need to adapt their home for a disabled occupant
Applicants must be 18 or over (an adult applies on behalf of a disabled child), be a UK citizen (or have recourse to public funds), have no outstanding debts with the council, not have had council action taken against the property, and the home must be the disabled person's only or main residence, where they intend to stay for the grant period
The disabled person must have a written assessment from an Occupational Therapist
The grant is means-tested, except for works for a child or for someone on a means-tested benefit; unless the adaptations are for a child, the household may be asked to contribute

What it funds

Adaptations to a house, flat, qualifying houseboat or park home, or to the common parts of a building with flats, to meet the needs of a disabled person
Works to facilitate access in and around the home and to essential amenities: washing and toilet facilities, cooking facilities, the principal family living room and a room for sleeping
Agreed associated fees, e.g. technical surveys and obtaining proof of title
Discretionary top-up where the total cost exceeds £30,000 (means-tested, repaid when the property is sold)
Relocation grant of up to £15,000 where a home cannot practically be adapted: reasonable legal costs, estate agents' fees, removal costs, utility set-up and minor adaptations to the new home (registered as a land charge and fully recoverable on sale)

What it will not fund

Work started or completed before the grant is approved
Work covered by an insurance policy
Cases where the applicant has deliberately worsened their housing conditions to qualify or increase the grant

How to apply

Call the council on 020 8547 5000 to discuss applying
Get a written assessment from an Occupational Therapist confirming the proposed work meets the disabled person's needs
Request an application form by emailing privatesectorhousing@kingston.gov.uk
Submit the signed form with contractor quotes, owner's or tenant's certificate and income and savings information for the means test
Wait for written approval before any work starts; works must be completed within 12 months of approval and the council normally pays the contractor directly after inspection

if you sell the property within 10 years and the grant was over £5,000, the council can ask you to repay up to £10,000.

Have ready

Signed and dated application form
Written assessment from an Occupational Therapist
Information on the household's income and savings (means test)
Quotes from three different contractors, no more than 6 months old, itemising and costing the works (contractors without a VAT number must sign a declaration that turnover is below the VAT threshold)
Quotes for supplementary services such as architect or surveyor fees, if included
Signed owner's certificate and/or landlord permission form, or signed tenant's certificate (provided by the council)
Proof of ownership (owners)

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.