Cherwell District Council

Disabled Facilities Grant (Cherwell)

The mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant in Cherwell district: up to £30,000, including fees, to adapt the home of a permanently and substantially disabled person, from grab rails and ramps to stairlifts, wet rooms and extensions. Homeowners, private and social tenants, or their landlords, can apply after an occupational therapist assessment, and the council's Home Improvement Agency supports the whole process. It is means tested except for children and young people under 19; owners who receive over £5,000 may have to repay up to £10,000 if they sell within 10 years.

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

Residents of Cherwell district who are permanently and substantially disabled, through physical illness or injury, major sight, hearing, speech or mental health problems, or learning disabilities
Applicants may be homeowners, private tenants or social tenants, or their landlords
The disabled person must intend to stay in the home for at least five years (or less for health reasons), and it must be their only or main residence; it may be a house, flat, houseboat or caravan in Cherwell
An occupational therapist, generally from Oxfordshire County Council, must assess the person and support the application
The household is means tested on the income of the disabled person and their spouse or partner and on savings over £6,000; people on means-tested benefits such as Income Support, income-based ESA, guarantee Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit make no contribution, and disabled children and young people under 19 are not means tested
The landlord's or owner's consent is needed where applicable
If an owner receives over £5,000, the next £10,000 is registered as a local land charge for 10 years and repayable on sale

What it funds

Access improvements:

Widening doorways
Installing ramps or grab rails
Improving garden access
Installing stair lifts
Bathroom modifications:
Installing level-access (walk-in) showers or wet rooms
Installing a wash-dry toilet
Home extensions or reconfigurations:
Building an additional downstairs bedroom
Reconfiguring the layout of existing rooms to add a downstairs wetroom
Redesigning your kitchen with height-adjustable units and fittings

What it will not fund

Work started before you get the decision in writing (the application may be refused)

the council considers whether the works are both necessary to meet your needs and appropriate for your home.

How to apply

Review the council's information and use the self-assessment tool on AdaptMyHome.org.uk
Contact Oxfordshire County Council Adult Social Care or Children's Services to request an Occupational Therapist assessment
If an adaptation is necessary and appropriate, the Occupational Therapist refers you to Cherwell's Home Improvement Agency
A caseworker helps you apply for the right grant(s) and carries out the means test; a Grants Surveyor may visit to draw up plans and a schedule of works
Once eligibility is confirmed and funds are available, the application is approved, a contractor is appointed and a start date arranged

work must begin within 12 months of approval. Questions: Cherwell Home Improvement Agency, 01295 227004.

Have ready

Proof of income, savings, bonds and other assets
Copies of deeds, if your property is not registered with the Land Registry

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