GrantRadar

Rutland County Council

Disabled Facilities Grant (Rutland)

Rutland County Council grants for disabled people who need adaptations to their home, such as a stairlift, wet room, ramps, door widening or a suitable heating system. The means-tested Disabled Facility Grant pays up to £30,000; a non-means-tested Health and Prevention Grant of up to £7,000 covers assessed adaptations that promote independence, help someone home from hospital, reduce care needs or support a carer. An occupational therapist assesses the need and applies on your behalf.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £30,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Rutland residents where you or someone living in your home is disabled
  • You must own the property or be a tenant and intend to live there during the grant period (currently five years), or be a landlord with a disabled tenant
  • An occupational therapist must have assessed a clinical need; they apply for the grant for you
  • The Disabled Facility Grant is means tested: people on Universal Credit, Income Support, Guaranteed Pension Credit or Housing Benefit are passported to a full grant, and children are exempt from the financial assessment; others may have to contribute
  • Tenants need landlord consent, which the council requests on your behalf
  • You can apply for more than one DFG as needs change

What it funds

Disabled Facility Grant (means tested, up to £30,000) for works meeting at least one of these criteria:

  • Facilitating a disabled person’s access to the dwelling
  • Facilitating a disabled person’s access to a room usable as the principal family room, or for sleeping
  • Facilitating a disabled person’s access to a toilet, bath, shower, etc (or the provision of a room for these facilities)
  • Facilitating the preparation of food by the disabled person
  • Facilitating the disabled person’s use of a source of power
  • Making the dwelling safe for the disabled person and others residing with them
  • Facilitating access to and from a garden or making a garden safe
  • Improving/providing a heating system to meet the disabled person’s needs
  • Facilitating access and movement around the home to enable the disabled person to care for someone dependent upon him or her

major adaptations include a stair lift or through floor lift, a walk-in wet room, ramping for wheelchair users, door widening, a suitable heating system and easier heating or lighting controls, completed by council-approved contractors.

the Health and Prevention Grant (not means tested, up to £7,000) supports health, wellbeing and preventive works where the adaptation would promote independence, help you return home after a hospital stay, reduce your need for care, or make a carer's role more sustainable.

What it will not fund

  • Works not assessed as ‘necessary and appropriate’ and ‘reasonable and practicable’ (for example because of the age or condition of the property or the space available)
  • Servicing or repairs once the manufacturer’s or contractor’s warranty has expired (these are the applicant’s responsibility)

How to apply

  1. Make an occupational therapy referral through Rutland's Adult Social Care Portal (for a child or young adult, contact the Therapy Duty Desk on 01572 758324 or therapyduty@rutland.gov.uk)
  2. An occupational therapist assesses your needs and, if adaptations are needed, applies for the grant for you
  3. For a Disabled Facility Grant, complete the financial assessment unless you receive a passporting benefit

you can estimate your contribution first with the Foundations means test calculator.

a land charge is placed on the property for works over £5,000 (for example £2,500 on works of £7,500; at most £10,000 for works over £15,000) for 10 years, recoverable if the property is sold in that time; the council may waive it where the sale follows the disabled person’s death or funds a move into a care home.

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