Mole Valley District Council

Disabled Facilities Grant

A means-tested statutory grant from Mole Valley District Council towards the cost of adapting a home so that a disabled person living there can meet necessary basic housing needs, up to a maximum of £30,000. Homeowners, private or housing association tenants and landlords with a disabled tenant can apply, starting with an occupational therapist assessment through Surrey County Council. It is not a grant for organisations; processing takes 6-12 months, and part of grants over £5,000 used to build an extra room may be repayable if the property is sold 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

A householder in Mole Valley where the applicant or someone living in the property is disabled
The applicant must be the owner of the home (including a mobile home), a private or housing association tenant, or a landlord with a disabled tenant
All applications are means tested (a test calculates any contribution the applicant must make), except where the disabled person is a child
For rented properties the landlord's consent is needed before works start
Not for charities or community organisations

What it funds

Adaptations and/or facilities to meet the necessary basic housing needs of a disabled person, where the works are necessary and appropriate to their needs and reasonable and practical given the age and condition of the property. Examples:

Access to and from the house (e.g. widening doors for wheelchair access, installing ramps)
Making the house safe
Access to a living room
Access to, or provision of, a suitable bedroom
Help to prepare and cook food
Access and movement around the home to care for a dependent person who also lives there

The cost of employing an architect or surveyor may be included.

What it will not fund

Work started before the council approves the application
Surveyor's costs if the application is refused (the applicant must pay them)

How to apply

Request an assessment by calling Surrey County Council on 0300 200 1005 and asking to speak to the duty Occupational Therapist
If eligible, the occupational therapist considers your family and carer and what adaptations are necessary
Submit a full, formal application to Mole Valley District Council with correct quotes from the surveyor
The council checks the works are necessary, appropriate, reasonable and practical, and must approve a complete application within six months
Do not start work until the application is approved

Where a grant over £5,000 is used to build an additional room in a property the applicant owns or leases, the council registers a charge and may demand repayment of up to £10,000 if the property is sold or transferred within 10 years.

Full details are in the council's Financial Assistance Policy, linked from the page.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.