If you need improvements and adaptations to your home to help you live independently, you can ask social services to undertake an assessment of your home.  Usually an occupational therapist will assess what adaptations are appropriate to meet your needs or the needs of a disabled person who lives in your home.  If they agree that you need adaptations to your home, you will be awarded a disabled facilities grant.

Help from the local authority

Local Councils are required by law to give disabled facilities to eligible applicants to make housing suitable for disabled people.  However, you may be expected to contribute towards the costs, depending on your financial circumstances.  Disabled facilities grants are available to owners and tenants in both private and social housing to a limit of £25000.  Grants can be used on any adaptation that will assist a disabled person to get into and around the home or for example to provide a suitably adapted kitchen and bathroom facilities or grab rails.

Help from SAHA

SAHA may also provide other sorts of assistance, for example helping people move to more suitable living accommodation if we are satisfied that this would provide similar benefit to improving or adapting the existing accommodation.  Sometimes local councils may provide assistance such as low cost loan as well as grants to help renovate, repair or adapt their home.

If you are required to make a contribution towards the adaptation, disabled people do not have to pay VAT on the cost of some building work involved in the adaptations to their homes.

If you adapt your home so that you or another disabled person can live there, you may be eligible for a one band reduction on your council tax. This is particularly useful if the value of your property has increased as a result of the adaptation work, but it applies even if this is not the case.

To try to assist this process, SAHA can provide you with assistance and advice in adapting your home and will take into account your individual needs when improving your home. We are happy to give advice about what work needs to be done and provide assistance in arranging the necessary referrals. We will also offer support to tenants who want to adapt their homes by considering arranging to have small adaptations and equipment installed and considering providing future cyclical maintenance and repairs to adaptation equipment where required.

If you would like more information on Aids and Adaptations please contact our Customer Service Centre on 0800 970 6363