Disabled Facilities Grant

If you or someone living in your property is disabled, you may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG).

This grant goes towards the cost of providing adaptations and/or facilities to meet necessary basic housing needs for someone with a disability.

Government funded DFGs take time to process. However from the moment we receive a full, formal application with correct quotes from the surveyor, it must then be approved within six months.

Who can apply for a grant

An applicant must either be:

• the owner of his/her home (this includes a mobile home)
• a private or housing association tenant
• a landlord with a disabled tenant

All grant applications are means tested, unless the applicant is a disabled child.

The test will calculate what contribution, if any, an applicant might have to make towards the cost of any proposed works.

There is a maximum grant aid limit of £30,000 towards proposed work.

How to apply

To request an assessment, contact Surrey County Council on 0300 200 1005 and ask to speak to the duty Occupational Therapist.

If eligible, they will consider your family and carer and what adaptations are necessary.

Grant procedure

When you apply for a DFG, checks will be made that the proposed works are:

• necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs
• reasonable and practical, depending on the age and condition of the property

The grants can cover a variety of adaptations including those to:

• allow you access to and from the house (for example, widening doors for wheelchair access and installing ramps)
• make the house safe for you
• allow you access to a room used or usable as a living room
• allow you access to, or providing, an appropriate bedroom
• help you to prepare and cook food
• facilitate access and movement around the home to allow you to care for someone dependent on you who also lives there

Conditions of the grant being awarded

Grant aid will not be paid if work is started before we approve the application.

The cost of employing an architect or a surveyor may be included in the costs of the grant, however, if a surveyor is employed and we refuse the grant application, the applicant must pay the cost of appointing the surveyor.

Processing a DFG will take between 6 – 12 months. We also need to gain consent from the landlord before starting any works if the applicant’s property is rented.

Repayment of grants over £5000 on sale or transfer of property

Where we approve a DFG in excess of £5000 and the applicant owns or leases the property, we will register a charge on the property. This will only be applied where the grant was used to construct an additional room to the property, thereby enhancing its value.

If the applicant sells or transfers the property within 10 years of completion of the DFG work, we may demand the repayment of part of the grant, but can only require the repayment of a maximum of £10,000.