Will I have to pay anything for the adaptation?
The law says that we must carry out a financial assessment to see if you will have to pay anything towards the adaptations that you need and how much this will be.
This means you will have to provide us with details of things like your income, benefits and savings. However, if you are on certain benefits you might not have to pay anything. Also, if you are claiming a Disabled Facilities Grant on behalf of a child, you will not be financially assessed unless the cost of the adaptation exceeds the maximum allowable grant.
What happens if I own my own home?
If you own your home and you get a grant that is more than £5,000, we will put a property charge on your home. We will put a charge on your property even if you have also had to pay something towards the cost of your adaptation.
The property charge will be for a proportion of the grant and will be registered for a ten year period. This means that if you sell or transfer the ownership of your home within 10 years, you will have to pay back some of the grant. The most you will have to pay back is £10,000. This table gives some examples of how much would have to be paid back.
Examples of how much property charge would have to be repaid if your house is sold or transferred within 10 years of the adaptations being carried out
| Examples. If the grant is | Property charge will be | The reason for this |
|---|---|---|
| £4,690 | No charge | There is no charge because the grant is less than £5,000 |
| £5,370 | £370 | The charge is for the balance between the amount of the grant and £5,000 |
| £12,230 | £7,230 | The charge is for the balance between the amount of the grant and £5,000 |
| £15,630 | £10,000 | The maximum charge is £10,000 |
While we will send you documents telling you how much grant has been approved, you need to be aware that the cost of the works may increase and this will lead to an increased charge on the property. Sometimes the cost of works increases because extra work is needed to deal with something that only comes to light once the work has started.
Land Charges are in line with Government regulations that came into force in 2008, and the Council's Comprehensive Housing Renewal Policy.
You might want to get some independent advice about property charges and what this will mean for you.