| Purpose | The Disabled Facilities Grant is for people with permanent and substantial disabilities requiring financial support to adapt their existing home to increase or maintain their functional independence. |
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| Eligibility criteria | DFG is available to applicants for a scheme of work following referral from an occupational therapist. Applications will be considered equally from all tenures. As part of most applications the permission of the property owner to the proposed works will be required. The duty to secure this rests with the applicant. Applications on behalf of children or young people aged 17 years and under must be made by an appropriate adult, and will be exempt from means testing. |
| Maximum grant | £30,000 A means test / test of resources applies for all adult DFG applications. The means test looks only at the finances of the relevant person. This is:
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| Types of work | The adaptation works must be necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable. The decision on this rests with the council Housing Improvement Service. The council will permit applicants should they wish to only undertake part of a DFG. For example if they are recommended to have both a stair lift and a bathroom adaptation they can decide to only have one of these items. The choice is theirs. The DFG award will be calculated to reflect this, i.e. grant funding will only be based on the cost of the single item. Where an applicant wishes an extension to be built but the adaptations can be reasonably undertaken internally to the house the cost of the lesser option will be considered the ‘reasonable’ option and grant will be limited to this level. The applicant will need to fund the cost difference from non-council sources. Where the work involved is such that the cost of the adaptations appears disproportionate and it may be in the best interests for the applicant to move to another property which can be more readily adapted, the council may consider using discretionary assistance outside the scope of a statutory Disabled Facilities Grant funding to assist with the cost of relocation and subsequent adaptation. |
| Application | An application for a DFG must be on the prescribed DFG form which will usually be provided at the initial visit of the Council’s Occupational Therapist or available direct from Housing Improvement. It must be accompanied by the following additional information:
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| Approvals | Approvals remain valid from 12 months from the date of the grant approval. It is expected however that works are commenced and completed as soon as practicable from the grant approval date. Approvals will be made within the adopted policy and budgets available at the time. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policy. Any owner’s contribution must be paid by the applicant to the contractor before the DFG is paid |
| Repayments and waivers | Land charges will be applied to all grants over £5,000 in line with details in section 7.2 of the policy. |
| Condition(s) | Applicants will sign a certificate to say they intend to occupy the property for 5 years. |
Housing renewal assistance policy 2026 - 2030: 1. Introduction - Appendix 1: Types of assistance
Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG)
Disabled Persons Relocation Grant
a) Minor Works Grants (under £4,000)
| Purpose | This discretionary assistance is available for people with permanent and substantial disabilities, including those with early stage dementia, requiring financial support to adapt their existing home to increase or maintain their functional independence. It supports the mandatory DFG process by seeking to provide rapidassistance for people where the adaptation costs are less than £4,000. |
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| Eligibility criteria | Available to applicants for a schemeof work following referral from an occupational therapist. Applications will be considered from all tenures. Multiple applications for minor works assistance will be possible provided the £4,000 ceiling is not exceeded . Thisgrant cannot be combined with another council grant. |
| Maximum grant | £4,000. It is expected that social housingproviders will alsocontribute towards the cost of the adaptations to their tenants home and this may reduce the amount the council needs to directly fund or increase the level of works that can be undertaken at the property. A means test / test of resources will not normally be applied. |
| Types of work | The adaptation works must be necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable. The decision on this rests with the council Housing Improvement Service with guidance from the Occupational Therapy service. |
| Application | A simplified application process exists where referrals are sent direct from a range of sources, typically the council occupational therapy service. |
| Approvals | Approvals willbe made withinthe adopted policyand budgets available at the time. Approvals remain valid from 12 months from the date of the grant approval. It is expected however that works are commenced and completed as soon as practicable from the grant approval date. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policyor direct to a housing association if they have arranged them for their tenant. No interim payments will be made as the works cost less than £4,000. |
| Repayments and waivers | No land charges apply. |
| Condition(s) | None. |
d) Palliative applications, Motor Neurone disease (MND), direct referrals from Walsall Society for the Blind and those covered by the Armed Forces Covenant (maximum assistance of £9,000)
| Purpose | This assistance is available for people with permanent and substantial disabilities requiring financial support to adapt their existing home to increase or maintain their functional independence. It supports the mandatory DFGs process by seeking to provide faster assistance for key vulnerable groups and individuals where the adaptation costs are equal to or less than £9,000. |
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| Eligibility criteria | Available to applicants for a scheme of work following referral from an occupational therapist, in consultation where applicable with colleagues supporting those covered by the Armed Forces Covenant, or direct from Walsall Society for the Blind. Applications will be considered from all tenures. Only one grant is permitted per applicant. This grant cannot be combined with another council grant. |
| Maximum grant | £9,000. The means test / test of resources will not normally be applied. |
| Types of work | The adaptation works must be necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable. The decision on this rests with the council Housing Improvement Service with guidance from the Occupational Therapy service. |
| Application | Applications are direct to Housing Improvement and on a prescribed form. This form includes self-certification on a number of key areas. |
| Approvals | Approvals will be made within the adopted policy and budgets available at the time. Approvals remain valid from 12 months from the date of the grant approval. It is expected however that works are commenced and completed as soon as practicable from the grant approval date. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policy or direct to a housing association if they have arranged the works for their tenant. No interim payments will be made for grant works of less than £9,000. |
| Repayments and waivers | Land charges will be applied to all grants over £5,000 in line with details in section 7.2 of the policy. |
| Condition(s) | Applicants will sign a certificate to say they intend to occupy the property for 5 years – this will be waived as appropriate for those who are palliative. |
e) Inflationary top up to statutory DFG (maximum assistance of £5,000)
| Purpose | This assistance is available for people with permanent and substantial disabilities requiring financial support to adapt their existing home to increase or maintain their functional independence. It directly supports the mandatory DFGs by seeking to provide a ‘top-up’ to the statutory maximum grant that is currently £30,000. It is 100% discretionary and only available for works considered eligible by the Housing Improvements Service. |
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| Eligibility criteria | Only available where the costs as assessed and agreed by the Housing Improvements Service are in excess of £30,000. The fund will be removed and or reduced if and when the government increases the statutory maximum Applications will be considered from all tenures. Only one grant is permitted per applicant. This grant cannot be combined with another council grant except where there is a need for funding over £35,000 for owner occupier or private rented and then an exceptional top up grant may be also considered. |
| Maximum grant | £5,000. The means test / test of resources will be applied for the DFG and as such the results of this will be appropriate for consideration of this specific funding too. |
| Types of work | The adaptation works must be necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable. The decision on this rests with the council Housing Improvement Service with guidance from the Occupational Therapy service. The works must be part of a statutory DFG scheme. |
| Application | Applications are direct to Housing Improvement and on a prescribed form (DFG application form). |
| Approvals | Approvals will be made within the adopted policy and budgets available at the time. Approvals remain valid from a maximum of 12 months from the date of the grant approval in line with the statutory DFG. It is expected however that works are commenced and completed as soon as practicable from the grant approval date. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policy or direct to a housing association if they have arranged the works for their tenant. |
| Repayments and waivers | Land charges will be applied to all grants provided under this scheme in line with details in section 7.2 of the policy and 10.3. Land charges cannot be made on social housing owned dwellings. The land charge will have no time limit on repayment. |
| Condition(s) | Applicants will sign a certificate to say they intend to occupy the property for 5 years. |
f) Exceptional top up to a statutory DFG and inflationary top up (maximum assistance of £10,000)
| Purpose | This assistance is available for people with permanent and substantial disabilities requiring financial support to adapt their existing home to increase or maintain their functional independence. It directly supports the mandatory DFGs by seeking to provide a ‘top-up’ to the statutory maximum grant that is currently £30,000. It is 100% discretionary and only available for works considered eligible by the Housing Improvements Service. It can be available for cases where an inflationary top up has also been awarded. |
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| Eligibility criteria | Only available where the costs as assessed and agreed by the Housing Improvements Service are in excess of £30,000. Applications will be considered from owner occupier and private rented tenants. Tenants of social landlords are not eligible as they have alternative recourse direct to their landlord for contributory funding and or for re-housing requests. Only one grant is permitted per applicant. This grant cannot be combined with another council grant except where there is a need for funding over £35,000 for owner occupier or private rented and then an inflationary top up grant may be also considered. |
| Maximum grant | £10,000. The means test / test of resources will be applied for the DFG and as such the results of this will be appropriate for consideration of this specific funding too. |
| Types of work | The adaptation works must be necessary and appropriate, reasonable and practicable. The decision on this rests with the council Housing Improvement Service with guidance from the Occupational Therapy service. The works must be part of a statutory DFG scheme. |
| Application | Applications are direct to Housing Improvement and on a prescribed form (DFG application form and exceptional top Up assistance Form). This application must accompany a valid mandatory DFG application and all other relevant details). It must also include:
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| Approvals | Approvals will be made within the adopted policy and budgets available at the time. Approvals remain valid from a maximum of 12 months from the date of the grant approval in line with the statutory DFG. It is expected however that works are commenced and completed as soon as practicable from the grant approval date. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policy. |
| Repayments and waivers | Land charges will be applied to all grants provided under this scheme in line with details in section 7.2 and 10.4. The land charge will not be time limited i.e. it will be repaid in full to the council upon the relevant sale or transfer of the dwelling. |
| Condition(s) | Applicants will sign a certificate to say they intend to occupy the property for 5 years. |
Other grants
Discretionary Health through Warmth assistance (HTW)
| Purpose | To enable vulnerable private homeowners who have a cold or damp related illness to secure energy efficient heating and home insulation. |
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| Eligibility criteria | Only where the Council does have available funds Vulnerable private home-owners who live in Walsall and who have:
The illnesses considered include:
This is available only for properties that have not received HTW or similar assistance within 5 years of the date of the current application. The applicant must have been an owner occupier of the grant property for the last 3 years at point of grant application (except in exceptional circumstances). Must have a household income of less than £30,000 per year after tax. |
| Maximum grant | A maximum grant of £5,000 towards the cost of eligible works. The grants are 100% discretionary. |
| Types of work | The works can be a combination of the following:
This assistance is not normally available for double glazing which whilst providing energy efficiency for dwellings does not provide a cost effective energy efficiency measure. |
| Application | Applications for this discretionary fund will be made direct to the Energy Efficiency Service on a prescribed form and or containing the information listed below:
Discretionary Agency Service may be available for this fund to assist those who are unable to manage the grant scheme themselves. |
| Approvals | Approvals will be made within the adopted policy and budgets available at the time. Approvals are valid for a maximum of 4 months from the date of approval. |
| Payment provisions | Payment will be paid directly to the contractor in line with this Policy. |
| Repayments and waivers | Land charges will be applied in all cases irrespective of the cost of the works. They will be for the full amount of the grant and will have no time limit on repayment. They will be 100% repayable upon the sale or relevant transfer of the property. |
| Condition(s) | The dwelling must remain occupied by a family member as their main home throughout the condition period of 5 years from the date of certified completion of the works. |
Warm Homes Local Grant (WHLG)
| Application | Applications for this discretionary fund will be made directly to the Energy Efficiency Service on a prescribed form and containing the information listed below:
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