Disabled Facilities Grant and Housing Assistance Policy

In certain circumstances a grant up to the value of the estimated cost of providing an adaptation can be used to contribute towards an alternative scheme. In any such case the following criteria must be met:

• The proposed alternative scheme must meet the disabled person’s needs as assessed by the Occupational Therapist and put forward in the original recommendation.
• The Council must be satisfied that the applicant has sufficient financial resources to complete the alternative scheme, including a contingency sum of 10% of the total cost of works to account for any unforeseen works.
• The Council reserves the right to seek an alternative estimate where those provided by the applicant seem either excessive or inadequate.
• The applicant is responsible for any additional costs of designing the alternative scheme and for obtaining building regulation approval and/or planning permission where necessary.
• The Council will only pay an amount equal to the cost of the grant eligible scheme.
• The Council’s payment shall be the final payment made towards completion of the alternative scheme and will not be paid until the Council receives confirmation from the contractor that all other monies owing have been paid in full by the applicant. Payment will be subject to the Council inspecting the works and certifying the scheme as fully completed to its satisfaction (inside and out).
• No variation of the approved DFG will be made for any additional unforeseen works; all such costs are to be borne by the applicant.
• Applicants undertaking an alternative scheme will not be eligible to apply for a DFG Top Up.