Disabled Facilities Grant
Financial and technical assistance available to adapt private sector homes to meet the needs of disabled children and adults.
What adaptations can the grant cover?
- Installing a stair lift
- Modifying a bathroom
- Providing ramps
- Making doorways wider
- Making sleeping and toilet facilities accessible
- Improving lighting or heating controls to make them easier to use
and much more...
Who is eligible and how to apply
You can apply for a DFG if you are a private owner occupier, private tenant or housing association tenant who has had an assessment by an Occupational Therapist which suggested adaptations to your home are required for your needs. Please enquire about a DFG with tenancy services if you are a council tenant.
To request a referral contact The Adult Social Care Team at Lincolnshire County Council Social Services and ask for an assessment by an Occupational Therapist.
When you have had the OT assessment, the Lincolnshire Home Improvement Agency (LHIA) may get in touch with you to collect some initial financial information. The Agency may assist you in making a full application for the grant. For further information from the LHIA please call 0845 450 9115 or click here for details on their website.
Basic information you need to know about DFGs
The grant pays for essential adaptations identified in the OT assessment as 'necessary and appropriate' and according to our standard specification. If you wish to have work undertaken higher than our specification you have the discretion to do so but you would need to pay any additional cost yourself.
If you start your work before you have submitted a full application and before you have been informed about the decision, you will need to be prepared to undertake all the associated cost yourself; we are not able to give a grant retrospectively once the work has started.
The maximum mandatory grant available is £30,000 but we are able to consider discretionary awards of up to £10,000. The grant is subject to means-testing, and the amount awarded will depend on your own financial circumstances; you may need to pay part or all of the cost of the work.
Although we pay for whole or part of the work, the contractual relationship is between you and the contractor(s). We will not undertake any additional costs associated with any disputes between you and the contractor(s).
In certain cases a land charge of up to £10,000 can be placed on the property which may need to be repaid on if the property is disposed of. For further information please see our 
Private Sector Financial Assistance Policy. [117kb]
If within 5 years you do not need the adaptation for whatever reason, you or your representatives are obliged to inform us; this is because we may wish to remove the equipment if practical (e.g. stair-lift) for it to benefit another household.
The Lincolnshire Home Improvement Agency will be representing your interest to work with the Council and the contractor(s). If for any reason, you decide not to proceed with the grant but to fund the work yourself (if you prefer not to wait for example), you may continue working with the Agency and benefiting from their professional input in dealing with the contractors.
Alternatively you may wish to move to a more suitable property (such as a bungalow) instead of pursuing a DFG. In this case we may give financial assistance towards your removal cost. The Moving Home Assistance ranges from £500 to £5,000 if you move into another property that is more suitable to your needs.
Go to Financial Assistance for more information other Private Sector grants and for advice on energy efficiency.
