Eligibility, means test and application process
The Disabled Facilities Grant is available to owner-occupiers, private tenants, and social housing tenants in England, including all 33 London boroughs. The grant is mandatory — local authorities must fund it if the OT confirms necessity and the means test is satisfied. Eligibility: the applicant must be disabled within the meaning of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (including physical disability, sensory impairment, learning disability, and mental health conditions that substantially limit daily activities). The means test assesses the combined income and savings of the disabled person and, if applicable, their spouse or partner. Households with income and savings below the threshold receive the full grant up to £30,000; households above the threshold receive a reduced contribution. In practice, most households with a disabled adult earning less than approximately £28,000 per year and savings under £6,000 receive the full grant. Children and young people under 19 are automatically grant-eligible with no means test — adaptations for disabled children are funded in full up to £30,000 regardless of family income. Application process: step one is to contact the housing adaptations team at your London borough council (each borough has a dedicated service — Hackney Homes Adaptations, Lewisham Adaptation Service, etc.). They arrange a free Occupational Therapist assessment, which identifies the specific adaptations required and their functional justification. The OT report is the central document for the grant application. The council then arranges two to three competitive contractor quotes for the approved works; the applicant approves the contractor and the council pays the contractor directly upon works completion. Application to completion typically takes 6–18 months in London boroughs, with significant variation — Southwark and Tower Hamlets have historically shorter waiting times than Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea where demand is high relative to team capacity.
What the DFG covers and top-up funding
The DFG covers adaptations that are necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person's assessed needs, and are reasonable and practicable to carry out given the property's condition. Standard funded adaptations include: stairlifts (straight or curved), through-floor lifts, level access or wet room showers, fixed grab rails and handrails, widening doorways to 800mm clear opening, ramped or level access thresholds, specialist kitchen worktop height adjustments, automatic door openers, and hard standing for a disabled adapted vehicle. Works that are purely cosmetic, comfort-based, or not directly linked to the disability are not fundable. The £30,000 limit in England has not increased since 2008 and frequently falls short for complex adaptations — a curved stairlift with through-floor lift and accessible bathroom can cost £25,000–£45,000. Top-up funding options include: the Better Care Fund (BCF), which London boroughs use to fund adaptations above the DFG cap — Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington and Camden have active BCF top-up schemes; Foundations Independent Living Trust (small loans for adaptations above the grant limit); and private charitable grants (Motability Foundation, Variety, local disability charities). Some London boroughs operate their own discretionary disabled adaptations grants above the DFG — contact your council's housing adaptations team for local schemes.
