Disabled Facilities Grant for a Bathroom in Nottingham

What a Disabled Facilities Grant can pay for

You could get a grant from your council if you are disabled and need to make changes to your home, GOV.UK says. Its examples include widening doors, installing ramps or grab rails, and improving access to rooms and facilities, for example with a stairlift or a level access shower. A Disabled Facilities Grant will not affect any benefits you get, it says.

Nottingham City Council lists adaptations including a shower stool or bath lift, replacing your bath with a shower area that has a level floor (a wet room), and improving the layout of your bathroom if you use a wheelchair.

A disabled wet room costs £5,000 to £15,000, around £10,000, on Checkatrade’s figures, and its features might include level-access flooring, grab rails, fold-down seating, slip-resistant flooring and easier wheelchair access. For a walk-in shower, Checkatrade lists accessibility features such as a low-profile tray, grab rails, a fold-down seat, non-slip flooring and wider entry space for mobility aids.

If your home was built after 1999, its ground floor toilet was designed for visiting wheelchair users, and the Planning Portal says a refit should not remove that toilet or make it any less accessible.

How much the grant pays, and the means test

GOV.UK sets out the maximum grant in each nation, the means test and how the grant is paid.

Disabled Facilities Grant	What GOV.UK says
Maximum in England	Up to £30,000
Maximum in Wales	Up to £36,000
Maximum in Northern Ireland	Up to £25,000
Scotland	Not available
Means test	Household income and household savings over £6,000
A disabled child under 18	Parents’ income not taken into account
A landlord applying	Landlord’s income and savings not taken into account
Payment	In instalments as the work progresses, or in full when it is finished
Who is paid	The council may pay the contractor directly or give you the money to pass on

Nottingham City Council says the amount depends on a means test to determine your share of the costs, if any, and that “For many, the grant covers the full cost.”

Who can get a Disabled Facilities Grant

The person applying can be the owner, a tenant or a landlord, and the disabled person must intend to live in the property during the grant period, which is usually 5 years but can be shorter, for example if they are terminally ill, GOV.UK says. The council must be happy that the work is necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs, and reasonable and can be done, depending on the age and condition of the property.

If you are a Nottingham City Housing Services tenant, adaptations are currently free because the council, as your landlord, funds the work, Nottingham City Council says. If you own your home or are a private tenant, you may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant to help pay for the adaptations.

How to apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant in Nottingham

You apply through your local council, which may send an occupational therapist or trained assessor, GOV.UK says. In the Nottingham City area, you start with Nottingham Health & Care Point on 0115 876 3330, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or an online referral through the Adult Social Care Hub, Nottingham City Council says. An occupational therapist then visits for a needs assessment, which usually takes about an hour, and you get a written summary of what is agreed. The council assists with the grant application and processes it.

Nottingham City Council’s service covers the Nottingham City area only, so if you live in Gedling, Broxtowe, Rushcliffe or Ashfield, apply to your own council, the council says.

Starting work before the grant is approved

You might not get any grant if you start work on your property before the council approves your application, GOV.UK says. The council must give you a decision within 6 months, and if you are unhappy with it, you can appeal to the council and then complain to the Local Government Ombudsman, GOV.UK’s page on applying says.

VAT relief on a disabled bathroom

You do not pay VAT on a new bathroom, washroom or lavatory in your home, or on extending or adapting an existing one, if the work is being done to help you because of your disability, GOV.UK’s guidance on building work says. The building materials used in that work are VAT-free too if you pay a professional contractor, such as a builder or plumber, to do it.

You qualify if you have a physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to carry out everyday activities, if you have a condition that is treated as chronic sickness, like diabetes, or if you are terminally ill, GOV.UK says. “You do not qualify if you’re elderly but not disabled, or if you’re temporarily disabled,” it adds, and your supplier will usually ask you for a written declaration that you are eligible.

Getting a quote for an accessible bathroom

Ask for a quote that prices the work in the occupational therapist’s written summary item by item, says whether VAT is charged, and gives no start date before the council approves the grant.

Among the ten Nottingham bathroom fitters we compare, Goldswan Bathrooms in Arnold designs accessible and mobility bathrooms with level access, grab rails, shower seating and lever-action taps. Connelly Home Centre in Bulwell fits assisted living bathrooms for customers with disabilities, and Hallam Interiors in Hucknall installs disabled bathrooms.