Applicants in receipt of certain means-tested benefit are 'passported' to a full grant and will not have to contribute towards the cost of work.

Disabled facilities grants qualifying criteria

Applicants in receipt of certain means-tested benefit are 'passported' to a full grant and will not have to contribute towards the cost of work.

These passporting benefits are:

  • Universal Credit
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Employment and Support Allowance (not contribution-based ESA)
  • Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (not contribution-based JSA)
  • Guarantee Pension Credit (not Savings Pension Credit alone)
  • Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit (where your annual income for the purposes of the tax credits assessment was below (£15,050)
  • Housing Benefit

Applications for disabled children, up to the age of 19, are also passported to a full grant.

Applicants not in receipt of passporting benefits, must undergo the national means test, to determine their financial contribution towards the proposed work.

The DFG means test is in place to ensure that DFG funding reaches those people who are on the lowest incomes and least able to afford to pay for the adaptations themselves. There are three parts to the means test:

The applicable amount

How much it is assumed you need to live on per week based on age, level of disability, whether you're single or a couple of the number of children living with you.

Your income

How much your receive every week from work, disability benefits, child benefit and what savings you have.

Your contribution

If your income is more than your applicable amount, this is used to calculate how much you can afford to pay towards adapting your home. This amount also depends on whether you are a homeowner or tenant.

EHDC policy is to waive the first £13,000 contribution, so please contact us if you think your contribution may be just higher than the likely cost of your works, as this waiver may mean that you are eligible for a grant after all. For more information, please visit the Foundation website for an idea on whether you will be eligible.

Additional discretionary grants

EHDC offer additional discretionary grants according to the disabled facilities grant policy. 

Contact the Private Sector Housing Team for further information about these grants.

Stairlift grants

  • · East Hampshire District Council funds the cost of home stairlifts without the need for a financial assessment.
  • · Applicants must first have been assessed by an Occupational Therapist (OT) as needing a stairlift, and have the OT referral and recommendation

Critical repairs grant (maximum £5,000 plus VAT)

  • To cover improvements or repairs to remove serious hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
  • Applicants must own their own home
  • Applicants must raise their own additional funding if the eligible works exceed the grant limit
  • Only one Critical Repairs Grant application within 3 years
  • Applicants will be subject to the same means test as mandatory DFG applicants (contribution waiver applies)

Specialist equipment replacement grant

  • To replace specialist equipment shown to be beyond economic repair
  • Applicants must provide evidence that the equipment has been regularly maintained under the terms of a service plan, and submit evidence from a reputable company to demonstrate that repair is impossible or unreasonably expensive
  • If the equipment is needed by a person other than the person for whom it was originally provided, a pre-requisite will be a referral and recommendation from and OT
  • Applicants will be subject to the same means test as mandatory DFG applicants (contribution waiver applies)

Disability repair grants (maximum £3,000 plus VAT)

  • To cover essential repairs of adaptations fitted under a DFG to keep a disabled person safe after the guarantee/warrantee period has expired
  • Applicant must be either an owner/occupier or a private tenant
  • Applicants must raise their own additional funding if the eligible works exceed the grant limit
  • Applicants will be subject to the same means test as mandatory DFG applicants (contribution waiver applies)