Disabled Facilities Grants and Minor Adaptations

The Council may be able to assist you with adaptations to help you remain in your own home.

The types of works are:

To make it easier to get in and out of the dwelling by, for example, widening doors and installing ramps,

Providing better access to the living room,

By providing or improving access to the bedroom, and kitchen, toilet, washbasin and bathing, for example by installing a stair lift or adapting a room to provide an easy access shower facility.

To be eligible the person for whom the adaptation will benefit must be substantially and permanently disabled.

Minor adaptations cover work up to £1,000, and major adaptations are used where the cost would be over for this amount (subject to being an eligible applicant and means testing where required). To find out more about this grant or to make an application please call the Social Services Duty Team and ask to speak to an Occupational Therapist, or see the links below.

Major adaptation work requires an assessment by an Occupational Therapist (OT). If the OT feels a Disabled Facilities Grant may be appropriate they will present it to a panel for consideration. If passed, the referral is sent to the Housing Renewal Section of the Council, where it will be processed when enough finance is available in the form of Disabled Facility Grant budget.

Unfortunately it has not been possible to support a home improvement agency on the Isle of Wight, and this service has now terminated.
For basic advice and construction services we recommend you seek the services of one of the builders on the appropriate list found here or here.

Some builders may be able to offer advice and services on more complex matters, however you may wish to seek the services of an architect/architectural technician/surveyor. A selection of Island architect/architectural technician/surveyors is found here.

Always check with the person or company you engage with what service they can provide on a free advisory basis only, and what is expected to be paid for.
The handyperson service has also been temporarily terminated due to the previous contract expiring, and the Council is currently seeking a new company to provide this service for the remainder of the financial year.

To make an enquiry about adapting your home the Social Services Duty Team can be contacted by telephoning 01983 823340.

For more information on Occupational Therapy or Minor Adaptations please visit the Occupational Therapy pages.

For more information on Disabled Facilities Grants please visit the Department for Communities and Local Government webpage here or phone the Housing Renewal team on 01983 823040.

The policy and procedures for the provision of adaptations for disabled people can be found by clicking on the link below:

Policy and Procedures for the provision of adaptations for disabled people