Extensions

Disabled Facilities Grants

You could get a grant from your council if you are disabled and need to make changes to your home. For example if you:

are physically disabled
have a learning disability
have age-related needs
are autistic
have a cognitive impairment, like dementia
have a progressive condition, like motor neurone disease
have a terminal illness
have a mental health condition

You might need to:

widen doors and install ramps or grab rails
improve access to rooms and facilities, for example with a stairlift, or level access shower
improve access to your garden
build an extension, for example a downstairs bedroom
provide a heating system suitable for your needs
adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use

Check out the Good Home Lincs Grants pages for more information about Disabled Facilities Grants and how to contact your local council.

Loft conversions can be a useful way to add extra space to your home without losing outside space or where there is not enough room to extend outwards.

The extra space might be useful, but not all lofts can be extended easily, and you may even lose some of your existing space if you need to fit stairs to access the new room. Other factors than can affect your conversion include the available head space in the loft, the type of roof on your home and whether you will need to make structural changes, such as removing chimney stacks.

All this can add additional cost and make a loft conversion more difficult. However, loft conversions can sometimes be a good option when planning permission for an extension may be difficult to obtain.

Adding a loft conversion may also come with longer-term considerations for how you live in your home. If you are planning to stay in your home for the long-term, you might want to consider if the extra space will still be accessible as you get older, or if other people in the home have mobility issues.

Check out the Good Home Lincs pages on Access and Adaptations for more information about remaining independent at home.

Federation of Master Builders - Guide to loft conversions

The Federation of Master Builders has produced a guide to loft conversions, and provides useful information if you are considering a loft conversion for your home.

Visit the Federation of Master Builders website for more information about loft conversions.

There are two types of permission that may be needed when carrying out building work.

Planning Permission

Planning seeks to guide the way our towns, cities and countryside develop. This includes the use of land and buildings, the appearance of buildings, landscaping considerations, highway access and the impact that the development will have on the general environment.

Building Control

Building Regulations set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people in or about those buildings. They also include requirements to ensure that fuel and power is conserved and facilities are provided for people, including those with disabilities, to access and move around inside buildings.

For many types of building work, separate permission under both regimes (separate processes) will be required. For other building work, such as internal alterations, Buildings Regulations approval will probably be needed, but Planning Permission may not be.

Check out the Good Home Lincs pages on Planning Permission and Building Control for more information about planning permission and building regulations in your local area.

Check out the Good Home Lincs pages on Trusted Tradespeople for more information about finding tradespeople to carry out work.

Check out the Good Home Lincs pages on Paying for works for more information about funding works.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Federation of Master Builders - Guide to loft conversions

Planning Permission

Building Control

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