Grants

 

What is a grant?

A grant is a financial donation that you do not have to repay.

Many UK charities and trusts provide grants to help people with the extra costs of ill health or disability, energy efficiency and upgrades or household support.

There are usually criteria for each grant set out by the organisation that offers the grant. These can be related to the person applying for the grant, individual circumstances and/or what the grant is going to be used for.

 

Using a grant finder

Grant finder tools help you to search multiple grant providers for information that is specific to the reason you are looking for a grant. This means that a wider range of grants can be accessed. They can also search for both local and national grants.

 

Turn2Us Grants Search

The Turn2Us grants search helps to match you to grants that you may be eligible for.

Visit grants-search.turn2us.org.uk to search for grants.

 

Disability Grants

Disability Grants helps search for charities and trusts that provide funding towards disability equipment, housing and much more.

Visit disability-grants.org to search for disability grants.

 

Lightning Reach

Lightning Reach helps you find grants you might be eligible for and help you to apply. It also helps you to identify other financial support, such as benefits, you might quality for.

Visit lightningreach.org to find out more about financial support.

 

What is a Disabled Facilities Grant?

Disabled Facilities Grants (also known as DFG) allow properties to be appropriately adapted to enable occupants to live safely at home. They are administered by the Local Housing Authority, are available to people of all ages, and in all housing tenures, however may be subject to means testing depending on benefits received.

 

What sort of work can be paid for by a DFG?

Essential work to enable a disabled occupant to live independently.

This can include:

• Facilitating access to the home and garden
• Making the premises safer for use
• Access to a bedroom and living room
• Access to a toilet, bath/shower and wash basin
• Facilitating the preparation and cooking of food
• Better heating
• Control of power, light and heat
• Caring for others

This is not a complete list, as it will depend on what the disabled person’s ability to be able to access essential areas of the home and move around it safely. The maximum grant level is £30,000.

             

Who can apply for a DFG?

• Owner occupiers
• Private tenants
• Social housing tenants (although your landlord may also be able to help)
• Occupiers of residential park homes and houseboats
• Landlords (on behalf of a disabled tenant)

The property must be the main home of the disabled occupant and they should intend to live there for 5 years following the completion of the works. If you are a tenant, your landlord will need to agree the changes to the property.

Download the Lincolnshire Disabled Facilities Grant Leaflet for more information about DFGs.

Contact your local Housing Authority below for more information about applying for a DFG in your area.

East Lindsey District Council

West Lindsey District Council

Boston Borough Council

North Kesteven District Council

South Kesteven District Council

South Holland District Council

City of Lincoln Council

 

Means test

The Disabled Facilities Grant is means tested for adults, which means that you might have to pay some or all of the costs of adapting your home.

Where the disabled applicant is a child or young person under the age of 19, these applications are progressed without a financial assessment. 

Foundations have developed a Means Test Calculator to help you understand how much you might need to contribute. It doesn’t include all of the questions in the full means test, but will give a good indication for most people.

 

Adapt my home

Visit www.adaptmyhome.org.uk to check how well your home supports your needs, and whether you could benefit from some adaptations to help you stay safe and independent.

 

Discretionary Housing Financial Assistance (DHFA) may be given to help people live safely and independently in their homes where their needs cannot be met through a mandatory grant.

Councils are under no obligation to award Discretionary Housing Financial Assistance, however, subject to the availability of funding, Local Housing Authorities may award assistance on a case-by-case basis.

Assistance may include:

• helping an applicant to move to a suitable home (relocation)
• topping up mandatory
• helping reduce delayed transfers of care (DTOC), e.g. priority works needed to facilitate hospital discharge
• helping people stay safe, warm and well
• provide aids and adaptations for people with specific conditions e.g. dementia, learning disabilities, neurodiversity and sensory impairments
• assisting with an applicant's contribution to a mandatory grant

Applications for assistance can be made by both owner-occupiers and tenants.

Depending on financial circumstances applicants may need to make a contribution towards the cost of the required works. This includes applications relating to disabled facilities for children.

Discretionary housing financial assistance can only be applied for once in each financial year, unless exceptional circumstances can be evidenced to the satisfaction of the Council.

Applications must be supported in writing by one of the following:

• Occupational Therapist or Community Care Officer
• GP or medical professional e.g. Practice Nurse
• Local Authority Officer e.g. Housing or Environmental Health Officer, Wellbeing Lincs
• Professional  from another appropriate organisation

Full details of the Discretionary Housing Financial Assistance Policy can be found in the Lincolnshire Discretionary Housing Financial Assistance Policy and Explanatory Notes (PDF).

 

How to access the Assistance

Please contact the relevant Local Authority as set out below for further information.

Boston Borough Council: DFG@boston.gov.uk

City of Lincoln Council: housing.privatesector@lincoln.gov.uk

East Lindsey District Council: Grants.Admin@e-lindsey.gov.uk

South Holland District Council: privatehousing@sholland.gov.uk

North Kesteven District Council: housingrenewal@n-kesteven.gov.uk

South Kesteven District Council: dfg@southkesteven.gov.uk

West Lindsey District Council: dfg@west-lindsey.gov.uk

 

GOV.UK

If you own a property in England or Wales, you can get recommendations for home improvements that could make your property cheaper to heat and keep warm.

For each recommendation you can see:

• an estimated cost of making the improvement
• how much you could save on your bills
• next steps if you want to make the improvement

Find energy improvements suitable for your home

You can call an adviser to get recommendations by phone instead.

You can also call if you’ve used the online service and want to discuss your options.

Telephone: 0800 098 7950
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (except bank holidays)
Saturday, 9am to 12pm
Find out about call charges

You may be eligible for support to help you to make your home more energy efficient, insulate your home save you money on your bills.

 

Schemes in Lincolnshire

There are a number of schemes available across Lincolnshire, including:

• The Local Authority Delivery Scheme: designed to improve the energy performance of properties that are in the mains gas network.
• The Home Upgrade Grant Scheme: designed to provide energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating solutions to low income households where there is no option to connect to the mains gas network in the area.
• Energy Company Obligation: a government programme where major energy companies are required to provide funding towards the cost of domestic energy efficiency improvements.
• Great British Insulation Scheme: government funded and designed to help eligible people install energy efficiency measures that will lower your energy usage and save you money on bills.
• Boiler Upgrade Scheme: a government grant to encourage property owners to install low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps.

Visit your local council’s webpages to find out which schemes you may be eligible for and details about how to apply in your local area.

South Holland District Council

Boston Borough Council

East Lindsey District Council

West Lindsey District Council

North Kesteven District Council

South Kesteven District Council

City of Lincoln Council

Find your local council

 

Energy scams

The Energy Saving Trust provides advice and information on How to spot an energy scam.

If you are concerned about a scam, or want to report one, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service.

 

An empty home costs its owner thousands of pounds in maintenance, utilities charges, lost rent and council tax.

You may need to refurbish or repair the property before you can sell it or rent it out. Get the work done as soon as possible so you can start to recover the costs.

There is a reduced VAT rate for the cost of renovating a property that has been empty for two years or more. You can pay just 5% instead of 20%. Visit the HMRC website for more information.

If you cannot afford the work or it is difficult to organise, think about selling to a builder or developer at a lower price.

 

Sell it

You can sell through an estate agent, at an auction or by advertising the property yourself.

Get your property valued by a professional property survey or estate agent. Set an asking price, but decide how flexible you will be as potential buyers may try to negotiate the price.

 

Rent it out

If your home is ready to move into, you can rent it out. 

You could do that yourself or use an agency. Renting through an agency can take out some of the hassle and responsibility, although you have to pay for the service.

 

Leave it empty

You must keep your property and land around it in a good condition. Make it look occupied to deter criminals and anti-social behaviour.

 

Council tax

Empty properties are still liable for Council Tax charges.

Since April 2013, Councils have had the discretion to charge up to 50% premium for properties that have been empty for more than two years.  This increased the amount payable to 150% of the usual Council Tax. From 1 April 2019 legislation now allows this premium to be increased.  

Contact your local council to find out more about council tax charges for empty homes.