This information applies to England and Wales
A local authority can offer different types of help with home improvements. It will have its own rules about the types of help it will offer, and about the conditions you must meet in order to qualify for help.
By law, these rules must not discriminate against you because of your sex, race, sexuality, religion or disability. In addition, a local authority may have policies which don't allow other types of discrimination such as discrimination against older people.
To find out if you can get help with home improvements and the help available in your area, contact your local authority. Your local authority can give you help to:-
If you, or someone that you live with, are disabled, you may be able to get a disabled facilities grant to help you adapt, improve or repair your home. See under heading Disabled facilities grants.
Your local authority can help improve a building, part of a building, a caravan, or a boat, as long as the property is your home, or it is available for you to live in as your home.
A local authority can have its own application forms for help, and its own rules about what you have to do to apply for help. Ask your local authority for more information about this.
If you're disabled, a local authority must provide application forms in a form you can use, for example in large print or in Braille.
Your local authority will have its own rules about the conditions you must meet in order to get help. For example, its rules might say you cannot get a grant if your savings are over a certain limit. Although your local authority can have its own rules, there are certain things that it must or must not do when it provides help with home improvements. Your local authority must have rules about help with home improvements, but it cannot have rules which are completely rigid or unreasonable. For example, it cannot say it will never give any grants, and it must take your individual circumstances into account if you apply for help. Also, the rules must not discriminate against you because of your race, sex, sexuality, religion or disability.
When you apply for help with home improvements your local authority must:-
If you would like help with applying for home improvements, you can consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you rent your home and apply to your local authority for help with home improvements, you will need to get your landlord's permission before the local authority will agree to help you. If you're disabled and the changes are to do with your disability, your landlord must not refuse permission without a good reason. If your home is in need of repair, your landlord may have to do the repairs you need.
For more information about your landlord's responsibility to do repairs, see Disrepair in rented accommodation.
For more information about a landlord's duty to make alterations for disabled people, see Disability discrimination.
You can also get help from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Generally, a local authority does not have to pay a grant or loan within any particular time limit. However, if your local authority's own rules set a time limit, it must pay you within this time limit.
There are special rules for getting a disabled facilities grant. These are different from the rules which apply to getting help with home improvements (see under heading Help with home improvements).
A disabled facilities grant is a grant that you can get from your local authority for work that is essential to help a disabled person live an independent life. You can, for example, get a disabled facilities grant for the following things:-
A local authority must give you a disabled facilities grant if you meet the conditions for getting one.
Owner-occupiers, landlords, tenants, licensees, and occupiers of some houseboats and park homes can apply for a disabled facilities grant, provided the work is for the benefit of a disabled person who lives or will live in the property.
To apply for a disabled facilities grant, you need to fill in a form which you can get from your local authority. They may ask for information and/or for tests to be carried out before you make a formal application. You may also need to get approval for building regulations, planning, listed building or conservation area purposes.
Your local authority may have a list of local architects, surveyors and builders who specialise in renovation work which you could ask to see when choosing a contractor for the work to your home. If you intend to carry out the work yourself, you will not be able to claim for the cost of your labour.
Once you have applied for a grant, your local authority must tell you about its decision in writing as soon as it can, and no later than six months after you applied.
You can only get a disabled facilities grant if the work you need done on your home is:-
If you live in rented accommodation and are applying for a disabled facilities grant for work to a communal area of the property in which you live, you should make sure that you are responsible for doing the work. If your landlord is responsible for doing the work, you will not be able to get a grant. Your landlord may be able to apply for a grant instead.
If you would like help with applying for a disabled facilities grant, you can consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
A disabled facilities grant will be no more than £30,000 in England and £36,000 in Wales. However, your local authority can top up this up, as it can give you other help with home improvements (see under the heading Help with home improvements). The amount of grant you get depends on your income and savings, unless the work is to meet the needs of a disabled person under 16, or in some cases, over 16 but under 19.
If you rent your home and apply to your local authority for a disabled facilities grant, you will need to get your landlord's permission before your local authority will agree to help you. However, your landlord must not refuse permission without a very good reason. If you need to make changes to your home because of your disability, your landlord must agree to this as long as the changes are reasonable. If your landlord doesn't agree, this could be disability discrimination and they could be breaking the law. This rule doesn't apply in some cases where the landlord lives in the same property as you.
If you need to make changes to your home because of your disability, your landlord may be responsible for making them.
If your home is in need of repair, your landlord may also be responsible for doing them.
For more information about a landlord's duty to make alterations for disabled people, see Disability discrimination.
For more information about a landlord's responsibility to do repairs, see Disrepair in rented accommodation.
You can also get help from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on 
nearest CAB.
There are various energy efficiency schemes and grants available. These schemes vary across the UK and are run by a variety of organisations. The main scheme is a home energy efficiency scheme known as Warm Front in England and the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in Wales. It is available to owner-occupiers and people renting accommodation. You may also be able to get other help with insulating your home (see under heading Help with home improvements).
For more information about Warm Front and the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, see Fuel costs and saving money.
If you live in Wales, and are physically disabled or aged 60 or over, you may be able to get help under the rapid response adaptations programme. You can get help with small-scale alterations to your home so that you can be discharged from hospital and return to live safely at home. You may also be able to get help if you are not in hospital. You can get up to £350 worth of help.
You can get various adaptations to your home under the programme, for example:-
You must be referred to the programme by a health professional. You cannot apply directly yourself. To get help, you have to be a home-owner or a tenant. You must usually be aged 60 or over, and/or have a physical disability, and:-
The work to your home should be finished within 15 days of the day you were referred to the programme.
The rapid response adaptation programme is run by Care and Repair Cymru. For contact details, see under heading Home improvement agencies.
Home improvement agencies (HIAs) are not-for-profit organisations run by housing associations, local authorities and charities. They can help people who own their own homes, or who live in privately rented accommodation, and who are elderly, disabled, or on a low income to repair, maintain or adapt their home.
For example, an HIA can:
Foundations (in England) and Care and Repair Cymru (in Wales) can put you in touch with your local organisation, if one exists. The contact details are:-
Bleaklow House
Howard Town Mill
Glossop
SK13 8HT
Tel: 01457 891909
Fax: 01457 869361
Email: foundations@cel.co.uk
Website: www.foundations.uk.com
Norbury House
Norbury Road
Cardiff
CF5 3AS
Tel: 029 2057 6286
Fax: 029 2057 6283
E-mail: enquiries@careandrepair.org.uk
Website: www.careandrepair.org.uk
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