Introduction

There are many reasons why it is sensible to keep your home in good repair. Ignoring a leaking roof or putting off the outside painting for another year can create expensive problems for the future. Homes in a state of disrepair can be much harder to heat, causing high fuel bills. But many people are reluctant to arrange repairs because they are worried about cowboy builders, or they simply can’t afford to get the work done.

Financial and practical help is available for older people who need to carry out repairs and improvements to their homes. Local councils offer grants or loans for both small and large repairs. The help you can get depends on whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and whether you are a home-owner or a tenant. In many areas there are home improvement agencies which can help you apply for local council help and assist you through the whole process of getting the work done. See Section 4.

This section looks at grants for home repairs and improvements. Advice on grants for adapting your home if you are disabled is given in Section 2.

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Local council help in England and Wales

In the past, local councils could offer a number of grants to help householders improve their living conditions. However, local councils now have new powers, which mean that they can be much more flexible in the help they offer.

Your local council can help to improve your living conditions by:

• offering you a loan or a grant;
• providing equipment or materials; or
• offering you advice.

It can set its own conditions for who gets help – for example, whether or not to means-test people applying for grants.

Each local council has to publish a policy explaining:

• what kind of help it may give;
• who is entitled;
• how to apply;
• how to complain; and
• what advice and information is available (for example, from a local home improvement agency) to help you access grants and loans.

You should be able to get a copy of the full policy from your local council, local library, Citizens Advice Bureau or home improvement agency. A summary of the policy should also be available on request. The local council can make a reasonable charge if it sends it to you by post. Contact your local housing department to find out more.

If you do want help from your local council to repair, improve or renovate your home, it is important that you do not carry out any work until you have been in touch with the local council.

Rapid Response Adaptation Programme in Wales

The Rapid Response Adaptation Programme offers small-scale adaptations to help older and disabled people in Wales stay in their own homes or return from hospital as soon as they can. You may also be able to get help if you are not in hospital. You can get up to £350 worth of help.

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:

• be in hospital; or 
• have recently been discharged from hospital; or 
• want to carry on living independently at home.

The work to your home should be finished within 15 days of the day you were referred to the programme.

For more information contact Care and Repair Cymru, that runs the service. See Section 4 for contact details.

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Housing Executive grants in Northern Ireland

Your local Housing Executive grants office can give discretionary grants for home repairs to owner-occupiers and private tenants. The type of grant you can apply for depends on what work you need doing, your personal situation and where you live. Housing association and Housing Executive tenants cannot apply for these grants; if you are in this situation, see Section 5.

Home repair assistance grants are awarded to help with moderate repairs, adaptations or improvements. The maximum grant is £5,000 over three years depending on the type of work required. This grant covers things such as:

• repairs to the outside of your home: for example a leaking roof or poor external walls; or
• health and safety improvements: for example, repairing electrical wiring or installing central heating.

Home repair assistance grants are aimed at helping people most in need and are normally available to those receiving certain benefits such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Attendance Allowance. It is also possible to get a home repair assistance grant if you are over 60 and living in a Housing Executive target area. Normally you can get assistance up to a maximum of £5,000 over a three-year period.

Renovation grants are available for more substantial repairs to property which is at least 10 years old: for example, to renew your damp-proof course or install basic amenities like running water. You can apply for a grant if you own or are buying a house or flat, or if you are a tenant and have to carry out the work according to your tenancy agreement. The council will carry out a means test to assess how much (if anything) you can afford to pay towards the cost of the work. The maximum grant is £25,000. Arrangements have been made with some independent agencies outside the Housing Executive to assist you as much as possible. Details are available from your local grants office.

There are other discretionary grants for special circumstances. If you are unsure which grant to apply for, contact your local Housing Executive grants office and ask for a preliminary enquiry form. This will ask for basic details about the problems you have with your home and will help the Housing Executive decide which is the most suitable grant for you.

If you apply for a grant you must not start work before the grant is approved by the Housing Executive otherwise your application will be turned down. For more information on housing grants, or to find out whether you are in a target area, contact your local Housing Executive grants office.

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Housing grants in Scotland

In Scotland your local council can give grants for work to bring your home up to a certain standard set by law. Three main types of grants are available:

• for work to bring your house up to the ‘tolerable standard’;
• to install ‘standard amenities’; and
• to carry out some types of work ‘beyond the tolerable standard’.

The owner of the house should usually apply for the grant but in some cases private tenants can apply, depending on the terms of their lease. Ask your council for more information. If you are a housing association or council tenant, see Section 5. If you are disabled you can apply for a grant even if you’re not the owner of the house or the tenant. See Section 2.

Work to meet the tolerable standard

If your house is in serious disrepair - for example, if it is structurally unsound, has rising damp or is without proper lighting, heating or ventilation - it is considered to be below the tolerable standard. You may get a grant from your council to put this right.

Work to install standard amenities

You should get a grant if your home doesn’t have a fixed bath or shower, wash basin, sink (all with hot and cold water supply) or toilet.

Work beyond the basic tolerable standard

Your council may also give grants for other types of work in your home. For example, if you are disabled the council can give a grant to make your home suitable for your specific needs (even if you are not the owner of the house). Other examples of work for which you might be able to get a grant include installing mains-powered smoke detectors and replacing unsafe wiring or lead water pipes.

In most cases it is up to your council to decide whether or not to give you a grant, but there are certain types of work for which it must give a grant (within the limits of their budget). These include installing standard amenities or additional standard amenities for disabled people. Grants are not available for routine repair and maintenance work, such as repainting window frames or replacing worn fixtures. Councils can give grants for work that costs up to £20,000 in total. They can apply to the Scottish Executive to go beyond this limit if there are good reasons for the extra cost. They may also raise the amount after work has started: for example, if other problems are found once the work is under way.

If you think that you might be entitled to a grant, contact your local council. It can give you more information about their local policy and an application form. The Scottish Housing Executive also produces a leaflet called Housing Grants: An applicant’s guide to improvement and repair grants for private housing. You can get a copy from:

Scottish Government
Housing Market and Supply Division
1H (South) Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131 244 5528
Web: www.scotland.gov.uk

If you want help from your local council to repair, improve or renovate your home, it is important that you do not carry out any work until the council has approved your grant application in writing.

For more details on these grants, see the Age Concern Scotland factsheet 'Older home-owners: financial help with repairs and adaptations'. Advice for people who live in rented housing and need help with repairs or adaptations is in Age Concern Scotland's factsheets 'Tenants' rights' and 'Private tenants' rights'. You can get these factsheets from:

Age Concern Scotland
Causewayside House
160 Causewayside
Edinburgh EH9 1PR
Tel: 0845 125 9732
Web: www.ageconcernscotland.org.uk