An occupational therapist assesses what you need, the council decides whether the work qualifies, and the money follows a fixed set of rules rather than a case-by-case judgement. This page sets out what a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) covers, who can apply, the £30,000 limit in England, the means test, and what happens after you apply.
What a Disabled Facilities Grant pays for
A Disabled Facilities Grant pays for adaptations for a listed purpose (Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 23, checked 1 November 2026). The council must approve an application if satisfied the works are necessary and appropriate for the disabled person’s needs, and reasonable and practicable given the property’s age and condition (section 24, checked 1 November 2026).
Anything outside the section 23 list is discretionary rather than guaranteed.
The list covers access to and from the home and around the building; making the home safe; access to the main family room; access to, or provision of, a room for sleeping; access to, or provision of, a lavatory, bathroom or shower room, and a washhand basin; facilitating the preparation and cooking of food; a heating system suited to your needs; controls for power, light and heat you can use; and access so you can care for another person living there.
A DFG will not affect any benefits you get, GOV.UK confirms (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026).
Who can apply
You can apply if you have, or are acquiring, an owner’s interest in the property, or if you are a tenant, including a secure, introductory or statutory tenant, a protected occupier, or certain licensees (Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 19, checked 1 November 2026). Occupiers of a qualifying houseboat or caravan can apply too.
A landlord can apply for a grant on behalf of a disabled tenant. GOV.UK says a landlord’s own income and savings are not assessed, though the council may ask for the property to be let to another disabled person if the current tenant moves within five years (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026).
The maximum grant: £30,000 in England
The most you can get in England is £30,000, a limit set in regulations and unchanged since 2008. GOV.UK’s current guide gives the figure for England as up to £30,000 (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026), matching the statutory maximum in The Disabled Facilities Grants (Maximum Amounts and Additional Purposes) (England) Order 2008, which came into force on 22 May 2008.
No later order has raised the figure. Some councils can top up a grant from their own local policies, on top of the mandatory £30,000, so it is worth asking what your own council offers before assuming the limit is fixed everywhere.
The means test, and who is exempt
Most adults have their household income and savings assessed before the council sets the grant amount. GOV.UK’s guide says how much you get usually depends on your household income and household savings over £6,000 (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026), so the test looks at money above that threshold rather than every pound saved.
Two groups are exempt. A disabled child under 18 can get a grant without their parents’ income being taken into account, and a landlord applying for a disabled tenant faces no test of their own income and savings at all. Everyone else works through the same household assessment that decides how much of the £30,000 maximum they can draw on.
How to apply, and the occupational therapist’s visit
You apply through your local council rather than a national body. GOV.UK describes the process plainly: the council may send an occupational therapist or trained assessor to see you, and they will assess what changes you need to your home (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026).
That assessment is what shapes the schedule of works the council then considers against the mandatory purposes list above. Ask your council’s adult social services or housing team how to start a referral if you have not already had a needs assessment.
The six-month decision, payment, and staying put
The council must tell you in writing whether your application is approved or refused within six months of applying. It must do so as soon as reasonably practicable within that period (Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, section 34, checked 1 November 2026). GOV.UK restates the same limit for applicants in plain English.
Once approved, you are paid either in instalments as the work progresses or in full when it is finished, either when you and the council are happy with the work or when you give the council the contractor’s invoice, demand or receipt for payment (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026). Approval carries a condition that you intend to live in the property for the grant period, normally five years, though the council can shorten that period, for example if you are terminally ill. If you are unhappy with a decision, you can appeal to the council, and then to the Local Government Ombudsman.
Discretionary help beyond the mandatory grant
Councils can offer help beyond the mandatory grant, at their own discretion. Under the 2002 Order, a local housing authority may provide assistance, in any form, to help someone adapt, improve or repair their home, for the purpose of improving living conditions in its area (Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002, article 3, checked 1 November 2026).
This discretionary route sits alongside the mandatory grant rather than replacing it, and what is on offer varies by council.
VAT relief on the building work
If you are disabled or have a long-term illness, adaptation work carried out for your own personal or domestic use is not charged VAT. GOV.UK gives building work like ramps, widening doors, installing a lift or toilet as examples of what can qualify (GOV.UK, Financial help if you're disabled: vAT relief for disabled people, checked 1 November 2026).
Tell your builder before work starts, since the relief is applied at the point of sale rather than reclaimed afterwards.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
If you live in Wales, the Disabled Facilities Grant scheme runs in much the same way as in England, but with a higher maximum: GOV.UK’s own comparison table puts the Welsh limit at up to £36,000, £6,000 more than the English figure (GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants, checked 1 November 2026).
If you live in Scotland, there is no Disabled Facilities Grant. Support instead runs through local Care and Repair services, which help older or disabled people repair, improve or adapt their home and can advise on funding such as grants from local councils (mygov.scot, https: //www.mygov.scot/care-and-repair, checked 1 November 2026).
If you live in Northern Ireland, grants for adapting a home are run through the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, based on an occupational therapist’s recommendation. GOV.UK and nidirect give different maximum figures for Northern Ireland, so this page states no figure; check the current maximum directly with nidirect, checked 15 September 2026.