Below are the answers to some of the most common questions about adaptations.
What if I am a council tenant?
What is a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)?
Can I apply and am I eligible for a DFG?
Is the Agency service Free?
What is Grant Aid available for?
What happens once I’ve contacted Leeds Social Care?
Will I have to contribute towards the grant?
Adaptations for children
When the Customer Support Officer visits, what information will I have to disclose?
What if the estimated cost of adaptations work is more than the maximum grant value of £30,000?
What if I do not want to disclose any information regarding my income, savings and investment details?
How will I know when work will start?
Who should I let into my home?
What if I am a council tenant?
If you are a council tenant you need to contact Leeds Social Care Call Centre on 0113 222 4401. They will take your details and arrange for an Occupational Therapist (OT) to contact you.
Each Leeds City Council ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisation) has a budget provision to provide adaptations to their tenants with disabilities.
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What is a Disabled Facilities Grant?
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a means tested grant to help pay for essential adaptations to make it easier for you to manage at home.
The annual grant budget is jointly funded between the Government and Leeds City Council and the maximum amount of grant available per application for eligible works is up to a maximum of £30,000.00.
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Can I apply and am I eligible for a DFG?
If you or a family member are disabled, have an impairment and/or are unable to maintain independence in your own home, you may be eligible for a grant.
If you think this applies to you then contact Leeds Social Care Call Centre on 0113 222 4401.
The call centre will take your details and pass on the information to one of their Occupational Therapists (OT) who will contact you.
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Is the Agency service Free?
The Adaptations Agency service is not free, however the Agency costs are also taken out of the grant, so you are not charged directly and there is no financial implication for you if the scheme is under the maximum value of £30,000.
For works up to the value of £10,000.00 we charge 15% of the value of the work with a minimum fee of £200.00.
For works over £10,000.00 we charge 10% of the value of the work, with a minimum fee of £1,500.00 and a maximum fee of £2,727.27.
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What is Grant Aid available for?
If you are eligible for Grant Aid we are here to help you or a family member live more independently in their home. There are many different types of adaptations we are able to provide although most fall into the following main categories:
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Improving external access to your home.
E.g. The provision of modular ramps. Hand rails. Step lifts. Access to your garden.
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Improving internal access to your home.
E.g. Widening of internal door ways. Stair lift or through floor lift. Kitchen adaptations.
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Improving your existing bathing & toileting area.
E.g. Over bath showers. Wet floor showers. Shower toilets.
Re-location of bathing and/or WC facilities to the ground floor.
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Major building works please follow the link below to Larger works, extensions and applicant’s preferred schemes for more detailed information.
E.g. Major internal and external alterations. Property extensions.
Important
We cannot give a grant for work which has already started or completed.
The grant is for eligible works only and cannot be used to fund repairs and renovations, decoration or overcrowding issues.
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What happens once I’ve contacted Leeds Social Care?
An Occupational Therapist will contact you and arrange a visit at your home to discuss and assess your disability and level of independence.
However, if you are already known to Social Care and they have been aware of your increasing change in need, an OT may choose to undertake a telephone assessment. This will involve a telephone discussion with an OT about the difficulties your home causes you and how you think these can be overcome. You may always choose to have a home visit and face to face assessment if that is what you would prefer.
Whether it’s a home visit or telephone assessment the Occupational Therapist will identify your needs and make recommendations to the Agency for any adaptations required.
If the OT estimates the value of work will be less than £1000.00 they will not recommend a DFG. The required work will be funded, coordinated and carried out by Leeds Social Care as minor works.
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Will I have to contribute towards the grant?
Once the Adaptations Agency has received the recommendation from your Occupational Therapist you will be contacted by one of our Customer Support Officers (CSOs). One of our CSOs will arrange to meet you (and your family) at your home to discuss your financial circumstances.
At this meeting the CSO will carry out the Government’s means test to calculate if you have a contribution towards the works. The final outcome of the means test can not be influenced or altered by Leeds City Council.
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Adaptations for children
If the application is on behalf of a child, the means test is not applicable. The OT recommendations are passed straight to an Agency Surveyor. Consequently Step 3 of The 7 steps of the DFG process is omitted.
Legislation identifies a child as someone who is under 19 years of age.
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When the CSO visits what information will I have to disclose?
Our Customer Support Officer will need to investigate the income and capital of the disabled person and their spouse or partner. The amount you may have to pay (your contribution) is calculated on income, savings and investments set against an assessment of basic needs through a range of allowances.
It all sounds very complicated but our Customer Support Officers will guide you through the process and will advise you if you have a contribution to make, and how much it will be.
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What if the estimated cost of adaptations work is more than the maximum grant value of £30,000.00?
If the estimated value of the work exceeds this amount you will need to pay the additional cost over and above.
Our CSOs will discuss alternative additional funding options with you should they be required.
Our Larger works, extensions and applicant's preferred schemes ( see below) information, is designed to give relevant information to applicants so they can make informed choices on how they wish to proceed with a major adaptation scheme at their home.
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What if I do not want to disclose any information regarding my income, savings and investment details?
If you do not disclose this information you will not be entitled to a Disabled facilities Grant and your case will be cancelled.
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How will I know when work will start?
Work should not begin until you have received an approval letter from us and one of our contractors has received notification to proceed with the works. The contractor will contact you to discuss a mutually convenient start date.
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Who should I let into my home?
All Agency staff who visit your home should carry photo identification and will make it available to you on request. You are quite at liberty to refuse access to your property to anyone who does not present you with acceptable identification.
If you have any concerns regarding who is visiting or working in your home please contact our help desk immediately and we can quickly make sure the workmen are who they say they are. Telephone 0113 395 7146 or 0113 395 7147.