When elderly have heart attacks or a developing medical or mobility condition, it can seem like going to a nursing or residential home is the only option. But for many, this is not the case and with a little help here and there, they can continue living in the town, community and home they love for longer.

It can be a tall undertaking to adapt or repair a home so that an elderly or disabled person can stay living in it. Luckily, Disabled Facilities Grants are available from local councils in the UK, providing funding to improve a home or install technologies which will help the old or disabled to stay in their home.

The grant can be applied for by the home owner, the tenant or someone representing them. A landlord can also apply for the grants on behalf of their tenant.

There is a five year grant period, during which the elderly or disabled tenant is expected to occupy the developed property in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Scotland has a slightly different system.

The grants are intended to be used to pay for adaptation to a property in order to make moving around the home easier and allow the resident to keep on living in their home for longer.

A Disabled Facilities Grant could be awarded to help finance an upstairs bathroom or toilet, installing a stair lift or through-floor chair lift. It could also be used to widen doorways, install ramps, adapting light, power and cooking controls to make them safer and easier to use.

The council will conduct an assessment and the grant could cover the entire cost of the work. The maximum grant is usually thirty thousand pounds per applicant, minus any contribution they consider you are able to make, based on assets and income.

Equipping a home with mobility aids can greatly increase the amount of time an elderly or disabled relative can remain living in the property. Many people dont want to go into a care or nursing home, and would much prefer to stay in the home they love, with the neighbours they know and the area they grew up in.

Maybe its time you considered improving your home. With the Disabled Facilities Grant, you could make the passage through your home smoother and easier, and be safe in the knowledge that your home has been improved, to allow you to live in for a long time.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 9:31 pm and is filed under Home & Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.