Building work grants

[Marie_1407]

Hi, we are home owners. I am a fulltime carer and claim carers allowance and my husband is self employed. We are classed as being on low income. We desperately need some major building work done on our home so I was wondering if there were any grants or funding we could possibly apply for to help with this. Thanks in advance.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Hi Marie.

Three links for you to explore :

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/famil ... ow-income/

MoneySaving Expert

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housi ... rovements/

Citizens Advice Bureau

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guid ... t-Agencies

Turn2Us

Three serious players out there.

( Many more out there ... Internet search ... GRANTS FOR LOW INCOME HOME OWNERS ).

I will assume that the " Normal " route ... through an increased mortgage / second mortgage has been persued without success
.... " Machine say no ! " .... or through one of the price comparison sites when exploring financial avenues ?

Equity release schemes ?

Sure ... plenty out there but ... always watch out for the small print ... I'll post general links as to their nature if needed.

Long shot ?

Private pension around that can pay out prematurely ... perhaps a Bridging Loan against the drawdown ?

STRONGLY RECOMMEND independent fiancial advice IF that option is available ... maybe adverse downsides ... but still an option.

Downsizing ?

Probably not considered ... attachment to existing property / pleasant maor / friends local ... at the end of the day .
that may be the only realistic option left ?

[bowlingbun]

Please can you tell us what work you want to do, and whether it is connected with the person you care for?

[Marie_1407]

Thanks both for your replies. We have two properties knocked into one (ex MOD) and they are off concrete construction and we would like to get them bricked up. A neighbours house has cracked down one side which is concerning. We are also considering making them back into two houses now whilst they are being bricked up and would need a wet room added to the one we decide to stay in. Hope that helps.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Hi Marie.

Not much more I can add to my first reply ... except for possible VAT relief on the potential building works :

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-relief- ... disability

No joy from the links posted earlier ?

[Honey Badger]

Welcome Marie,

For starters www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants just to get an idea of things

If your on social services radar they have the access team which deals with this sort of thing.
They'll come to your home, figure out whats needed, go from there

There is help out there still but you have to push for it, hard

Hope you stick around, don't be a stranger

Best wishes to you and your family.

[bowlingbun]

I've seen issues with concrete construction on Homes Under the Hammer, can't think of any grant funding available, but have you spoken to your mortgage lender?
If you need a wet room for someone who is disabled, then you need to contact your local council responsible for housing and enquire about a "Disabled Facilities Grant". You would need to have an Occupational Therapists recommendation.

Presumably if you separated the houses once more, then you would be able to rent one out. In that case, you need to speak to the local Housing Department. In my area, they will lease houses for a fixed term, upgrade and decorate them if needed, then place a tenant there for a fixed term, and redecorate the home before they give it back to you at the end of the lease term.

[Colin _1706]

The Disabled Facilities Grant is available for private homeowners and tenants.
Getting it is another matter.
Our local government claim about £2 million from central government every year but only spend 20% of it on much needed home adaptations for disabilities. The rest of the money they spend on their own projects. Now according to the rules they are allowed to do that, but not at the expense of unjustly blocking critical home adaptations as we experienced. For large adaptations they may just recommend you find other more suitable housing. The whole point of the DFG is that the modifications for disabled needs are to help disabled people to stay in their own homes, however in reality it does not work like that from our experiences. By all means give it a try, you may be successful. Another point worth mentioning is that if you leave the adapted home within 5 years of those works, then the cost of the adaptations becomes repayable to the local council.

[bowlingbun]

It's also worth saying that the council will allocate a sum for the financial year, once it's gone, it's gone and you will have to wait for the next April. So get the ball rolling asap. You will need an Occupational Therapist's report, which Social Services should be able to arrange. Make sure they do it as quickly as possible, OT's in my area can be very slow in responding to referrals.