Adapting your home

If you’re living with a terminal illness it may get harder to move around your home or do things like have a shower. You may be able to adapt your home to make it easier to do these things.

Here are some examples of adaptations which may make your life safer and easier.

Your healthcare professionals, council (or trust in Northern Ireland) can help you organise home adaptations. They may also be able to help with some of the costs (see Do I have to pay for adaptations to my home? below). You can also organise and pay for them yourself.

If you find things like climbing the stairs or taking a shower difficult, tell your GP, district nurse, occupational therapist of physiotherapist. If you’re coming out of hospital and are worried about how you’ll get on at home, tell a health or social care professional at the hospital.

They may suggest an assessment from your local council or trust. You can also ask for one yourself.

During a care needs assessment (sometimes called a community care assessment in Scotland), an occupational therapist, nurse or social worker may visit you at home or in hospital to find out how you’re managing to do everyday things.

From this assessment, they will usually write a report called a care and support plan (this may have a different name, depending on where you live). You will discuss anything you find difficult about daily living, and this will be included in the plan. It will cover any adaptations to your home and useful equipment that they think will help you.

The care and support plan may recommend getting adaptations to your home.

Depending on where you live and how big they are, you may get some or all of these for free.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, adaptations are split into ‘minor’ and ‘major’ adaptations, depending on how much they cost.

Minor adaptations include things like a ramp to your front door. In some cases, the local council or trust may be able to organise the work, or you can arrange it yourself.

Whether your council will pay for these and how much they’ll pay depends on where you live in the UK.

A major adaptation is one that costs more than a minor one. If you have been assessed as needing major adaptations, you can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant from the local council (or local housing executive in Northern Ireland).

Disabled Facilities Grants are available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There’s a different system in Scotland. How much you get depends on your household income and how much you have in savings .

In Wales, adaptations are split into three categories – ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’ (see Wales below).

If you live in England, the council or housing association will install and pay for minor adaptations costing less than £1,000, as long as you’ve been assessed as needing them.

To pay for major adaptations, you can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant. If you live in England, the maximum grant you’ll be given is £30,000. To apply, contact your local council.

In Wales, adaptations are split into three categories – small, medium and large. Small adaptations include grab rails and stair rails. Medium adaptations include stair lifts and walk-in showers, while large adaptations are things like adding an extension to your home.

For people who own their homes, adaptations are means-tested. This means how much you pay depends on how much you have in savings and income. If you rent your home from a council or housing association, adaptations aren’t means-tested, which means you won’t have to pay for them.

If you’re coming out of hospital, there is a programme which provides funding so you can have adaptations made quickly to your home.

In Scotland, the council or housing association will install and pay for minor adaptations costing less than £1500, as long as you’ve been assessed as needing them.

In Scotland, Disabled Facilities Grants aren’t available to pay for major adaptations, but you could get something called a mandatory grant instead.

If you’re assessed as needing a major adaptation to your home, the council will pay for 80 percent of the total cost. This is a mandatory grant.

Some councils will top up the 80 per cent with extra funding. This is means-tested and usually depends on your income.

If you receive the following benefits, the council will pay for the whole cost of adaptations:

To apply, contact your local council.

The local council should speak to you about how you’ll be paid the grant when they approve the application. There are several possible arrangements. They may pay the contractor (person doing the work) directly or give you a cheque to pass on to the contractor. The money can be paid in instalments, or in one go at the end.

It’s important to wait until the council has approved the work before you start any work on your home. If you start work before it’s approved, you may not get the grant.

In Northern Ireland the local health and personal social services trust may carry out some minor adaptations for free. You may also be able to get some adaptations without having a social care assessment first.

To pay for major adaptations, you can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant. If you live in Northern Ireland, the maximum grant you could get is £25,000. To apply, contact your local health and social care trust.

If you want your home adapted, you don’t have to go through the local council or trust. If you prefer, you can arrange the work privately. You would have to pay for this.

You may not have to pay VAT on adaptations to your home if you have a terminal illness.

If you’d like advice, you could speak to a Home Improvement Agency – they can give you advice on your home and may be able to help you to get funding.

If you rent your home, you will need to get your landlord’s consent to make adaptations. The Equality Act 2010 says your landlord should make reasonable adjustments to meet your needs, but there are exceptions if you rent privately.