We understand that you are considering applying for grant assistance to carry out adaptation or repair works to your home. You may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant or Special Purpose Assistance Grant, administered by the Cambridgeshire Home Improvement Agency to help pay for the required work. We sometimes refer to Special Purpose Grants as Repair or Energy Grants too.
Please read these guidance notes before you complete a preliminary enquiry form. Please note this is not a formal application.
These grants are subject to the government's Test of Resources, which means that before any funding is approved you will be required to provide proof of your income and savings or capital.
If you have a partner living with you, we will also require proof of their income and savings or capital.
Please bear in mind that this is not an offer of a grant and that any change in your circumstances or to the legislation could affect the final outcome.
If you decide to proceed to apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant we will usually require a formal recommendation from a Community Occupational Therapist.
You can contact an Occupational Therapist for adults and children:
- Cambridgeshire Children's Occupational Therapy Service (cambscommunityservices.nhs.uk) - for children
If you wish to proceed with a Repair Grant or Loan, a council representative will inspect your property to assess what works will be eligible for funding. Where the cost of works plus any fees are more than the amount eligible for a grant or loan, work will be prioritised based on its categorisation on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Once we have confirmed your eligibility for assistance, we will then make arrangements to visit you and obtain confirmation of your financial status and will assist you in completing an application form.
Cambs HIA
When making the application for a grant you will be offered the services of the Cambs HIA.
Although this service exists primarily to assist elderly and disabled people with preparation of plans, specifications for works, submitting planning and building regulation applications, and seeking competitive quotations for the works, it is available to all those who wish to use the service, including those who are not eligible for a grant and need to self-fund the works.
If and when a grant is approved, the agency will also supervise and manage the works on site.
The cost of this service is 15% plus VAT of the final cost of the works, and this charge may be eligible for grant assistance.
Application process
You do not have to use the agency to manage your Disabled Facility Grant work but we strongly recommend you do as this will take a lot of the risk out of the work for you. If you do use the agency we will guide you through the whole process. If you do not use the agency you will be expected to project manage the whole process yourself.
You will need to submit a valid application and supply the relevant financial information.
A valid application consists of the following documents:
1. The completed application form
If you choose not to use the agency then you will be required to submit two estimates for the works from separate contractors.
A detailed schedule of works breaking down all costs will be required from your contractor and be accompanied by the contractor's signed letterhead bearing a written undertaking to carry out the work for the quoted sum.
The contractor submitting the lowest quote will usually be instructed to carry out the work.
If you are using the agency service then we will obtain quotations on your behalf from our approved contractors.
2. Proof of ownership
If you are not using the agency service then you will need to provide us with written proof of your ownership of the property, and confirmation of the length of your ownership and occupation.
This may be in the form of a letter from your solicitor or building society, or if you have the deeds at home we can arrange for the council's legal officer to inspect them.
Alternatively, if you are using the Agency, we will obtain this information for you.
3. Up-to-date evidence of your financial situation to enable the Test of Resources to be completed. This evidence may comprise any or all of the following:
- certified accounts for the most recent three years if you are self employed
- copies of pay slips for the past year
- your most recent P60
- copies of pension or allowance books
- copies of your most recent bank statements of all accounts held
- copies of building society pass books or other investment accounts
- details of numbers of stocks, shares etc. and the companies in which they are held
- addresses and approximate values of any properties you may own, other than the one for which you are applying for the grant
4. If the work involves new building or major internal changes we shall require two copies of the relevant plans
5. If you are not using the agency then copies of the Building Regulation approval and planning consent where appropriate will be required.
The fees for these may be considered as part of the grant or loan eligible expense and receipts should be submitted with your application. However if you decide to use the agency service we will obtain these for you.
6. Receipts for any other ancillary fees, for example from architects, structural engineers etc
It would be in your best interests to submit all these documents to us together. They will then be checked and, if correct, your application will be registered as a valid application.
Receipt will be acknowledged and you will be advised of the registration date. If your application is not complete in any respect you will be notified within three weeks so you can make the necessary additions or provide any additional information.
Application timescale
The government has set a target that all applications should be determined within six months from the date of registration.
What happens next?
After you have submitted a preliminary enquiry form the council will apply the government's Test of Resources to the figures you have provided.
We will use these figures to calculate the provisional amount that is regarded as your contribution towards the cost of any works that might be eligible for grant aid.
This is only a provisional figure; the amount of any grant and your contribution can only be accurately assessed when your formal application has been submitted.
Please note that grants cannot be paid for work that has already started or has been carried out.
When assessing the level of grant to be awarded to you, the council will take into account the quotations you have submitted, comparable costs for similar works that have been carried out recently in the area, and your own financial situation.
Once you have received the council's letter of approval you/we may instruct the chosen contractor to commence the approved work.
The work must be done by the chosen contractor. If they are not able to carry out the work you should seek permission from the council before instructing another; failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of the grant.
If you default in the grant conditions, we may seek to reclaim any payments made to you or your contractor, directly from you.
Unless you have opted to use the Cambs HIA, you will be responsible for ensuring that the contractor's work is done to a satisfactory standard. However, the council retains the right to inspect the work at any time to ensure all requirements are being met.
If you have opted to use the agency service our surveyor will visit the site regularly to supervise the works, and deal with the contractor on your behalf. You will have been asked to sign an agreement for this earlier.
If the council has made any payments over and above the level of the grant, whether in respect of contractor's invoices, fees to the agency service or to outside architects or consultants, you will be invoiced for the amount after certified completion.
