enable housing

Small Adaptations

Often, small and non-permanent adaptations can make a big difference to the accessibility of your home. These are especially helpful if you are unable to move home or you aren’t eligible for a lot of funding to make big changes.

Adding products like easy-turn handles on to doors and taps, adjustable grab rails in the bedroom or bathroom, a bath or shower seat, or non-slip mats for the bathroom are all quick, easy and often inexpensive ways to remove barriers in the home. These solutions can even be helpful while you wait for an assessment from your local council, and don’t change the look or structure of your home if you are limited due to being in a private rental property.

Your health or social care team may be able to recommend where to purchase small items like this in your local area, or you can use an online shop like Complete Care Shop (www.completecareshop.co.uk, 03330 160 000) or Manage At Home (www.manageathome.co.uk, 0808 281 2637).

Accessible Rooms

If you are unable to move, or you don’t want to but your home needs have changed, you may need to make bigger adaptations to your home as a whole - like installing outdoor grab rails, a stairlift or widening doors – or completely renovate certain rooms so that they work for you.

Both the kitchen and the bathroom are common renovations when looking at adapting the home to suit your needs. If you undertake one of these projects, don’t just consider what you or your loved one needs now: think about how this could change in the future to avoid large costs down the line. This can become very expensive, and so seeking advice and looking for funding should be an important step in your research.

Funding And Guidance

There are different ways to fund adaptations to your home regardless of whether they are expensive or affordable for you. Making essential adaptations to your home shouldn’t come with extreme financial pressure for you and your family. In some cases, your local authority will fund home adaptations up to a certain value, and you should always check if you are eligible for this funding. Speak to your health or social care team, or go online to find contact details for your council, and ask for a home assessment. This is an assessment carried out by an occupational therapist and considers what help and support you could benefit from at home, including adaptations. As part of this free service, they’ll ask you questions about barriers you face in the home and what might help.

For larger adaptations, like installing ramps, widening doors or even adapting heating controls, a Disabled Facilities Grant could help you to cover the costs. This is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and depending on your household income and savings, you could get upwards of £25,000 to help with costs. You can check if you are eligible on the UK Government website.

An additional and often faster way of carrying out adaptations is self-funding. If you have this option, getting in touch with a local Home Improvement Agency (HIA) can help you decide on what adaptations to carry out and what they could cost. You can find a HIA near you at www.findmyhia.org.uk

Searching for information around what funding you could be eligible for can be exhausting, or especially difficult if you don’t have many digital skills. Speaking to organisations like Age UK (www.ageuk.org.uk, 0800 678 1602), Scope (www.scope.org. uk, 0808 800 3333) or Shelter (www. shelter.org.uk) can help you filter through the information out there, only finding what is relevant to your unique circumstances. All of these organisations can offer information about home adaptations and your rights, and what your council is responsible for providing or funding. Citizens Advice (www.citizensadvice. org.uk, 0808 223 1133) is another great resource if you need impartial advice around asking for or getting adjustments to your home and dealing with your local authority.

For More Information

For independent advice on home adaptations and equipment, visit the Ask Sara website (asksara.livingmadeeasy.org.uk).

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