Housing Grants
Private Sector Housing is able to offer the residents of Elmbridge Borough Council a variety of grants and schemes for the repair of properties or for adaptations, which are needed to accommodate people with disabilities. Please find below a summary of grants currently on offer:-
Grants Available
There are two types of grant available - Mandatory and Discretionary
Mandatory grants are those that Elmbridge Council is required to make available by law i.e. Disabled Facilities Grant.
Discretionary grants are grants that the Council may make available depending on the amount of money available during a financial year and the policy that has been set by the Council on how to target those funds i.e. Major Works Grants, Minor Works Grants, etc.
Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs)
If you or a member of your family are disabled and need your home adapting to make it easier to move around or use the bathroom facilities, then you may be eligible for this grant. Initially, we must take advice from the Social Care Teams of Surrey County Council, as a recommendation is required from an Occupational Therapist on the type of adaptation you may need.
Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) fall into two categories: Mandatory DFGs and Discretionary DFGs.
Mandatory DFGs are grants given under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (As Amended) and in simple terms, can pay for the provision of essential facilities or access to such facilities to assist a person who is disabled to continue to live as independently as possible in the property.There is a limit of £30,000 for these grants per application. The disabled person and any partner, are means tested to determine the amount of any contribution towards the cost of the works. If the disabled person is a child, the parents or legal guardian are not means tested. If you are an owner-occupier and awarded a mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant for more than £5,000, and you sell or transfer your home or it is no longer your main residence, within 10 years of the work being completed, you will be required to repay any part of the grant in excess of £5,000. The maximum repayment is £10,000. The outstanding debt is registered in the Council's local Land Charges Register, which will mean the existence of the debt which will be declared to anyone undertaking a land charges search during the ten year period that the grant conditions remain in force. A qualifying tenant who is awarded a disabled facilities grant will not be required to repay the grant, if he/she vacates the property after the work has been completed. Please note that for more expensive adaptations, such as building an extension, Surrey County Council may offer homeowners and private tenants 'top up' funding.
Discretionary DFGs are given under the Council's Private Sector Housing Financial Assistance and Grants Policy to help with moving to alternative, more suitable, accommodation, if the current home cannot be adapted. There is a limit of £5,000 for these grants per application. The disabled person and any partner are means tested to determine the amount of any contribution towards the cost of the works. If the disabled person is a child, the parents or legal guardian are not means tested. There is no requirement to repay this grant if it is awarded to you.
You may download any of the grant application forms shown below for reference purposes only. Before downloading these documents, you should note the following disclaimer by this Council.
Receipt of an application form by the Private Sector Housing Section without a prior written offer of grant aid does not constitute a formal application of grant. All initial enquiries should be directed to |Private Sector Housing
|Disabled facilities grant application without financial information
|Disabled facilities grant application with financial information
|Owner-Occupier certificate to accompany a disabled facilities grant application
|Tenant's certificate to accompany a disabled facilities grant application
|Owners Consent Statement to accompany a tenant's grant application
Major Works Grants - Owner-Occupiers and Tenants
These grants are available for major works to a property which are necessary to remedy a Category 1 Hazard, or to remedy serious disrepair. Also note that there are certain restrictions on applicants, for example: if you are an owner-occupier, you must be aged 18 or over, you must be on an income related benefit, and not be eligible for a |Home Trust Loan. Also, you must have owned and lived in that property as your sole residence for three years prior to applying. If you are a tenant, you must be liable for repairing obligations under your lease and have lived at the property for three years before the date of your application.
The maximum amount of grant available for a Major Works Grant is £25,000 and will be subject to a means-test. Please note that if an owner-occupier is awarded a Major Works Grant, conditions of future occupation apply for a period of five years, from the certified date of completion of the work. If the property is sold or otherwise disposed of within the grant period, it will have to be repaid, unless it can be shown that the sale or disposal of the property is due to exceptional hardship or due to the demise of the owner occupier.Please also note that the outstanding debt is registered in the Council's local Land Charges Register, which will mean the existence of the debt which will be declared to anyone undertaking a land charges search during the five year period that the grant conditions remain in force.
Minor Works Grants
These grants are for works which are necessary to remedy a Category 1 Hazard, or to keep the property free from serious disrepair. The grant limit is up to a maximum of £5,000 on any one application and there can be no further grant within three years of completion. In order to qualify the applicant must be on a means tested benefit, and not be eligible for a |Home Trust Loan. Also, you must have owned and lived in that property as your sole residence for three years prior to applying. If you are a tenant, you must be liable for repairing obligations under your lease and have lived at the property for three years before the date of your application. Please note that if an owner-occupier is awarded a Minor Works Grant, conditions of future occupation apply for a period of five years, from the certified date of completion of the work. If the property is sold or otherwise disposed of within the grant period, it will have to be repaid, unless it can be shown that the sale of the property is due to exceptional hardship or due to the demise of the owner-occupier.The outstanding debt is registered in the Council's local Land Charges Register, which will mean the existence of the debt which will be declared to anyone undertaking a land charges search during the five year period that the grant conditions remain in force.
Examples of works for which Minor Works Grants could be given include works to keep the property wind and weather tight, treatment of dampness, defective windows and doors, or other works supported by the Private Sector Housing Team.
Energy Efficiency Grants
These grants can be made available to owner occupiers and tenants to complement national or local grant programmes, such as |Warm Front, etc. Applicants are expected to apply for the national or local grants initially, where they are eligible and seek 'top up' if necessary . Energy Efficiency Grants will be available to applicants up to a maximum of £1,000 per Grant. All grants are subject to budget availability. There is no requirement to repay the grant, if an owner-occupier sells the property after the work has been completed.
How to apply for a Grant
Please fill in the |combined grant enquiry and preliminary assessment form and send it back to us.
Who can qualify for a grant?
This will depend on the type of ownership/occupation, the type of work that is to be undertaken or the type of property and may involve a means test of the financial circumstances of the applicant.
Will I have to pay the grant back?
This will depend on the type of ownership/occupation of the property and the type of grant that is given. Please refer to the conditions for each category of grant.
The availability of a grant cannot be guaranteed until you have received a written formal approval document. A Grant cannot be paid towards any work done before the grant is formally approved.
