If a disability or long-term condition is making a bathroom unsafe — a parent who can no longer step over the bath, a child who needs level access, a partner living with dementia or MS — a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) can pay for the adaptations: up to £30,000 in England. It is one of the most under-used forms of help in the country, partly because the process looks intimidating. It isn't, once you know the order of the steps. This guide explains the whole thing in plain English.
Two honest notes before we start. First: this is general information about the rules in England (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ), correct as of July 2026 — your council makes every actual decision. Second: we're a bathroom firm, not part of any council, and our free DFG help never obliges you to use us for any work.
What a DFG is — and why councils can't just say no
The DFG comes from an Act of Parliament (the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996). That matters for one big reason: for qualifying works it is a mandatory grant. If the conditions are met, the law says the council "shall approve" the application — government guidance is explicit that refusing applications because money is tight is unlawful. You are not asking for a favour; you're using a statutory right.
Bathrooms are at the heart of what the grant is for. The law specifically covers works that make it easier to:
- get to and use a toilet,
- get to and use a bath or shower (walk-in showers and wet rooms are the classic DFG bathroom job),
- get to and use a washbasin.
It also covers ramps and access, safety works, bedroom access, heating, and getting around the home to care for someone else — but if you're reading this, the bathroom is probably the battleground.
Who counts as disabled?
Wider than most people assume. The legal definition includes substantial physical disability from illness or injury, substantially impaired sight, hearing or speech, and "mental disorder or impairment of any kind". Government guidance confirms it covers autism, dementia, progressive conditions like motor neurone disease, terminal illness and mental health conditions. You do not need to be on a disability register — being eligible to be registered is enough. Nor do you need to receive disability benefits.
The money: what you get and what you might pay
The mandatory grant is worth up to £30,000 per application in England. Whether you contribute anything depends on a means test of the disabled person's (and their partner's) income and savings — not the wider family's. Three situations cover most people:
- The disabled person (or their partner) receives a means-tested benefit. Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, Universal Credit, income-related ESA, income-based JSA, Income Support or Housing Benefit all "passport" the application: the contribution is assessed as nil. (Contribution-based ESA/JSA and Savings Pension Credit don't passport.)
- The application is for a disabled child or qualifying young person (broadly: under 16, or 16–19 and still in full-time school or college education). There is no means test at all — parents' income and savings are irrelevant.
- Neither applies. The council runs the means test (savings over £6,000 count) and may assess a contribution. Plenty of applicants are still assessed as paying only part of the cost — and even a "nil grant" outcome can reduce your contribution on a future application, so completing the process is rarely wasted.
Useful facts most families don't know: a DFG does not affect any benefits you already receive; most adaptation work is zero-rated for VAT; the grant can also cover the associated fees (surveys, drawings, building-regs applications); and councils aren't allowed to charge you for processing the application.
"Will I have to pay it back if I sell?"
Almost always no — and never for tenants. For owner-occupiers only, where the grant was more than £5,000, the council may (it's discretionary, and varies by council) register a charge on the property. It only bites if you sell within 10 years of the work finishing, it can only recover the slice above £5,000, it's capped at £10,000, and the council must first consider whether repayment is reasonable given hardship, health, care or employment reasons for the move.
Renting? You can still apply
- Private tenants apply with their landlord's permission — and guidance is clear a landlord shouldn't refuse without a very good reason. (Landlords can also apply themselves, without a means test.)
- Housing association tenants apply to the council like anyone else, with the landlord's consent.
- Council tenants can apply too, though many councils simply adapt their own homes instead — in Greenwich, for example, council tenants don't need a grant at all, and Lewisham runs a separate service for its tenants. Ask your council which route applies.
One condition for owners: you certify that the disabled person intends to live in the home for the grant period (normally five years) — or less where health circumstances, such as terminal illness, mean that isn't realistic.
The process, step by step (get the order right)
The single most useful thing this guide can tell you: don't start by applying for the grant. Start by asking for an occupational therapy assessment. Every council in our area works this way.
- Ask your council for an occupational therapist (OT) assessment. The OT visits, watches how the person actually uses the bathroom, and writes up what adaptations are "necessary and appropriate". In the Kent districts (Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks) the OT comes via Kent County Council; in Medway and the London boroughs, via the council's own adult social care team.
- The grant application follows the OT's recommendations. The council checks the works are reasonable and practicable for the property, runs the means test (unless exempt), and asks for normally two written contractor estimates.
- Decision within 6 months — that's a legal deadline, and with a home improvement agency helping, government guidance expects approval much faster. If you're unhappy with a decision you can appeal to the council and then to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.
- Only after written approval does any work start. Work begun early generally can't be funded — no reputable contractor should ever suggest it. The work should then complete within 12 months.
Your council: who to call first
Contacts below are from each council's own website, checked July 2026 (schemes and numbers do change — the council's word is final). Anywhere else, start at gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants.
| Council area | First call | Local schemes worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Dartford | Private Sector Housing team, 01322 343152 | No published top-up above £30,000; minor adaptations up to £1,000 go through Kent County Council's OT service instead. |
| Gravesham (Gravesend) | Kent County Council OT assessment, 03000 416161 | Fast-track for adaptations under £12,000 with no means test; discretionary top-up to £10,000; hospital discharge grant to £3,000. |
| Sevenoaks (incl. Swanley) | Kent County Council, 03000 41 61 61 — ask for the OT Duty Officer | Free HERO housing/benefits advice service can support your application. |
| Medway | disabled.adaptations@medway.gov.uk or 01634 331 200 | Discretionary adaptations grant to £15,000; non-means-tested stairlift grant to £7,000; moving-home grant to £10,000. |
| Bexley | Adult social care, 020 8303 7777 (or grantsteam@bexley.gov.uk) | Top-up to £25,000; relocation grant to £7,500; minor adaptations under £1,000 free without financial assessment. |
| Bromley | Adult Social Care, 020 8461 7777 — the grants team can't take direct applications | Council's in-house Home Improvement Agency administers the grant and assigns you a technical officer. |
| Greenwich | Adult Social Care, 020 8921 2304 | Council tenants don't need a grant — the council adapts its own homes. 2025 policy includes a £25,000 top-up and several non-means-tested grants. |
| Lewisham | 020 8314 7777 — ask for a community occupational therapy assessment | Top-up to £15,000 that is not means-tested; council tenants use the council's own aids and adaptations service instead of the DFG. |
Free help with the application
You never have to do this alone, and none of the good help costs anything: Home Improvement Agencies (often branded "Care & Repair") are government-backed, mostly not-for-profit services that help with paperwork, drawings and builders; Adapt My Home has a self-assessment tool and a contribution checker; and Citizens Advice gives free independent advice. And locally, our own 60-second DFG checker tells you whether it's worth applying, gives you your council's exact first step, and writes the letter for you.
Where GWS fits in (and where we don't)
We're the building end of this process, not the deciding end. When the council asks for contractor estimates, we provide a written fixed-price quotation to the OT's exact specification; if you choose us, we build to that specification, photograph every stage, and back the work with our 5-year workmanship guarantee — the same standard as our accessible bathrooms and wet room work generally. George will also, with your permission, attend the OT visit to help translate recommendations into practical building work, and he'll walk you through the whole process for nothing. Councils normally want more than one quote, and you're always free to choose any contractor.
About this guide. This is general information about Disabled Facilities Grants in England, correct as of July 2026 and based on gov.uk guidance, the underlying legislation and each council's published pages. It isn't advice about your individual situation, and your council makes all eligibility and payment decisions. GWS Plumbing & Bathrooms is an independent bathroom installation firm — we're not part of, endorsed by, or acting for any council. We help with DFG applications free of charge; we only earn anything if you separately choose us to carry out work. For independent advice: gov.uk, your local home improvement agency or Citizens Advice.