Adapting your home

An adaptation is a change to a person’s home which makes it easier to live in. Adult Social Care Services currently arranges about 6000 adaptations each year to the homes of older and disabled people.

The service user will be seen and assessed in their own home, usually by an Occupational Therapist or Community Care Worker, who will make appropriate recommendations for any adaptations required to make the home as safe as possible. Examples of adaptations may include:

Minor adaptations, such as grab rails, small ramps and stair rails are arranged by Adult Social Care Services. For example, raising the height of the bed/chair so that standing is much easier if a person has stiff, painful hips and knees or making a home safer to get around by the installation of hand rails and ramps.

The Occupational Therapist (or other worker) may also recommend aids, such as bathing equipment or a commode, these are provided following an assessment.

Many of these adaptations may be provided to enable service users to be discharged from hospital.

If the service user lives in a council or housing association property, the landlord will usually be asked to provide the work.

When a major adaptation, such as installing a stairlift or shower, is recommended and the service user owns their own home, they will be advised to apply to their own District Council for a Disabled Facilities Grant to cover the cost of the work. The grant is means tested and the applicant may be required to pay an amount towards the cost of the adaptation.

If the service user lives in a council or housing association property, the landlord will usually be asked to provide the work.