Renovation Grants
Environmental Health
The Council approves a range of grants to help owners improve and repair their homes. The Council's current policy is part of an overall programme to reduce unfitness, provides assistance to the private sector, help with the provision of social , and generally improvement of the environment of residential areas. Eligibility and the amount of grant is determined by a 'means test'.
House Renovation (or Major Works) Grants may be available if your home is deemed unfit to live in and you, as owner/occupier, cannot afford to pay for essential repairs. Only the most serious defects qualify - such as the lack of a bath or an inside toilet, or the presence of extensive dampness, for example - and the applicant's income is taken into account when determining whether council assistance is appropriate. We have a policy in place to ensure these discretionary grants are fairly and properly awarded and comply with the Central Government scheme. This stipulates the conditions that must apply when grants are awarded.
Disabled Facilities Grants may be made for modifications to the homes of people with disabilities if the renovations will enable them to continue living at home or will improve their quality of life. The work might entail installing access ramps or replacing a bath with a shower, for example. We will need to carry out an assessment of the applicant's disability in order to decide the most appropriate modifications or adaptations to be made to the property.
The Council supports the Shropshire Care and Repair Home Improvement Agency, which assists the elderly, disabled and vulnerable persons to organise essential works to their home.
Minor Works Grants can help with minor works. The scheme limits the grants to a maximum of £4000 in any three years and they are available only to applicants on very low incomes who also meet certain other criteria.
Normally all these types of grants are made only to applicants who are freeholders or leaseholders of the property concerned. But private or association tenants may sometimes qualify for Disabled Facilities Grants or Home Repair Assistance Grants.
If you are eligible for our help, you will need to obtain estimates from two different contractors covering all of the works set out in the Grant Schedule. Once you have received confirmation from us that your application has been approved, you must use one of these two contractors to carry out the work or the council will not pay out the grant.
Related Documents
Private Sector Strategy and Policy
Related Links
Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
Shropshire Care and Repair Home Improvement Agency
| email: | envhealth@northshropshiredc.gov.uk |
|---|---|
| telephone: | 01393 238460 |
| fax: | 01939 238468 |
