How does the means test work for a Disabled Facilities Grant?

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A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) helps fund essential home adaptations for disabled people, such as ramps, stairlifts, level-access showers, or wider doorways, but unlike many housing grants, adult applicants face a means test that can significantly reduce or eliminate the grant available. **No means test for disabled children** Where the adaptation is needed for a disabled CHILD under 18, the Disabled Facilities Grant is not means-tested at all -- the household's income and savings are not taken into account, and the full assessed grant (up to the statutory maximum) can be awarded regardless of the family's financial circumstances. **Means testing for disabled adults** For adaptations needed by a disabled adult, the means test looks at the disabled person's own income and savings (and their partner's, if they have one, but not other household members such as adult children or lodgers), broadly similar in structure to the means test used for other benefits, to work out how much the applicant is expected to contribute towards the cost of the adaptation themselves before the grant covers the rest. **How the assessed contribution works** The council calculates an assessed weekly ability to pay based on income and capital (savings and other assets above a set disregard threshold reduce the grant available, similar in principle to how savings above a threshold reduce entitlement to means-tested benefits), and this feeds into a formula determining how much of the total adaptation cost the applicant must fund themselves versus how much the grant will cover. **Worked example** A disabled adult needs a stairlift and level-access shower costing £18,000 in total. Following the means test, the council assesses that, based on their income and savings, they can reasonably be expected to contribute £3,000 towards the cost themselves. The Disabled Facilities Grant would then cover the remaining £15,000, well within the statutory maximum grant limit -- if the means test instead found they could contribute the full £18,000 themselves, no grant element would be payable at all, even though the adaptation is genuinely needed. **The maximum grant amount** In England, the maximum Disabled Facilities Grant available is £30,000 (figures differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which run their own equivalent schemes) -- if the assessed cost of necessary adaptations exceeds this maximum, the applicant (or the council, in some cases, through additional discretionary funding) needs to find another way to cover the shortfall. **Passported benefits can simplify the process** Applicants already receiving certain means-tested benefits (such as Universal Credit, Income Support, or Pension Credit guarantee credit) are often automatically treated as having no assessed contribution to make, since their existing benefit entitlement already confirms they meet a low-income threshold -- this can significantly speed up and simplify the DFG application process for those already on qualifying benefits. **How to apply** Applications for a Disabled Facilities Grant are made through the local council, and usually require an assessment by an occupational therapist confirming the adaptations are necessary and appropriate for the applicant's specific needs, before the means test and grant calculation are carried out -- the process can take a considerable time from initial referral to the work being completed, so early application is advisable once a need is identified. **Practical tip** If applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant for a disabled adult, get an early occupational therapist assessment and check whether you are already receiving a passported benefit that would remove the need for a full means test, since this can substantially speed up the process and clarify how much (if any) contribution you will need to make towards the adaptation cost.

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