Guide to Home Adaptations in Kent | Elderly Care Funding

Home Adaptations exist to ensure that your elderly relative’s home is as safe as it can be. These can range from small adaptations, like adding an entrance ramp, to much larger changes, such as fitting a stair lift. Occupational therapists will work with you and your elderly relative to ensure that you have everything you need.

Some small changes are available for free from Kent County Council, but larger home adaptations are means-tested, meaning you may have to fund them yourselves or apply for a grant.

This page will guide you through everything you need to know about how to get a home assessment in Kent and how to fund home adaptations.

Getting a Home Assessment in Kent
Grants Available in Kent for Larger Home Alterations

Getting a Home Assessment in Kent

If you think you need to make changes to your elderly relative’s home, you should organise a Care Needs Assessment from Kent County Council. Their assessors work alongside occupational therapists and will be able to tell you what help they can provide you with for free. They can usually only provide smaller changes for free, such as hand rails, grab rails and adapted steps.

If you need larger changes for your home that are not covered by Kent County Council, you should get in contact with Kent Safe and Well. Kent Safe and Well can help you to identify the daily living aids that could help, or guide you to other relevant local services.

Some of their services are free, such as an online self-assessment and telephone advice. If you want more thorough assistance, you can organise for a Safe and Well occupational therapist to carry out a home visit. As part of this home visit they will spend at least an hour with your relative working out exactly what help they may need first-hand, as well as looking out for potential future concerns.

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Grants Available in Kent for Larger Home Alterations

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)

The Disabled Facilities Grant is for people who are disabled and need to make changes to their home, up to the value of £30,000. How much you are eligible to receive depends on your household income and household savings over £6,000.

Applications for a Disabled Facilities Grant are made through your local borough council. In most cases, they will make a referral to an occupational therapist from Kent County Council, who will come to your relative’s house to help determine what changes are needed.

The process of applying for the Disabled Facilities Grant varies from council to council and some of them require you to get in contact with their Private Sector Housing Team.

Details of the process for each council, alongside contact details, can be found from the links below. If no number is listed for your borough, then we would recommend calling the Kent County Council Assessment and Enablement team on 0300 041 6161.