The most common query that we receive in Neptune Bathing, is in relation to Disability Bathrooms and any Grants that may be available. So we decided to put some information together that you can peruse at your leisure.
Adaptation Grants
There are 3 different Adaptation Grants as follows:-
Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability
Mobility Aids Grant and
Housing Aid for Older People Grant
Let's give you a brief summary of each:-
Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability
This Grant is for big changes that need to be made to your home, if you have a physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual disability.
The changes that this grant covers are typically:-
a ramp to access your home,
bathroom facilities like an accessible shower or a downstairs toilet,
a stair lift,
space for wheelchair access or
a downstairs extension, like a bedroom or bathroom.
Anyone who has the above needs, can apply for this grant, whether you are a home owner, live in rented accommodation or even reside in a communal residence.
How much is the Grant for?
This grant is means tested and is calculated on the total household income, from the previous tax year. It's important to note, that this grant only covers up to 95% of the work, depending on your qualifying criteria.
Total household incomes of up to €30,000, can quality for up to 95% of the cost of the works, but household incomes over €60,000, do not qualify for the grant at all. To see the full breakdown or to download an application form, click here.
Important Note to Remember
Should you qualify for this grant, it DOES NOT COVER THE VAT cost of the work, BUT after the works have been completed, you can RECLAIM THE VAT back from the Revenue, click here for more info.
Mobility Aids Grant
This grant is to help with smaller changes to the home, like grab rails, a ramp, an accessible shower, a stair lift etc.
This grant is specifically designed for older people and/or people with a disability, who need help with moving around the home.
How much is the Grant for?
This grant is for a Maximum of €6,000, but unlike the grant above, this will cover 100% of the cost of works.
Again this grant is means tested, but is capped at a total household income of max €30,000 in the previous tax year. So if your household income was above €30,000, you would not qualify for this grant.
To see the full breakdown or to download an application form, click here.
Important Note to Remember
Should you qualify for this grant, it DOES NOT COVER THE VAT cost of the work, BUT after the works have been completed, you can RECLAIM THE VAT back from the Revenue, click here for more info.
Housing Aid for Older People Grant
This grant is slightly different to the grants above, in that, this grant is designed for people 66 or over, to do essential repairs, so that they can remain in their family home.
This grant can cover essential repairs like:-
repair or replacing a roof,
upgrading of electrical wiring,
repair or replacing doors or windows or
providing central heating, where there is none, or the existing heating system is beyond economic repair.
How much is the Grant for?
This grant is for a Maximum of €8,000, to cover up to 95% of the works.
Again this grant is means tested, with the lowest band being up to €30,000 household income, allowing for 95% of the works, up to total household income of over €60,000 in the previous tax year, not qualifying for the grant at all.
To see the full breakdown or to download an application form, click here.
Important Note to Remember
Should you qualify for this grant, it DOES COVER THE VAT cost of the work.
Occupational Therapist
An Occupational Therapist report may be needed for the Housing Adaptation Grant and the Mobility Aids Grant, but this is not required to apply for the grants. If you have not been assessed by an occupational therapist, then your local authority can arrange an assessment for you, after your application is received.
The Process
As with any application process, it can be daunting, so we will take you through the steps that we would recommend, to take the stress out of applying:-
Download the application form here for whatever grant you wish to apply for.
Don't worry about submitting quotations at this stage, as it is better to see what options you have before gathering quotations for work to be completed.
Once you have completed the application form, take it to your Doctor to be completed. Your Doctor will set the priority of how urgent your application needs to be. Either Stage 1 (urgent), Stage 2 (priority) or Stage 3 (improvements needed).
Once your Doctor has completed the form, submit it to your Local Authority Office.
Once submitted, the Local Authority Office will assess your application and send out a representative to your home, to go through the changes that you need and to agree on a Scope of Works to be done.
Once the Scope of Works has been agreed and submitted back into the Local Authority Office, a Clerk of Works will then call to your property, to assess the works to be done and to make sure that they won't cause any structural damage to your property.
On completion of this visit, you are now ready to proceed to get quotations for the proposed works.
Should you have any Bathroom adaptations, or Bathroom needs, our team in Neptune Bathing will be happy to submit quotations to you.
These quotations should now be submitted to the Local Authority Office and your grant should then be approved. You will be sent out an Approval Letter, outlining how much of a grant you have been approved for and what % of works are covered.
Now the fun part begins. You are now ready to go back to the companies that submitted you with quotations, give them a copy of your grant approval letter and let the work commence.
On completion of the agreed Scope of Works, your Local Authority will visit you for the final time, to inspect the works and to confirm that they have been completed as agreed. Once this has been signed off, the grant is released and you will pay your suppliers/workmen.
It's now time to enjoy your new surroundings 😍
The Neptune Team
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