Grants and Government Loans for Home Improvement

Published on May 28, 2014 by John Stringer in Home Improvement, News, Property Investment

There are many house owners and tenants throughout the United Kingdom who are not aware of the various Government Grant and Loans that are available to them for Home Improvement.

Such Grants or Loans enable the applicant to upgrade their property to improve, for example, Home Energy Efficiency and avail themselves of The Green Deal. For those with a disability, there are Grants available to enable them to install such equipment necessary in order to provide easier mobility within the property.

Most of the loans and grants are managed on behalf the government by the Local Authority in your area. The purpose of this article is to enable readers to learn what Government Home Improvement Loans and Grants are available and how to go about applying to the various Local Authority departments.

What Is a Government Home Improvement Loan?

Whilst most Local Authorities have different terms and conditions, in essence, a Government Home Improvement Loan is a loan provided by the UK government to enable you to undertake maintenance work to your property such as building, electrical, plumbing, plastering, painting/decorating and even flooring/carpets. Loans will be repayable over a predetermined period and at an interest rate decided by the Local Authority. Such loans will enable you to bring your house up to present-day acceptable standards of repair, thus making your home a more suitable environment in which to live. They also include energy efficiency improvements such as double glazing, loft and cavity-wall insulation and even the upgrading or replacement of heating boilers.

Can You Get the Loan If You Are Not the Owner of the House?

Under certain circumstances you don’t necessarily have to be the homeowner in order to be eligible for either a Government Grant or Loan. All that is needed to prove your eligibility, is to satisfy the relevant Local Authority that the property for which you are claiming is your current home or is available for you to live in as your primary address. Surprisingly, such loans and grants can be extended to include even mobile homes and boats, such as canal longboats. The criteria for determining who can actually apply for a grant or loan relates primarily to the use of the property in question. However, insofar as rented accommodation is concerned, it is essential that you obtain your landlord’s permission prior to submitting your application to the Local Authority. In certain circumstances, the landlord may be required by law to undertake and put right the repairs that you deem necessary.

What Is Disrepair?

The official definition of “Disrepair” is the “condition of being in need of repair, worn out or in poor working conditions.” It is a well-known fact that certain cases of Disrepair can cause illness and stress to the occupants as well as possible damage to contents and inconvenience whilst repairs are carried out. Insofar as Local Authorities are concerned, they will do all they can to keep such inconvenience to a minimum, whilst at the same time ensuring that occupants are not affected by either stress or illness. If you are not the owner of the house, it is essential that in the 1^st instance, you discuss matters with your landlord and if unsuccessful, then proceed with a claim for a Grant or Loan to carry out essential repairs. (See http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/common_problems/compensation_for_disrepair for additional information)

How can Your Local Authority Help You?

As we have mentioned previously in this article, your first port of call is indeed your Local Authority. It is they, whether you are a house owner or a tenant that will make a decision as to whether you qualify for any Grant or Loan. Having successfully passed this hurdle, your Local Authority will advise you as to those specific Grants and Loans that may well be available to you for the property in which you live. By definition, it is the duty of your Local Authority to assist in ensuring that the property is not in a permanent state of disrepair and it is therefore in their interests to assist in processing any claim for such Grants, in order to keep the relevant property in a good and effective working condition. This applies both to property owned by the applicant and also that rented by the tenant.

What Are Your Rights When You Apply for Help with Home Improvements?

Whilst each Local Authority may have different terms and conditions in relation to Loans and Grants, it does have certain obligations that it must fulfill. One of the most important of such rules is that they cannot be completely rigid or unreasonable and must take into account the individual circumstances of the applicant. That said, in order to protect your rights, the Local Authority must undertake the following points:

Ensure that a copy of it rules for application and relating to the type of help it will provide, are available for you to collect and examine, free of charge, from its main office.
It must follow its own rules when determining whether you qualify for a Grant or Loan.
With regards to a loan, it must satisfy itself that you are able to pay towards any help it offers before you have to pay anything. Under no circumstances should it offer you a loan if it suspects you are unable to repay it.
If you are the homeowner, it must get your written consent before carrying out any works on the home, as well as obtaining the consent of anyone else that is likely to be affected should it decide to change the form of help that had previously been agreed.
Ensure that you have received the correct advice and information relating to any responsibilities that you may have, should the Local Authority agree to help you.
It must obtain your consent before it changes any condition that you must meet prior to granting the Loan or Grant.

There are certain other terms and conditions that various local authority throughout the country must comply with prior to your obtaining a Grant or Loan and it is essential that you verify your overall rights with that Authority before signing a letter of acceptance. (Additional reference from http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/housing_e/housing_moving_and_improving_your_home_e/help_with_home_improvements.htm)

How to Apply for a Loan?

Once again, each Local Authority has its own system of operation along with its own terms and conditions. It is therefore essential that you contact your own Local Authority and request from them the various forms and other paperwork that you will be required to complete. For guidance, such forms are available in Braille and it is the Local Authority’s obligation to either ensure that you know how to complete such forms or alternatively, provide as much assistance as is possible to help each individual to correctly complete the documentation that is required. Applicants should be interested to note that the Citizens Advice Bureau and similar organisations are fully experienced in assisting applicants to complete the correct documentation.

Payments of Grants and Loans

Once again, different procedures apply to different Local Authorities. However, they will not usually pay the grant or loan until such times as the work has been fully completed. You will then be required to submit final invoices for the work, showing that the invoices have been paid in full. They will then normally examine the work and confirm that it has been completed in accordance with the definitions of the grant. This is normally done within 2 weeks of notification. It will then take a further 4 weeks for either a cheque to be issued to the claimant or for the money to be paid direct to the claimant’s bank account. Under certain circumstances, the claimant can agree and give written authorisation for the grant to be paid direct to the contractor, provided that the balance of invoice has been paid by the claimant, prior to submitting documentation in support of the overall claim.

What Is a Disabled Facilities Grant?

Basically, this is a grant provided to adapt a property in which a disabled person lives. This can include such items such as the widening of doors and the provision of ramps; the provision and installation of chairlifts; the installation of a downstairs bathroom and indeed most facilities required by a disabled person to enable them to live in the property in a more accessible and convenient way. Depending upon which part of the United Kingdom you reside, there are different Government Grants available to such persons. It is therefore essential that you contact either the Local Authority in your area or seek further advice via the UK Government’s website https://www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants/overview

How to Apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant

Before you apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant, we do suggest that you ask for an occupational therapist to have a look at your circumstances and then give a recommendation for the type of changes to the property that may be required in order to improve your living standards. You will need to ascertain the type of work that needs to be done and also the cost of the work. This information will need to be submitted along with the relevant application form supplied by your Local Authority. You may also be asked to supply 2 separate estimates for the work involved. It is essential that you do not start any work prior to receiving a letter from the Local Authority that your application for a grant has been successful. Depending upon which part of the United Kingdom you live, different grants will be made available and in certain circumstances, you may be required to make a contribution towards the cost of repairs. This normally relates to either the income of the individual or the overall income of the household. Whilst it might seem a long period of time, you should normally hear the results of your application within 6 months of its submission. However, if you do not agree with the decision made by the Local Authority, you do have a right to appeal and if still unsuccessful, you may take your application for final decision to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Home Energy Efficiency Schemes

Once more, dependent upon which part of the UK you reside, there are different terms, conditions and titles relating to A Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. In essence, each scheme enables a house owner, or under certain circumstances a tenant, to apply for a Grant to assist the applicant in reducing the cost of heating bills and increase the efficiency of heating systems. Such Grants can relate to the installation of loft and cavity-wall insulation, double glazing and boiler repair or replacement. The amount of Grants that may be available are strictly dependent upon which area of the country you reside and indeed any such Grants will be subject to the overall income of the property residents. There are certain areas of the country where this obligation is placed upon the Energy Suppliers whilst in other areas the overall cost of the Grant is borne by the government, under the auspices of the Local Authority. It is therefore essential that you do apply in the first instance to your Local Authority and determine which Grants could be available to you.

What Is the Green Deal?

The Green Deal is essentially a Government initiative but is primarily applicable to those living in England. Whilst the intent is the same, there are different schemes applying to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The initiative aims to assist consumers in making their homes more energy efficient but without having to pay for the work and improvements upfront. The initiative includes the necessary advice on how to improve energy efficiency within your home and in certain circumstances, can include a loan to undertake these measures. If you take out a loan through the Green Deal Finance initiative, then your loan repayments are made via your energy bills and the idea is that the loan repayments are offset by the energy efficiency achieved by such improvements. You should note however, that this is not a Government Grant even though it is a Government initiative but instead it is a commercial loan from the contributing energy company. The loans enable you to install such energy efficient measures such as cavity-wall insulation, double glazing or even a new boiler. The loan, in the form of a long-term finance, is attached to your home and when you come to sell your home, the loan will be passed on to the next owners. We cannot emphasise enough that you should take professional advice before even considering applying for a loan under the terms of the Green Deal. (Additional information – http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/energy-grants/the-green-deal/)

Home Improvement Agencies

A Home Improvement Agency is an independent body that assists our most vulnerable people in maintaining complete independence within their own homes. Normally, they are independent charities but on occasion can be provided and staffed through a recognised Housing Association or Care Provider. The agencies are primarily funded by local authorities but can also involve such public sector organisations as Primary Care Trusts, the Police and even the Fire and Rescue Services. The agencies will help by visiting clients at their home address and helping to decide what type of house alterations are best suited for the individual’s needs. They will advise on any entitlement for financial help, such as Home Improvement Grants or Loans and then will help the individual determine the sort of work and disabled aids that will be needed to carry out and to generally make homes more energy-efficient. Such work where applicable, will often be carried out in association with an Occupational Therapists and this often enables a reduction in the response time from the initial referral to the actual completion of the improvement works.

Concluding Remarks

You will now see that there is a myriad of Home Improvement Grants and Loans available to the general house owner and tenant. Of course, the extent of the grant or loan is relative to the individual’s personal circumstance and the amount available does vary considerably from area to area within the UK. There are, however, two major items that you should always consider: confirm with your Local Authority as to what grants could be personally available to you and never, ever undertake any work before you receive written confirmation from the Local Authority that you have been approved an appropriate Home Improvement Grant or Loan.