Aids and adaptations

This might be a walking aid to help with mobility or a specialist smoke alarm for people with hearing issues.

To apply for an aid, you will need to have a health and social care assessment carried out by your local authority to find out what help and support you need. You can apply for an assessment here.

This might be something straightforward, such as fitting taps which are easier to turn on or off, a grab rail by the bath or more complex adaptations such as installing a walk-in shower or the lowering of kitchen units.

In order to carry out any adaptations, you will need the approval of your landlord, Legal & General Affordable Homes. Please contact us to request approval before making any adaptations to your home.

You may also be able to obtain financial support to get an adaptation put in place from your local authority, who can award Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs).

You can apply for a grant to adapt your home, so that you can continue to live there.

• Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) are awarded by the local authority if they judge that your home needs adapting in order to meet your needs, and that the necessary works are both reasonable and practical
• You can apply whether you are a homeowner or tenant but you need to be able to certify that you intend to occupy the premises as your only, or main, residence throughout the grant period, which is currently five years
• Disabled Facilities Grants can be used to pay for works such as widening doorways and installing ramps for wheelchair access; improving or installing a suitable heating system; altering heating or lighting controls; providing access to bathroom facilities, either by means of a stair lift or a new ground floor bathroom; improving access to and around the home to make it easier to care for a disabled resident
• An occupational therapist (OT) will visit your home to assess your needs and the adaptations required

You can use this postcode checker to find the details for your local authority to apply for a grant.

For independent advice about Disabled Facilities Grants, visit the Scope website.

You can also call Scope's helpline, which provides free, independent and impartial advice and support on issues that matter to disabled people and their families:

Freephone 0808 800 3333 - the phone lines are open from Monday to Saturday - 8am to 8pm; Sunday -10am to 6pm, and most bank holidays.

Textphone - use Type Talk by dialling 18001 from a textphone followed by 0808 800 3333.