Proposals for the Review of Private Sector Home Improvement Grants

Overview

The Department for Communities is seeking your views on proposals to improve Private Sector Home Improvement Grants, including the Disabled Facilities Grant and grants supporting home repairs.

These grants provide important support to help people live safely and independently in their homes. However, the current grants have remained largely unchanged since 2003. Since then, people’s needs, housing circumstances and the costs of carrying out repairs and adaptations have changed.

We have been reviewing the grants with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department of Health. The review has also been informed by engagement with service users, health professionals, advocacy organisations and other stakeholders.

The review has two main outcomes:

• quicker access to grant funding; and
• a more user-friendly customer journey.

The consultation sets out ten proposals covering the Disabled Facilities Grant, Repair Grant and discretionary Home Improvement Grants. They include proposals to simplify the Disabled Facilities Grant application and financial assessment process, improve support for applicants, and address specific gaps in the existing system.

Why your views matter

We would like to hear your views on these proposals, their potential impacts and whether there are other improvements we should consider. You do not need to have used a Home Improvement Grant to respond. We welcome views from individuals, families, organisations, professionals and anyone else with an interest in these proposals.

Please read the consultation document before answering the questions, as it provides further information and evidence about each proposal.

Any information you provide will be controlled and processed in line with Data Protection Legislation by the Department. To find out more about how we handle your personal information, please follow the link to see our consultation Privacy Notice. 

In order to facilitate the survey, Citizen Space, which is not operated by DfC, is used as a data processor. The NI Government Citizen Space Privacy Policy can be viewed here.