Adapting your home

An adaptation is a change to your home that makes it easier to live in. It might be something minor such as fitting a hand rail or moving electrical sockets, to a major adaptation like installing a through-floor lift.

Some suggestions

  • Access to your home – adding grab rails and ramps or a wheelchair lift.
  • Moving around your home – widening door frames, removing walls and rehanging doors to swing in the opposite direction.
  • Getting out of bed and up from chairs – ‘raisers' can be fitted to beds and other furniture to increase their height, or hoists installed at key locations.
  • Getting up and down stairs – adding a second banister rail, stair lift (or even building an extension so that everything is on the same floor) can all make a difference.
  • Washing, bathing and using the toilet – removing the bath and installing a ‘wet room', installing a ‘hands free' toilet (that includes a washing and drying function) or moving the toilet to a larger room could benefit you.
  • Using the kitchen –installing adjustable-height work surfaces or shallow basins with enough space underneath to allow a wheelchair.

The Disability Living Foundation has some excellent advice about the different types of adaptations available on their Living Made Easy website:

Cost of adaptations

If you're eligible for our support, we provide minor adaptations (costing less than £1,000) free of charge. For larger adaptations, we will work out what you need to pay.

If you or someone living in your property is disabled, you may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant towards the work from your borough or district council.

Choosing adaptations

Before you make any big changes to your home, get advice from an occupational therapist. See our section on occupational therapy.

You may be able to get help arranging adaptation work to be carried out from a Home Improvement Agency. They are not-for-profit organisations, managed by district and borough councils or housing associations.

If you need to add a structure or an extra room such as an accessible bathroom to your house, you may need planning permission.

Making major alterations to your home can be stressful – make sure that you have adequate support and, if necessary, can stay with a friend or relative while the work is completed.