Solihull Council is introducing a new Housing Assistance Policy following its approval at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday 16 September.
The new policy gives the Council more flexibility in the use of funding to pay for housing adaptations to enable children and adults with care and support needs to stay in their own home and live independently for longer.
The funding, known as the Disabled Facilities Grant, enables adaptations such as widening doors and installing ramps for wheelchair access, adapting a current bathroom or bedroom or providing the means to access a garden safely. It can also provide adaptations to help keep anyone with a permanent disability of any kind safe in their home.
Homeowners, private tenants and parents/guardians of disabled children can apply for a grant if the disabled person is living in the property.
Cllr Tony Dicicco, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, thanked everyone who took part in the recent consultation and shared their views. He said: “I was pleased to see many positive comments about the policy and the opportunities it gives us to use the funding in more flexible ways.
He continued: “As an example, we can now fund approved adaptations beyond the old limit of £30,000 in defined circumstances, we can widen eligibility to include those in more difficult financial circumstances and make lower level adaptations easier such as lighting or safer property access. I would encourage residents to start making use of these new opportunities.”
The new Housing Assistance Policy, developed jointly by Solihull Council and Solihull Community Housing, comes into force on Monday 20 September.