Disabled Facilities Grant for energy efficiency measures

Purpose

Coventry City Council’s Housing Assistance Policy was adopted by the Council on 12 July. Section 6.2.5 of the Housing Assistance Policy outlines the Heating and Insulation Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grant. This document details the eligibility criteria and conditions for this grant.

Policy context

Fuel poverty is a significant problem for some Coventry households, and many low-income and vulnerable individuals are affected. The latest available Government statistics for 2020 show that across the city, 20.3% of all households are fuel poor, and they are unable to afford to stay warm in their homes.

Disproportionate numbers of disabled householders are affected by fuel poverty. They are particularly vulnerable to the adverse health effects of cold homes because they:

• may have conditions that require a higher temperature to be maintained in their homes
• are likely to be less mobile and therefore find it harder to keep warm
• are likely to be in their home environment for much longer every day than other householders
• are less likely to be in paid employment and therefore more likely to be on a low income or reliant on benefits, meaning that they have a greater struggle to afford to stay warm in an energy inefficient home

Assistance provided through the Insulation and Heating Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grant scheme is expected to improve the health and wellbeing of households and to reduce hospital admissions as well as pressures on other health and social care services such as GP practices.

Enabling low-income and vulnerable households to stay warm at reasonable cost is a priority for the Council, and the Council Plan for 2016 – 2024 says that support will be provided to those experiencing fuel poverty.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for assistance, a household must satisfy the relevant requirements set out below:

The household must be owner occupiers or private tenants living in a domestic property situated in Coventry and must live in their home as their only main residence. A leaseholder must have a minimum period of 3 years remaining on their lease at the time of applying for assistance.

The household must include 

• a disabled person, or 
• person who is in hospital and is due to be discharged home, or who faces possible admission/re-admission to hospital in the future.

In either case, when at home the person must also be vulnerable to the health impacts of the cold, (listed in vulnerability and health below) and their home must require one or more of the eligible heating and insulation works. 

The disabled person in a household must have received a Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant from Coventry City Council as a result of their condition, or they must be in receipt of a disability-related benefit because of their condition and have an annual income below the relevant gross annual income threshold in the table below.

Please note:

• If a child under 18 years of age is in receipt of a disability-related benefit, no income threshold will be applied in line with DFG policy. Savings criteria will still apply.
• Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance allowance and Carers allowance will not be included in your income calculation.
• If you have previously received a DFG from Coventry City Council, no vulnerability, income or savings evidence will need to be seen.

For the person awaiting hospital discharge or facing admission/re-admission, the household must be dependent on one of the following benefits, and must have an annual income below the relevant gross annual income threshold

Benefits:

• Pension Guarantee Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment Support Allowance
• Universal Credit

In addition to a household either having a disabled person or someone due to be discharged from hospital, the person must also meet the vulnerability and health criteria and the household must meet the savings criteria.

The person must;

• be aged 65 years and above, or
• be a child aged under 16, or
• be pregnant, or

have been diagnosed with one of the following long-term health conditions:

• Cardiovascular condition (incl. coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension), transient ischemic attack etc).
• Respiratory condition (COPD, childhood asthma etc).
• Neurological condition (including dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy etc).
• Musculoskeletal conditions (incl. osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis etc).
• Blood conditions (incl. sickle cell disease, thalassemia etc).
• Diabetes.
• Mental health condition (incl. depression or anxiety)
• Disability - where the household includes a disabled person in receipt of a disability-related benefit and an assessment by the Council or its commissioned agent has determined that person is vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of a cold home. 
• Cancer
• Other chronic health conditions not listed may also be approved by the Council’s Public Health team.
• Blue badge holders, where the Blue Badge recipient is also the individual with a disability.

Savings

To be eligible, savings must be less than £8,000 (single person household), or less than £12,000 (multiple person household).

Eligible work

Where a householder is deemed eligible for assistance then subject to the conditions in section 5 below, the following work may be considered for funding:

• Installation of external wall insulation.
• Installation of cavity wall insulation.
• Installation of loft insulation.
• Provision of gas boiler or electric storage heaters.
• Replacement of existing broken or inefficient electric storage heaters.
• Provision of first-time gas central heating.
• Replacement of existing defective gas central heating system
• Provision of temporary electric heaters by the contractor prior to carrying out the repair or replacement work where necessary.
• Ventilation measures where needed alongside insulation installs
• Other minor work up to a total value of £500, including; removal of clutter, deep cleaning, hot and cold water supply, electrical and gas safety, falls and trip hazards. This work can only be funded out if heating work is also being funded. 

Eligible householders will not be required to contribute towards the cost of eligible work.

Suitable contractors to carry out the work required under the scheme have been selected through the Council’s delivery partner, ‘Act on Energy’. Contractors and installs will comply with PAS2035 regulations. Where appropriate, Act on Energy will also organise Energy Company Obligation funding to supplement the DFG monies, allowing more householders to be assisted overall.

Conditions for assistance

Assistance will be conditional upon:

• The householder satisfactorily completing all required application documents.
• The Council's commissioned agent considering that the eligible work is a priority and is necessary.
• The work being considered reasonable and practical by the commissioned agent following a retrofit assessment if required, and that the cost is below any maximum amount that may be applicable at the time. 
• Conformity with any Listed Building or Conservation Area requirements.
• Obtaining planning permission where necessary for external wall insulation, or carrying out works required by the Council to retain the appearance of a property and thereby avoid the necessity for planning permission. 
• The requirements of the Party Wall Act 1996 where relevant.
• The work being carried out by a suitable, and PAS2035 compliant where needed, contractor, selected by the Council's commissioned agent.
• The householder entering into a contract with the commissioned agent's selected contractor, and accepting that the contractor, and not the Council or the commissioned agent, will be liable for any deficiencies or defects in workmanship or materials.
• The householder allowing the Council, and its commissioned agent and a Clerk of Works, access to their home where required to consider the proposed work, examine work in progress, or examine completed work.
• Payment for the work being made by the Council directly to the commissioned agent. Payment will be conditional upon the work being carried out to the satisfaction of the commissioned agent.
• Permission being granted by the owner of the property where the eligible householder is a private tenant.

Additional conditions applicable to privately rented homes

Assistance cannot be provided if the landlord has a statutory duty to carry out the necessary work and it is reasonable in the circumstances for them to do so.

Assistance cannot be provided if the property has not achieved the necessary Energy Performance Certificate rating, or an exemption has been registered, as required by The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 as amended by the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019.

Assistance cannot be provided unless the following are also made available to the Council's commissioned agent:

1. a valid Energy Performance Certificate in accordance with the requirements of The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012. 
2. a current Landlord Gas Safety Record/Gas Safety Certificate in accordance with the requirements of The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
3. a valid Electrical Safety Report where required by The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

Upon the advice of the Council's commissioned agent, the Council may in individual cases impose a requirement that the landlord i) makes a financial contribution to the cost of the work to be carried out under the discretionary grant assistance, and/or (ii) carries out other additional work to repair or improve the property.

Other provisions 

The following provisions will also apply:

• Where the estimated cost of the eligible work exceeds £10,000, the Council’s nominated officer, or their deputy, will determine for each individual case whether additional funding can be paid beyond this amount for the eligible work.
• Minor changes to the eligibility criteria, eligible work and conditions for assistance may be made at the discretion of the Council's nominated officer or their deputy in response to operational circumstances. Details of any such changes will be posted on the Council's website.
• The Council, or its commissioned agent, will set out in writing for eligible householders the terms and conditions under which the assistance will be given. Before providing assistance, the council’s commissioned agent will also ensure that every householder receives appropriate advice or information about the extent and nature of any obligations, if relevant, that relate to the provision of assistance. The appropriate consents will be obtained from the householder who is to receive assistance, and the owner of the property if this is a different person, prior to the commencement of work. 
• The Council, or its commissioned agent, will notify a householder in writing when their application has been approved or refused. If the application is approved, the notification will specify the eligible works, the value of the assistance and the builder/contractor who will execute the works. If the application for discretionary grant assistance cannot be supported, the Council, or its commissioned agent, will give the reasons for this and confirm the procedure for appealing the decision.
• If before the work has commenced an eligible householder should die or cease to live at the property to which a written offer of discretionary grant assistance relates, the work will not proceed. If an eligible householder should die whilst the approved works are in progress, the Council may at its discretion agree to completion or making good of the works. 
• Should it become apparent that inaccurate information has been deliberately provided in an application for discretionary grant assistance, the Council reserves the right to recover the value of the improvement work carried out.

Complaints

Where a householder is dissatisfied with the performance of the commissioned agent or a contractor, they should in the first instance make a complaint to the commissioned agent. The commissioned agent will then carry out an investigation and report their findings to the householder.

Where a householder i) continues to be dissatisfied with the performance of the commissioned agent or a contractor after the commissioned agent has reported their findings, or ii) is dissatisfied with a decision made by the Council relating to the Keeping Coventry Warm Scheme, they should in the first instance submit their concerns in writing to Bret Willers, Head of Climate Change and Sustainability at Coventry City Council using the following address:

Climate Change and Sustainability Team
P.O. Box 15
Coventry City Council
Earl Street
Coventry
CV1 5RR

Where a householder continues to be dissatisfied, they may submit a formal complaint to the Council. Details of the Council’s Complaints Policy and how to make a complaint are provided on the Council’s website.

Exceptional cases

The Council recognises that there may be situations in which a person is genuinely in need of support but is precluded from being eligible for discretionary grant assistance under this Housing Assistance Policy. In these situations, the Council may consider offering assistance if the circumstances are exceptional. Only in exceptional circumstances can variations to the above eligibility criteria, eligible improvements and conditions for assistance be considered. 

Any individual cases that are put forward as exceptional will be considered on their merits by the Council’s nominated officer or their deputy.