Aids and adaptions
We understand how important your home is to you.
PA Housing is committed to making a lasting difference to the everyday lives of our customers by providing support for them to live as independently as possible and make the best use of the facilities within their homes.
Your home could be adapted or fitted with special aids to make it easier to live in so that you can enjoy more independence and your loved ones can have peace of mind. This could restore dignity, improve safety, and make life easier both for disabled people themselves and for their carers. It can be crucial in avoiding a move into care or enabling someone to leave hospital.
Adaptations can be minor or major, and the type of adaptation you receive will depend on your individual needs. There are 3 categories of aids and adaptations that we can help you with:
Where possible we would like to help you remain in your home.
Equipment and Aids
Your local authority will provide a range of freestanding portable or medical aids, including but not limited to:
- Portable hoists.
- Hospital beds.
- Toilet frames.
- Shower chairs.
- Bathing equipment.
Please note that all requests for equipment and aids will be processed by the local authority and all correspondence should be between them and yourself.
What can we provide?
Each year we make budget available for providing minor aids and adaptations to our customers’ homes.
Minor Adaptations
These works are normally recommended by an Occupational Therapist and funded by PA Housing up to a value of £500. They include but are not limited to:
- Grab rails.
- Fitting extra handrails near steps or stairs.
- Changing taps to lever taps.
- Small or removable ramps.
- Flashing or amplified doorbells
Major Adaptations
These are works that cost more than £1,000 and usually involve structural alterations, improvements or additions to the fabric of the building. Some examples include:
- Level access showers.
- Large permanent ramps.
- Stair lifts.
- Through floor lifts.
- Tracked hoists.
- Door widening.
- And more.
How to make a start
All enquiries and/or applications for aids and adaptations should be referred to the local authority first, clearly stating that you are a PA Housing resident. The local authority is responsible for managing all requests and will determine your eligibility. They will arrange for an Occupational Therapist to visit your home and assess your current situation to make sure that any adaptations meet your individual needs.
Once you’ve had your assessment, the Occupational Therapist will send us their written recommendations for us to review and action.
What next?
Once we have received all the relevant paperwork, we can begin to plan the works. If these works are minor, we will be able to carry them out as part of our normal repairs service for customers and they will be undertaken within our normal repair response time.
Major adaptations are partially or wholly funded via a local authority means-tested Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) up to a maximum value of £30,000. The means testing process will assess your financial situation and may conclude that a resident contribution is necessary. In these cases, we will contribute up to the first £1000 towards the cost of this. If the adaptations are for a child, you will not need to be assessed for a financial contribution.
Once the details have been agreed, we will liaise with the local authority throughout the process until the work has been completed. We will provide regular updates as works progress. After the works on your adaptation have been completed, we will arrange a date and time to inspect the work and make sure you’re happy. This would be the best time for you to tell us about your experience of the process, so that we can improve our services for you and other customers in the future.
We keep a record of all homes in which adaptations are present, and we will make every effort to allocate vacant adapted properties to customers who would most benefit from the provisions.
What if my home can’t be adapted?
Sometimes it is just not possible to adapt your home to meet your requirements. If this happens the OT report will recommend rehousing.
When rehousing is recommended, our Home Moves Team will work closely with you to discuss the options available. This may mean moving to another PA property or it may be necessary to consider other housing providers.
Contact us
If you have any concerns, or you have any questions about damp, mould or condensation in your home, then please get in touch.
