Home adaptions (council homes)

katie0714

Just looking for some advice. 

My friend has a young child with cerebral palsy - she lives in her childhood home that is set up with the bedrooms all upstairs. 

It’s a council home and she has been hoping for a new build home that will suit her needs as the current one just doesn’t. Unfortunately there’s as yet no sign of this happening. 

Does anyone here have experience of adding on an extension to there current council home? How did you go about it? What was the price involved with a single story (bedroom and wetroom/bathroom)?

if there’s any advice at all you could give I’d be grateful and will pass it along …

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

I would start by doing a self referral for a care needs assessment on gov website 

Ot will come out and make recommendations for any adaptions or aids and then refer on to council adaptions team 

There could be other solutions like a stair lift and there may be funding available 

katie0714

Unfortunately she’s 3.5 years old and is just starting to crawl. She was hoping that they would offer her a bungalow where everything was on 1 level. 

She has recently been referred to social work for an assessment but it’s a waiting game. 

In order to adapt the home they would have to ;
Add a ramp
extend the external entrance
widen all door frames
add a stair lift
(this is just naming a few)

then there’s the fact that upon walking through the front door there’s a staircase directly in front of you and the living room to the left, no space at all to bring in a wheelchair and I’m unsure if a stairlift would fit in such a narrow space. 

It’s just difficult to think about what’s the best and right thing to do. 

She has a huge back garden and my thought was would the council add a single story extension to allow for a bathroom/bedroom? This alone would run into hundreds of thousands of pounds just to give her child the comfort he deserves. 

I just want to help her in any way I can but I’ve never been I her position so how can I best support her?

janer1967

Hi again 

I understand a bit more now 

I doubt they would approve such costly adaptions to be honest 

It would be more cost effective to rehouse 

The assessment can give her a higher priority on the council list 

Have you looked for any exchange opportunities 

Unfortunately there is such a shortage of accessible properties and if they have a home they don't seem to be a priority 

Also as her child is still young they may say not yet walking so may be carried upstairs 

I'm playing devil's advocate here of what your might come across 

Has she looked at private rent 

LouRoots8

Considering the lack of assessable properties. They may agree to adaptions. 

The disability facilities grant is available for those in council property. 

Firstly you need an OT assessment. To outline what needs doing, what the options are. 

Then work out what the council will pay for. They can award up to 30k for adaptions in England. If that doesn’t cover all the needs. You can approach other charities. There is a data base on ‘turn to us’- website that lists charities and the grants available. 

skhan95

Hy I'm interested in exchanging a flat If someone is interested or is there any advice for me please that will be helpful 
Regards 

katie0714

Hi there and thank you so much for your response. 

Yes, he isn’t walking yet but she’s also a big girl and now and overtime it will become increasingly more difficult to carry her up the stairs safely. 

I’m in agreement with you, the shortage of properties that are disability friendly is atrocious and it is something that needs to change. 

She has only 1 remaining family member so needs to be in the area for support & for her medical professionals to continue treatment. 

Private renting wouldn’t be a sensible option as she needs something that will grow and meet the needs of her family. 

I’d also say that although she does have a home, it would be beneficial not just for her but for anyone who finds themselves in this situation to become a priority. They’ve knocked two houses into one and made it into a 12 bed for a large family so why can’t they simply adapt a home to give a child the comfort they deserve!

I’ll take everything you’ve said on board and do some research. I thank you from the bottom of my heart?