Aids and adaptations are changes you can make to your home. These make it safer and easier to move around and do everyday tasks.
Examples of aids and adaptations include:
- Stair rails.
- Ramps to your front door.
- Lever taps.
Usually, you don’t need to pay for aids and adaptations. They are either funded by MTVH or a grant from your local council.
How to request aids and adaptations
Get an occupational therapy assessment
Ask your local council for an assessment by an occupational therapist.
Your council will arrange for an occupational therapist to visit you at home and identify any improvements your home may need.
Look for a section on your local council’s website that talks about ‘adaptations’ or ‘housing’ or ‘occupational therapy.’ If you can’t find it, contact your local council’s general number.
If the waiting time for an assessment is longer than 8 weeks
Your local council should tell you how long it will take for you to get an assessment.
If it’s longer than 8 weeks, we may be able to arrange an assessment from our own occupational therapist. Contact us online to request this. You will need to provide proof that your waiting time is longer than 8 weeks – for example, an email or letter from your local council.
After the assessment
The occupational therapist will write a report to show you how they plan to adapt your home. They will share the report with you and us.
Once we’ve reviewed the report, we’ll contact you to arrange a convenient time to install the adaptations.
Installing the aids and adaptations
How long it takes to do the work depends if they are ‘minor’ or ‘major’ adaptations.
Minor adaptations
We will install minor adaptations within 28 working days.
Minor adaptations are small improvements – for example:
- Grab and stair rails.
- Lever taps.
- Steps to a front door with a handrail.
Major adaptations
Major adaptations usually take longer. The work may be done by your local council. We’ll let you know when we expect the work to be complete.
Major adaptations are larger improvements that involve structural changes – for example:
- Wet room (a shower area that doesn’t have steps to access it).
- A ramp to a front or back door.
Aids and adaptations policy
Our policy provides more information about how we work and the standards we hold ourselves to.