What grants are available?

The grants scheme is the principal tool for tackling disrepair and unfitness in private sector housing. During 2008-09 we approved 4,577 grants to help vulnerable people on lower incomes repair or improve their homes.

However, due to the economic downturn there has been a shortfall in our funding for 2009/10.

We have had to prioritise our workload and providing new homes for rent is our main priority. Other housing programmes, including Grants, have been affected by this shortfall.

It is necessary to significantly curtail Grants and we expect to issue 2,000 approvals this year. In the absence of more funding, this is unavoidable.

• The Disabled Facilities Grants scheme will continue to operate normally and will be unaffected.

• Mandatory Repair Grants will continue to operate and will be unaffected.

• All Approved Grants applications will continue as normal.

• Applications for HMO grants, where work has started, will be unaffected.

• Grant aid for Living Over the Shop scheme (Lots) will be available to 23 already designated town centre living initiative areas.

• All Group Repair Schemes are being put on hold.

We expect that applications for Discretionary Grants including Renovation Grants, Replacement Grants, Home Repair Assistance Grants and HMO Grants may only be approved in exceptional circumstances.

Discretionary Grant applications already in our system which have not been approved are, in general, unlikely to be approved unless sufficient funds become available.

We do not want to raise expectations about the availability of grants or have people incur costs unnecessarily and therefore it is not appropriate to continue to accept any new Preliminary Enquiries. We will be writing to those who have already submitted Preliminary Enquiry forms.

During 2008/09 we targeted grant aid in support of urban and rural regeneration:-

• 16 new Town Centre Living Initiative Areas (TCLIAs).

• 4 pilot Rural Settlements Living Over the Shops (LOTS) schemes.

• 3 Belfast Rural Arterial Route LOTS schemes on the Shankill Road, Donegall Road and Newtownards Road

• Seven Group Repair schemes involving over 245 dwellings commenced on site during 2008-09. Four of these schemes were in North Belfast, one in Upperlands near Maghera and one in Randalstown.

The grants awarded under our grants scheme are:

• Renovation Grants - maximum grant limit is £25,000.

• Replacement Grants – maximum grant limit is £31,500.

• Houses in Multiple Occupation Grants (HMO) – maximum grant limit is £25,000 for an unfit property and £10,000 for a fit property, available in designated Regeneration Areas only.

• Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) – maximum grant £25,000. (This can be increased to £50,000 where required.)

• Home Repair Assistance Grants (HRA) – maximum grant is £5,000 in any 3 year period.

• Repairs Grants – maximum grant £7,500 over a 3 year period.

• Group Repair – available to landlords and owner occupiers to improve the external fabric of terraced properties.

Further information

• Two of the grants – the Disabled Facilities Grant and the Repairs Grant are mandatory grants - while the others are discretionary.

• The major grants (Renovation, Replacement, DFG and Group Repair) are subject to means testing through the ‘Test of Resources’.  

• Where a Disabled Facilities Grant is for a dependent child, the Test of Resources is not applied.

• Landlords must make a 50% contribution to the cost of the works.  However, in Town Centre Living Initiative Areas, and Grants Urban and Rural Priority Areas the contribution is 25%.

• Grant approvals stand at around 7,000 per annum, with 300 Group Repair starts and a planned expenditure of £47.7m per annum.

• Grants are delivered through 11 Grants Offices. For more information, see our Grants Strategy.