Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Deferred
Paragraph: 52
Review the £30,000 DFG upper limit, considering regional construction costs, and set new regional limits.
Recommendation
The £30,000 upper limit on individual DFG applications is sufficient to cover the cost of most DFG applications. However, the fact that the upper limit has not changed since 2008, despite recent rising construction costs, means the DFG does not meet the needs of some applicants whose adaptations cost more than £30,000. Consequently, a small number of disabled people who require more complex adaptations may struggle to afford to self-fund the home adaptations they need. The Government should immediately review the £30,000 upper limit on individual DFGs, with consideration for regional variation in construction costs, and set new regional upper limits. Going forward, the new upper limits must also take account of inflation and construction costs.
Government Response Summary
The government outlines measures to support disabled people in the Private Rented Sector, including existing Equality Act provisions and new ones in the Renters' Rights Bill, but does not address the recommendation to review the £30,000 upper limit for individual Disabled Facilities Grants.
Paragraph Reference:
52
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
36. The department will continue to explore potential further changes to help support disabled people living in the PRS to access home adaptations. 37. Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 mean that a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a request for reasonable adjustments. Measures in this government’s Renters’ Rights Bill will improve the situation for disabled renters who request home adaptations. The abolition of section 21 will remove the threat of retaliatory eviction, empowering tenants to request the home adaptations that they need and to complain if their requests are unreasonably refused. 38. The government’s Renters’ Rights Bill will also introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that will provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlord. This will bring tenant-landlord complaint resolution on par with established redress practices for tenants in social housing and consumers of property agent services. 39. The Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman will have broad powers to put things right for tenants where it is determined that their landlord should have done something differently when an issue was first raised with them. All cases will be considered on their own merits, and nothing will prevent fair and reasonable complaints about accessibility adaptations from being escalated, contingent on the complaint being made within the scheme rules. The government is designing the Ombudsman service with all users in mind, as required by the Government Service Standard, and will ensure that any communications strategy adequately meets the needs of disabled tenants. 40. The National Residential Landlords Association has published guidance in 2022 for landlords on making home adaptations available to those tenants who need them. https://www.nrla.org.uk/resources/looking-after-your- property/adaptations. Information for landlords on reasonable adjustments and home adaptations is also provided in the How to Rent guide here: How to rent - GOV.UK. Additionally, information for tenants on reasonable adjustments and home adaptations is provided in the How to Let guide here: How to let - GOV.UK. Conclusion 41. Government is grateful to the former Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee for their report on disabled people in the housing sector and welcomes the opportunity to continue to work with the current Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on the delivery of measures to address issues disabled people encounter in accessing suitable housing. 14