Council housing - disabled adaptations

Exeter City Council's Housing Service is committed to providing tenants who need them with disabled adaptations to help their independent living and dignity. The council will endeavour to use its skills and experience to provide such tenants and their carers with an efficient, effective and helpful service.

The help available

Alterations to your home may help you, and anyone caring for you, to manage daily activities more easily.

Eligibility

You will be considered for disabled adaptations if:

• you are an Exeter City Council tenant, and
• you have a physical disability which has a serious and long-term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

Minor adaptations

We class minor adaptations as:

• handrails by outside doors, in bathrooms and landings
• additional stair rails
• outside handrails by steps
• half steps at front or back door
• window winders
• lever taps
• level internal thresholds
• moving door intercoms
• changing kitchen cupboard door/drawer handles
• door, frame and wall protectors for wheelchair users
• raising electric sockets to waist height
• additional sockets to prevent trailing cables
• outside lighting near entrance doors for tenants who are partially sighted
• highlighted step edges on outside steps
• wider paths

If you require any of these works in order to improve your safety and independence. You can contact the Council directly on the Repairs number 01392 265381 where the council's Technical Officer will arrange to visit the property if required and then issue the work to one of our contractors.

Larger adaptations

Larger and more costly adaptations require the advice of an occupational therapist and involvement of the council's Technical Officer; below are examples larger adaptations:

• a stair lift
• an adapted kitchen
• a walk-in shower
• ramped access to your home
• widening of doorways

If you believe that you require any of these or other larger adaptations you will need to contact Social Services via Care Direct on 0845 1551 007, who will arrange for an Occupational therapist to visit you to look at your personal circumstances and find out what you need to enable you to live as safely and independently as possible in your home.

Once the occupational therapist has visited you and has assessed that the work is required and is practicable, they will send us a referral for the work, telling us what priority your case is, anything that is considered urgent will be done quickly but other works may have a waiting time of up to twelve months.

Payment

Where adaptations cost over £1,000 everyone will be means-tested to assess their ability to contribute towards the cost. You will be asked to complete a form and will provide any help required to do this.

Alternatives

Sometimes it makes more sense for you to move to a different, more suitable property or one that has already been adapted, through our Home Choice scheme. If this is the case we will talk to you and/or your family, friends, carers and occupational therapist about a possible move.

Moving for mobility reasons

If you are willing to move from one council home to another one which is already adapted to suit your disability needs (rather than have the work carried out on your current home which is often very expensive and sometimes impossible to do), you may be entitled to:

• £500 disturbance allowance (for carpets, curtains and so on), and
• removal costs, subject to the £500 limit

Please contact your Estate Officer for more details

If your needs change

If your needs change after any adaptations have been made - for example, if you find you can no longer do something you could manage before - please contact Care Direct again they will arrange to reassess your needs.

Complaints

We try to get things right first time although sometimes this does not happen. If you have any worries about how you have been treated please let us know and we will try to sort out the problem. We will listen to what you say and deal fairly with your concerns.

If you wish to make a complaint, please ask for our Complaints leaflet which will tell you what to do.

Data protection

We will need to keep some of your personal data - including sensitive personal data - to process your request and carry out the adaptations.

We will treat all information as strictly confidential; however, we may share information with other council departments and contractors but only to make sure the work is carried out effectively.

Photograph of typical level access shower printed with the permission of First class Independent Living.

If you require further information about these service please see the  Home Adaptations Service [172kb] leaflet.

List of contacts

Exeter City Council Repairs Team

Civic Centre
Paris Street
EXETER
EX1 1RQ
01392 265031
housing.repairs@exeter.gov.uk

Exeter City Council Estate Management Team

Civic Centre
Paris Street
EXETER
EX1 1RQ
01392 265032
estate.management@exeter.gov.uk

Care Direct Devon County Council

0845 155 1007

Devon Home Choice

Phase II Room 2.33
Civic Centre
Paris St
Exeter
EX1 1RQ
01392 265889