Homes and Technical Services

HOUSING OPTIONS GUIDE - CHAPTER 6

6. REPAIRING AND IMPROVING OCCUPIED PRIVATE HOUSING

The Council operates a number of grant schemes to help people living in owner-occupied or privately rented housing to meet the costs of having their homes repaired, improved or adapted.

6.0 Improvement Grants

Improvement grants are mainly discretionary awards for works to improve the condition of houses and to bring them back into residential use.

A mandatory grant is available if your house is below the tolerable standard (or lacks a fixed bath or shower) and the Council has served an improvement order.

Discretionary grants at rates up to 100% are also available to make a house suitable for a disabled occupant's accommodation, welfare or employment, for example, to provide a downstairs bedroom in a purpose built extension, make access easier or make adaptations to the kitchen. Mandatory grants at a rate of 100% are also available to provide standard amenities to meet the disabled applicant's particular needs.

The current grant limit is a maximum of £20,000. The percentage available to the applicant is up to 100% depending on the income of the applicant.

6.1 Repairs Grants

Repair grants are also mostly discretionary awards. These grants cover items such as repairs to the fabric of the building, the eradication of rot and works to reduce exposure to radon gas and for the replacement of lead plumbing. The grant limit is also set at a maximum of £20,000 again depending on income. The rate for grants to replace lead plumbing and for works to reduce exposure to radon gas is subject to a test of the applicant's resources and can be available at a rate up to 100% and a minimum of 50%. If the Council consider that a house is in a serious state of disrepair, or is likely to fall into serious disrepair, they can serve a repairs notice on the property requiring the owner to rectify the faults. If the notice is served under section 108 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 a mandatory grant is available.

6.2 Council Improvement and Repair Grants

In order to qualify for grant assistance (with the exception of grants for the benefit of disabled occupants and for the replacement of lead piping) the Council Tax Band of the property to be repaired / improved must not exceed the top band which is currently band H in East Ayrshire.

If your house was built less than ten years ago you will not be eligible for grant assistance, with the exception of Disabled Grants.

Minimum Percentage Grants

For some works you will receive a minimum percentage grant of 50%. If you are entitled to more than 50% grant, you will get a higher amount. This rule is intended to encourage people to carry out essential work and work to common parts of a building.

The works to which minimum percentage grant applies are;
- Bringing a house up to a tolerable standard.
- Making a house suitable for the accommodation, welfare or employment of a
disabled person who lives or plans to live there.
- Any works to the common parts of a building in common ownership.
- Replacing lead piping.
- Reducing exposure to radon gas.

Occupiers Assessment

This assessment applies if you or a member of your family live in the house, or intend to live in the house when work is completed.

The amount of grant you may receive depends on how much applicable income you (and any partner) have received over the past year. [Partner applies to a person you are married to, or cohabit with, including same sex couples.] If you are a joint owner, or a tenant of the property the Council needs to know about the income of all other owners, or tenants, and their partners as well.

If you or you partner receive Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance, or the Guaranteed element of Pension Credit, you are assessed as having no applicable income.

Other wise to calculate your applicable income, the Council adds together all the income you have received over the past year from;

- Earnings after tax and National Insurance
- Occupational and personal pensions (not state retirement pensions)
- Interest and other payments from savings and investments
- Rent or rents received for property
- Maintenance payments

Any benefits or tax credits you get are not counted, except housing benefit.

Next the Council subtracts the following from the total income.

- Your mortgage or rent payments for the year. This is set against any Housing Benefit you receive.
- Half of what you have paid in pension contributions
- Standard allowances of;

• £47 per week for each child you have under 16, or between 16 and 21 and living at
  home
  
• £42 per week for any child who is registered blind or disabled
  
• £35 per week if you are disabled or registered blind, and single
  
• £50 per week if you have a partner, and you or your partner (or both) are registered
  blind or disabled.

The total applicable income, including all joint owners, is worked out by subtracting the applicable incomes from the allowances allowed to give you a figure.

The Council will also need to know if you have received any compensation or insurance payments which might cover the cost of the proposed works, either in relation to damage to the building or disability.

The total applicable income for the application can be compared to the table below to compare the income to the percentage level of grant.

Please note that no works must start until East Ayrshire Council has given written approval, as repair and improvement grants cannot be paid in retrospect.

Should approval of your application be granted, a £25.00 fee will be deducted from your grant money to pay for the recording dues of the Notice of Payment.

Please note grant aid is not available for the following categories:

• Replacement windows or doors
  
• Central Heating
  
• Electrical Rewiring
  
• Roughcasting
  
• Conversion and/ or derelict buildings

6.3 Enhanced level of Grant

In certain exceptional circumstances the Council can apply to the Scottish Executive for permission to increase the grant limit beyond the maximum. The Council can also apply where the costs were enhanced by measures taken to preserve the architectural or historic interest of the house. The percentage rate of grant available to the applicant cannot be increased. For application process see 6.7

6.4 Improved Order Grants

Where a house is below the tolerable standard the Council can in certain circumstances serve an Improvement Order under Section 88 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. The rate of improvement grant available in this case is 50% and subject to a test of the applicant's resources it can be increased to 100%.

6.5 Standard amenities Grants

The Council is obliged to give you a grant to help you install standard amenities if your home lacks them (this is only if there were no previous amenities in the home and not if the occupier has removed existing amenities). The standard amenities are a bath or a shower, a WC and a wash hand basin. The grant rate in this case is a minimum of 50%. For application process, see 6.7

6.6 Improvement grants for the conversion of dwellings or other buildings

The Council can also make grants available for the conversion of a dwelling, or dwellings, or other buildings into self-contained dwellings. Grant is available at a rate up to 50% and the grant limit is £20,000.

6.7 Application Process

The application process may vary slightly amongst individual Councils. The list below is a general guide. Check with the Council for the local situation.

• If the work appears to be grant-eligible then the applicant must write to the Council giving their name, address and a basic description of what improvement works need to be done to the property.
  
• A Grants Officer will then contact the applicant to arrange and make a visit to assess the grant-eligible improvement works required and explain the application process.
  
• The applicant submits an application form with a set of plans for the work and 3 estimates, the title deeds to the property, a building warrant and, in certain circumstances, planning permission. A test of the income of the applicant shall then take place based on the last full year's income.
  
• Time taken for approval of the grant application varies depending on the work involved check with the Council for further information.
  
• Once approval for the work has been received by the applicant, the work is expected to be completed within 12 months.
  
• The work in progress is inspected once or twice "depending on the project" by staff from the Council's Grants section.

Grant can be paid in installments as the works progress with invoices being submitted to the Council for payment (the aggregate of installments should never exceed 50% of approved grant). The final payment will be due after the Council has satisfied itself that the planned works have been properly completed.

Contact Grants Section, Housing Service, Civic Centre North, John Dickie Street, Kilmarnock Telephone: 01563 576662 who will be happy to provide information and guidance on what grants may be available.

6.8 Grants for installation of central heating

The Scottish Executive's five-year plan for installing central heating in the homes of all pensioners and social housing tenants in Scotland is now under way. Any householder over the age of 60 is eligible for a grant for installation of central heating if their house does not have an existing system. Local authority and housing association applicants should apply directly to there landlord. Besides central heating, the package includes insulation for loft, walls and cold water tank and pipes, draughtproofing, and energy advice.

There is an extension to Central Heating Programme for Over 80's where applicants aged 80 and over with a partial or inefficient (generally over 20 years old) heating system may now apply to have a full or replacement heating system fitted. Applicants must own or privately rent their home. There is an enhanced package of measures available through this grant, these include: extended or replacement central heating system (up to 6 rooms), assistance with care required whilst heating etc is fitted, assistance with moving and replacing furniture etc, items in loft cleared and then replaced to facilitate loft insulation

The managing agent for the private sector part of this programme is Eaga Partnership Ltd, who also manage the Warm Deal. To qualify for the grant, applicants from the private sector must be aged 60 or over and must have lived in their home for at least a year. The home must have no central heating system, or a system that is broken beyond repair. Anybody who meets the basic criteria can apply for the grant without being subject to eligibility criteria, and previous applications for Warm Deal or other grants are disregarded.

If you require further information please call the East Ayrshire Energy Advice Unit on 01563 555224.

Private sector applicants can apply for the grant simply by telephoning Eaga's Customer Service Advisers free on the Central Heating Programme Freephone line on 0800 316 1653. Staff will then quickly assess eligibility for the programme and arrange for a Home Energy Adviser to visit and discuss details.

Grants from the power companies

Scottish Power, Scottish Hydro Electric, and Scottish Gas all offer grants to their customers, regardless of income, for home insulation and towards the costs of upgrading heating systems, to make these more energy efficient. They also run various discount schemes promoting the use of energy efficient appliances and lighting. These initiatives are funded under the Energy Efficiency Commitment (previously known as the Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance), and are designed to help consumers use energy more efficiently. The status of these grants changes regularly, so for up-to-date information contact the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512 012 for details.

6.9 Insulation and draught proofing grants

Two complementary grant schemes are available to help people living in privately-owned properties to meet the costs of insulating and draughtproofing their homes, resulting in a big saving in heating costs to the household concerned.

Warm Deal Grants

The Warm Deal is a Scottish Executive Programme to improve home energy efficiency. A grant of up to £500 is available if the homeowner or tenant, or their spouse, is in receipt of one of a range of statutory benefits. The list of qualifying benefits includes income support and housing benefit. Eaga Ltd who administer the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Executive will be able to provide further details. A lower grant of £125 is available to applicants aged 60 and over who do not receive any of the specified benefits. These grant levels are reduced to £160 and £40 respectively if the grant applicant chooses to do the work himself or herself rather than get a professional installer to do it.

An applicant qualifying for the full grant can receive up to £500 of energy efficiency work including cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, draughtproofing, hot and cold tank and pipe insulation, energy advice and up to four energy efficient lightbulbs.

Applicants should contact Eaga Ltd in the first instance for more information and, if eligible, for details on how to apply for the grant. Eaga will then supply a list of approved installation companies operating in your area which can undertake the works.

For more information and free leaflet contact Eaga on 0800 072 0150 or www.eaga.co.uk

Back to Index