The short answer. Start with Age UK's Disabled Facilities Grant guide to understand the rules, then use Foundations to find the Home Improvement Agency that handles grants where you live. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, use your own nation's guide below, because the limits and rules differ.
One thing to watch: on 29 October 2026 GOV.UK's grant page still said the Northern Ireland maximum is £25,000. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government's own site, gives £35,000, and the Housing Executive can go up to £70,000 in some cases. The £35,000 limit has applied since February 2023.
A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) pays towards changes that let a disabled person live safely at home: a stairlift, a ramp, a level-access shower, a through-floor lift or a downstairs bathroom. Councils run it in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has no DFG and uses a different scheme. Plenty of websites explain it, and many are out of date. We read the main free guides and tools on 29 October 2026 and checked each one's grant figures against the official source for its nation.
This page carries no affiliate links and no quote form. Nobody paid to be included.
Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 29 October 2026 · next check 7 April 2027 · how we picked
The DFG in each UK nation, at a glance
| Nation | Scheme | Maximum | Means test | Official guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Disabled Facilities Grant | £30,000 | Yes for adults, not for children | GOV.UK |
| Wales | Disabled Facilities Grant | £36,000 | Not for work under £8,000 or for a disabled child | Dewis Cymru |
| Northern Ireland | Disabled Facilities Grant | £35,000, and the Housing Executive can raise some awards to £70,000 | Yes for adults, with exceptions | nidirect |
| Scotland | Scheme of assistance (no DFG) | No fixed maximum: at least 80% of the eligible cost, 100% on some benefits | Linked to benefits | Citizens Advice Scotland |
How we chose them
Every entry is free to use, says which nation it covers, and is run by a public body, a charity or an owner we name. We read each one on 29 October 2026 and checked its grant figures against the official source for its nation. We ranked them by four things: whether the figures are correct for 2026, how useful the page is for an actual next step, how plainly it is written, and how recently it was updated. The order also follows the order most people need: understand the rules, check eligibility, find local help, then price the job.
Look Into's two entries are in the "price the job" group at numbers 7 and 8. They are the only free sources we know of for that job, but they do not help with eligibility, which is the first thing most people need.
The 10 best free tools and guides
1. Age UK: Disabled Facilities Grants to adapt your home
Best plain-English guide (England). Clear on who qualifies, what the council has to do, and what happens if the work costs more than the grant. Its factsheet FS42, dated March 2026, adds the detail: minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less should be free, and older people can pay a reduced 5% VAT on some installed mobility equipment. Age Scotland, Age Cymru and Age NI cover the other nations.
2. Foundations: Adapt My Home
Best eligibility self-check (England). A postcode lookup and an indicative means test from the national body for Home Improvement Agencies, built with Leeds Beckett University. It gives you a sense of whether you would qualify before you contact the council.
3. Foundations: Find My HIA
Best for finding local help (England). Home Improvement Agencies help people through the grant from assessment to finished work. Foundations says there are nearly 200 in England, covering 82% of local authorities.
4. nidirect: Disabled Facilities Grants
The one to use in Northern Ireland. Gives the current £35,000 maximum and the Housing Executive's power to go up to £70,000. Use it rather than GOV.UK if you live in Northern Ireland.
5. Dewis Cymru: Applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant
The one to use in Wales. Up to £36,000, with no means test for work under £8,000 or for a disabled child. The page is dated April 2023, so confirm any figure with your council.
6. Citizens Advice Scotland: housing grants and loans
The one to use in Scotland. Explains the scheme of assistance that replaces the DFG in Scotland: a grant of at least 80% of the eligible cost, or 100% if you get certain benefits.
7. Look Into: UK Home Adaptation Cost Report 2026
Best for pricing the job. Sets typical 2026 costs for common adaptations against the grant limit in each nation. The England maximum has stayed at £30,000 since 2008, and the average grant in England in 2023/24 was £7,536 across 58,606 grants. Its cost ranges are compiled from market pricing, not from quotes for your home. We publish it.
UK Home Adaptation Cost Report
8. Look Into: stairlift and home lift running cost calculator
Best for running costs. What a stairlift or home lift costs in electricity a day, month and year at the current price cap. A typical stairlift uses about 35 kWh a year, which is £9.22 at 26.32p per kWh. No lift was measured: the figures come from published power ratings. Charities and councils can embed it free. We publish it.
9. Living Made Easy and AskSARA
Best for choosing equipment. A large impartial database of daily living equipment, with AskSARA, a self-assessment that suggests equipment for a stated difficulty. Living Made Easy is now run by TACT (Trusted Assessing and Care Training), not by the Disabled Living Foundation.
10. Turn2us: Grants Search and benefits calculator
Best for other funding. If the DFG does not cover everything, Turn2us searches charitable grants by circumstance, and its benefits calculator checks entitlements that can affect the DFG means test.
Also worth knowing
- GOV.UK's DFG page is the official England guide and is correct for England and Wales. On 29 October 2026 it still showed £25,000 for Northern Ireland, so do not rely on it for NI.
- Scope has a home adaptations hub and a free helpline on 0808 800 3333.
- The Royal College of Occupational Therapists links to a directory of independent occupational therapists, if you want a private assessment rather than waiting for the council's.
- Care and Repair Scotland lists local services in 28 council areas.
What we left out, and why
- Pages that still give £25,000 as the Northern Ireland maximum. Disability Rights UK's factsheet was one of them on 29 October 2026.
- Commercial stairlift and adaptation sellers' grant guides. Some are accurate, but they exist to generate quotes.
- Which?'s former home adaptations guide, which now leads to a product page.
- Our own grant eligibility checker, because it sits beside a quote form and this list is for impartial help.
Questions people ask
How much is the Disabled Facilities Grant in 2026?
Up to £30,000 in England, £36,000 in Wales and £35,000 in Northern Ireland, where the Housing Executive can go up to £70,000 in some cases. Scotland has no DFG: councils pay at least 80% of the eligible cost under the scheme of assistance.
Is the DFG means-tested?
For adults, yes, in England and Northern Ireland. In Wales there is no means test for work under £8,000. There is no means test for a disabled child in any of the three nations.
Why does GOV.UK say £25,000 for Northern Ireland?
It appears to be the figure from before February 2023, when the limit rose to £35,000. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government's own site, has the current figure.
Can I get a stairlift through the DFG?
Yes. Stairlifts are one of the most common DFG adaptations. The council arranges an occupational therapist assessment first.