Checked 2 November 2026 by Jacob Whitmore against NHS, GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, RCOT and HCPC pages. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
The short answer. An occupational therapy (OT) home assessment is a visit from an occupational therapist who watches how someone manages at home and recommends equipment or adaptations. Through the council it is free and anyone can ask for one: contact adult social care and ask for a needs assessment, or an OT assessment for equipment or adaptations. A private OT is quicker and typically charges about £300 to £375 for a home visit and report. In England, if the council assesses that you need an adaptation costing £1,000 or less, such as grab rails, it must not charge you for it.
Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 2 November 2026 · next check 2 May 2027 · how we picked
What an occupational therapist actually does
An occupational therapist looks at what a person needs to do every day (getting in and out of bed, washing, using the toilet, cooking, getting up the stairs and out of the front door) and works out what would make each task safe. At a home visit they ask about routines, watch the person move around, and measure the spaces that matter: doorways, stairs, the bath, the toilet, the bed height.
The result is usually one of three things. Simple equipment on loan, such as a raised toilet seat or a shower chair. A minor adaptation, such as grab rails or a short handrail. Or a recommendation for a major adaptation, such as a stairlift, a level-access shower or a ramp, which then goes forward for a Disabled Facilities Grant.
The title "occupational therapist" is protected in the UK. Anyone using it must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and you can check a name on the HCPC register before a visit.
How to ask for an assessment
| Where you live | Who to contact | The legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| England | Adult social care at your council (children: children's services). You can call, email or apply online. A GP, nurse or hospital discharge team can also refer you. | Care Act 2014 needs assessment |
| Wales | Social services at your council | Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, section 19 |
| Scotland | The council's social work or social care department | Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, section 12A, and the Self-directed Support Act 2013 |
| Northern Ireland | The occupational therapy service at your Health and Social Care Trust | Trust OTs refer adaptation cases to the Housing Executive or your housing association |
You do not need a GP referral to ask. In England, the NHS says the needs assessment "is free and anyone can ask for one". Carers can ask on someone's behalf, with their agreement.
What to say when you call. Describe what the person cannot do safely, not the equipment you think they need. "She can no longer get out of the bath and has fallen twice" gets a faster, more accurate response than "we need a walk-in shower".
What happens on the day
- A conversation. The OT asks about health, routines, falls, who helps and what has become difficult.
- Watching, not guessing. Expect to be asked to show how you get on and off the toilet, into the bath, up the stairs and out of a chair. Do it the way you normally would, not the way you manage on a good day.
- Measuring. Doorway widths, step heights, stair runs and the bathroom layout, because these decide whether a stairlift, ramp or shower will fit.
- Recommendations. Small items may be ordered on the spot. Bigger adaptations go into a written recommendation that the council's grants team or your landlord acts on.
A council OT recommends what is "necessary and appropriate" to meet the assessed need. That may be less than you hoped for. For example, a stairlift rather than a through-floor lift, or a level-access shower rather than a full wet room. You can ask for the reasons in writing.
Before the visit: a short checklist
- Write down the tasks that have become hard, and any falls or near misses with dates.
- Have a list of medicines and conditions to hand.
- If a carer or relative helps, ask them to be there.
- Note whether you own the home, rent privately, or rent from a council or housing association. It changes who pays and who must give permission.
- Do not buy or install anything major first. Councils do not normally fund work already done.
What the council must provide free
In England, councils may not charge for community equipment, which covers aids and minor adaptations. An adaptation is minor if it costs £1,000 or less (Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, regulation 3). The limit has stood at £1,000 since April 2015. Councils loan equipment free for as long as it is needed: Leeds and Waltham Forest, for example, list grab rails, shower and bath seats, raised toilet seats, commodes, pressure cushions and ramps.
Major adaptations go through the Disabled Facilities Grant: up to £30,000 in England, £36,000 in Wales and £35,000 in Northern Ireland. Scotland has no Disabled Facilities Grant and uses a Scheme of Assistance instead, which pays at least 80% of the approved cost of essential adaptations.
How long it takes
Council waits vary widely and are not published nationally. What we could find:
- The government's Disabled Facilities Grant delivery guidance sets best-practice targets, counted in working days from first contact, of 55 days for urgent, simple cases and 180 days for non-urgent, complex ones, to be met in 95% of cases.
- Once a valid grant application is in, councils in England must decide within six months, and the work should usually be finished within 12 months of approval. The wait for the OT visit comes before that clock starts.
- The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found an eight-month delay in carrying out an OT assessment in Redbridge (decision of 4 June 2025), and the council paid £300.
- In Wales, the Older People's Commissioner's report "Time to Adapt" (March 2026), as reported by Deeside.com, put the average wait for a Disabled Facilities Grant at 370 days, up from 207 days in 2018 to 2019.
If the person is at risk, say so when you call. Councils triage, and a recent fall or a hospital discharge usually moves a case up the list.
Paying for a private OT
A private assessment is often faster, but some councils and housing providers only accept their own OT's report for grant purposes, so check before you pay. Published prices we found:
| Provider | Published price | What it includes | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| OT Life (Essex) | £375 | Home assessment up to 1.5 hours plus written report; follow-up £120 | Page modified 29 Oct 2026 |
| OT 4 Life (Yorkshire and North West) | From £299 | Assessment with report | Page dated 2026 |
| OT Action (Exeter) | £200 to £400 | Home assessment | Page modified Sep 2022, may be out of date |
To find one, use the Royal College of Occupational Therapists' Find an OT directory, which lists independent OTs who are RCOT members and HCPC registered. Ask whether the report will be written to the standard your council needs for a grant application.
Renting? What changes
Tenants can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant as well as owners, but the landlord's permission is needed for the work. Council and housing association tenants are often handled through the landlord's own adaptations budget rather than a grant. In Northern Ireland the Trust OT refers the case to the Housing Executive or your housing association directly.
How Look Into made this guide
Desk research only. Every rule on this page comes from a page we opened on 2 November 2026: NHS needs assessment and home adaptations pages, GOV.UK, the Disabled Facilities Grant delivery guidance, the legislation cited, RCOT, the HCPC and council equipment pages. Private prices are as published by each practice on the date shown; we have not used any of these services. Waiting-time figures are quoted from their source and are not a national average.
What this guide could not settle. No body publishes national waiting times for council OT assessments in England, so we cannot tell you what is normal for your area. Ask your council what its current wait is when you call. We also found too few published private prices to say what is typical outside the regions listed.
Questions
Is an occupational therapy assessment free?
Yes, through your council's adult social care team, the NHS route in hospital, or your Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. Private assessments cost about £300 to £375 on the published prices we found.
Do I need a GP referral for an OT home assessment?
No. You can contact adult social care yourself. A GP, nurse or hospital team can also refer you.
What can an occupational therapist recommend?
Loan equipment such as shower chairs and raised toilet seats, minor adaptations such as grab rails, and major adaptations such as stairlifts, ramps and level-access showers, which are usually funded through a Disabled Facilities Grant.
Will a private OT report be accepted for a Disabled Facilities Grant?
Sometimes. Some councils and housing providers only accept assessments by their own OTs. Ask the council before you pay for a private report.
Sources
- NHS, Getting a needs assessment (reviewed 22 Aug 2024); NHS, Home adaptations (reviewed 12 Dec 2025); NHS, Household gadgets and equipment (19 Sep 2024)
- Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, reg 3
- Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, s19; Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, s12A; Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, s1
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Occupational Therapists
- RCOT, independent practice and Find an OT; HCPC, protected titles
- GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants and Disabled Facilities Grant delivery guidance (updated 20 Oct 2026)
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, decision 24 017 469 (4 Jun 2025)
- Deeside.com on the Older People's Commissioner for Wales report (21 Mar 2026)
- Leeds City Council, equipment; Waltham Forest, equipment (2 Feb 2026)
- OT Life; OT 4 Life; OT Action
- Grant Limit Order (NI) 2003, as amended 2023; Scheme of Assistance Regulations 2008