Applying for a grant or other assistance with repairs

If you’ve reported repairs to your landlord and they haven’t done anything, you may be able to do something about it. Some tenants and landlords may be entitled to a housing grant or loan from the local authority to cover the cost of repairs or improvements.

This page outlines what the local authority has the power to do and the types of assistance available.

A local authority’s power to improve living conditions

A local authority has powers to improve living conditions in its area by providing assistance if you need to:

• adapt, improve, or repair your home. This could be in the form of a grant or loan. It could be by providing labour, tools, or cheap materials to help you carry out the work. It could be by providing details of builders who can carry out the work, or by providing free or low cost surveys, or advice on carrying out repairs, or

• buy a new home, if it decides that this would be a better way of improving your living conditions than carrying out work on your current home. The help could be in the form of a grant or loan, or

• buy a new home, if it has decided to buy your current home. The help could be in the form of a grant or loan, or

• demolish your home, or build a new home for you, if your previous home has been demolished. The help could be in the form of a grant or loan.

Types of assistance available

The local authority can offer different types of assistance to improve living conditions, including:

• grants

• loans

• assistance from home improvement agencies

• supporting purchase and relocation

• other forms of assistance.

The local authority should have a policy on help with home improvements or housing renewal, which sets out the types of assistance available in your area.

• More about help with home improvements

If you're disabled

If you're disabled and you need to adapt your home or require facilities to help you live there more independently, you may be able to claim a disabled facilities grant.

• More about disabled facilities grants

Next steps

• Other options for private rented tenants to deal with lack of repairs

• Common repair problems