South Lanarkshire Council

In April 2010, we introduced our Scheme of Assistance which replaced our previous system of homeowner repair and improvement grants. This scheme is delivered by our HomeImprove Service.

If you are eligible and want to apply for any of the assistance available through the Scheme of Assistance, you can make an enquiry by using our home improve assistance enquiry form or contact our Customer Services Centre or your local Q and A office.   For adaptations for disabled people, you can also use the equipment and adaptations online request form.

Who is eligible for the scheme?

• the person who owns the property 
• the private tenant who has responsibility for the work the application form refers to
• a life renter (a person who has made a life rent agreement with the owner of the property so they can live in the property for the rest of their life)
• a disabled person living in the home, and we have assessed that your home needs to be adapted to meet their needs

What service can you expect?

Anyone eligible for the scheme has access to information to help with a variety of property issues. You will also have access to the HomeImprove Service which can offer tailored information, advice and practical help.  The Scheme has been  developed to meet national outcomes and our legal requirements, taking account of local needs and demands.  It will:

• provide information, advice and practical help to encourage all owners to take responsibility for their homes
• help disabled and elderly people live in their homes
• help provide basic levels of financial help to encourage owners to deal with major problems when their homes do not meet the tolerable standard
• encourage flat owners who have responsibility for shared areas to take part in 'common works' carried out as part of investment programmes in council housing, and help us and other social landlords, such as housing associations, achieve the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015
• help prevent privately owned homes falling into serious disrepair by encouraging early action

Can you still get a grant?

Grants are still available for some categories of work. A mandatory 80% grant is awarded for adaptations for disabled people once their needs have been assessed by an occupational therapist.   Sometimes we will be able to offer 100% grant. The work must be for standard amenities (this includes the provision of a low level shower or wet floor shower) or internal alterations.  We no longer give an automatic grant to build extensions for non-standard amenities. We work with Social Work Resources to work out how we can best help.
For other priority areas of work 25% may be offered if the work costs up to £5000 and 35% for work costing £5,000 and above. The works eligible for this financial assistance are: 

• if the structure of your home is unstable, as confirmed in an independent structural report, and there is risk of all or part of it collapsing. This includes fresh cracking, movement of structural parts and damage, deterioration, rot and timber infestations
• if there is not, and never has been, a toilet inside your home for just your household 
• there is inadequate supply of wholesome water
• if a cesspool needs to be upgraded to a septic tank or to a Scottish Water tank, sewer or septic tank
• if there is significant rising damp, with visible signs of damp inside the home, and the environmental health officer decides that this causes the property to fall below the tolerable standard
• 'common works' carried out as part of investment programmes in council housing, and help us and other social landlords, such as housing associations, achieve the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015

Qualifying criteria exist for this financial support and conditions also apply to any support offered.  

To the fund the remainder of the work you should investigate other methods of payment such as savings, commercial loans or mortgages. If you are unable to pay the balance yourself, and the work falls within the priorities identified above, then we may be able to help using our hardship fund with either a grant or loan. We would need a full assessment of your income, including savings and home equity and your outgoings. If you qualify for this, you will be put on a waiting list based on priority need and not a first-come, first-served basis.