Disabled Facilities Grants for Children Information Sheet
Land Charges
Criteria
It is a condition of the grant that a Local Land Charge will be made in the case of an 'owner occupier' application where the grant exceeds £6,000. This allows the recovery of funds in the event of a property subsequently being sold or otherwise disposed of. The Land Charge will be applied for the amount of grant that exceeds £5,000. For example in the case of a grant for £6,000 a £1,000 land charge will be applied. The maximum Land Charge is currently £10,000.
Exceptional circumstances
However, when a property is disposed of, repayment of the land charge may be waived in the following circumstances:
- If a client moves to another property within the ten-year period that does not require adaptations to be carried out and/or the new property is more appropriate to their child's needs (as confirmed by an OT).
- If the disabled child is moving into an enhanced or extra care accommodation.
- If the parent's death results in the child inheriting the whole of the property whose financial position is such that they could not raise a mortgage or a loan to repay the charge.