Adaptations to a council property

We can help Lewes district council tenants adapt their homes to be more comfortable if

• You or a member of your household has difficulty getting around your home or going in or out.
• You have difficulty getting up or down the stairs.
• You find it difficult to use the existing facilities in your home such as the bath or toilet.

To improve your home we can alter and adapt it to be more suitable for an elderly/disabled adult or disabled child.

What we do will depend on your circumstances. In every case the needs of the individual will be taken into account.

Alterations can range from minor adaptations such as fitting lever taps or fixing grab rails, through to larger works such as replacing outside steps with a ramp, or fitting a level access shower.

In special cases we may need to build an extension to your home, although this is the exception rather than the rule. Or it may be better for you to move to more suitable accommodation to meet your needs.

Whatever we do needs to be reasonable and practicable.

Costs

If you or a member of your household are a tenant of Lewes District Council, then - subject to funding - we arrange and pay for all the work.

If you own your own home, are a landlord or rent privately, you may be able to get a Disabled Facilities Grant to help towards some or all of the cost.

Smaller adaptations

If you are a council tenant and only need grab rails or handrails, a surveyor will visit you and order them straight away.

Indoor handrails will be fitted in a couple of weeks. Outside ones will take a couple of months.

Larger adaptations

If you need work such as bathroom alterations or ramps, an Occupation Therapist will need to need to visit you to decide how best to meet your needs. You can self refer for an assessment on the Adult Social Care website.

The Occupational Therapist will then tell us what needs doing. Our surveyor will then visit you, measure up and design the work.

This will be sent out for builders to price the work. A date for the work to start will then be agreed with you. The whole process for larger works will take about 10 months from contacting us to the builders finishing. Extensions will take longer.

Tenants of Eastbourne Homes who have a disability can request that certain aids and/or adaptations can be made to make life easier in and around the home including the installation of support rails, access ramps and stair lifts.

Requests for aids and/or adaptations should be made in the first instance to Social Care Direct on 0345 6080191. An assessment will then be carried out over the phone to decide who would be best to visit you in your own home to further discuss your requirements.

For more information go to the East Sussex County Council website.

An Occupational Therapist (OT) will then visit you to carry out an assessment. They will send a referral report to us with their recommendations for the aids and/or adaptations required.

Any aids and/or adaptations proposed by the OT will be paid for by us however; this would be subject to the aids and/or adaptations being practical, cost effective and where sufficient funds are available.

We do not supply storage or power for electric scooters and they are not allowed to be left in communal areas. Therefore please ensure that you have space within your home to store and charge the scooter before you sign up for one.

For further information please download the document below. 

Careium - Lifeline Services

Tenants who are over 60 years old, disabled or vulnerable in some other way can have Lifeline installed, which is a personal alarm system. Find out more on the Careium website.