If you have a disability and are a council tenant, or you live with someone that is a council tenant, we can support you with adaptations or aids to help you stay safe independent in your home.
If you are a homeowner or you rent privately, you need to apply for a disabled facilities grant instead.
What you need to do
You must contact an occupational therapist to assess your medical needs. You will then be referred to us to approve the adaptations or aids you need.
It's important you do this as soon as possible, so that a home visit can be arranged.
For minor adaptations like hand or grab rails, you should email social.services@kent.gov.uk.
For bigger adaptations like shower rooms or stair lifts, you need to call adult services on 03000 416 161. If the adaptations are for a child under 18, you need to call children's services on 03000 411 111.
You can find out more about care needs assessments on kent.gov.uk.
What happens next
Once you've been referred to us, we'll assess your application and write to you with our decision. If we approve the work we'll tell you the next steps, including when the work will be done and who will be doing it.
If we do not approve the work, we'll tell you the reasons why and suggest other options.
We try to support you wherever we can, but adaptations are not always possible. For example, some of our properties cannot be adapted to meet accessibility standards such as level access. In other cases, proposed adaptations might be too expensive and would not be the best use of our housing.
Where adaptations can't be made, our Adaptations team will work closely with the Housing Needs and Resources team to help you move to a more suitable home.
We will only move you to a home that is fully adaptable or already meets your needs, we won't move you somewhere that can only be partially adapted.
We also work with Kent County Council occupational therapists to quickly rule out unsuitable properties.
If the adaptations are approved
Adaptations come under two categories.
Minor adaptations
These are things like:
- Grab rails and hand rails
- Lever taps
These are normally straightforward to put in and will be done quickly.
Major adaptations
These are things like:
- Flush floor showers
- Ramps
- Stair lifts
This involves inspecting the home, planning the work in and putting it on the waiting list to be done. There is a waiting list because of the number of tenants that need adaptations.
If you have any questions
You can send us a message online or call 01227 862 000. You can also write to us at:
Aids and adaptations team
Canterbury City Council
14 Rose Lane
Canterbury
CT1 2UR
If you have visual or hearing impairment problems, you can also contact enquiries@hikent.org.uk or call them on 01227 760 046.
If a child has visual or hearing impairment problems, you can contact sensorychildren&familiesteam@kent.gov.uk.