ADAPTATIONS
If you find doing everyday tasks difficult
adaptations to your home may make life easier. A1 Housings
Adaptation Service can arrange for adaptations such as ramps,
stairlifts, handrails and showers for people who need them to live
at home safely. In providing this service A1 Housing work closely
with Nottinghamshire County Council’s Occupational Therapy Team to
make sure that you get the right type of help.
What are adaptations ?
Adaptations are changes to a home that help
you, or a member of the household with special needs, stay in their
home safely and live independently. The following are examples how
an adaptation may help in your home:
- Make it easier to get in and out, and around your home
- Make it easier to use the bath or shower, toilet and wash hand
basin
- Improve or provide a suitable heating system
- Adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to
use
There arevarious types of adaptations works. We
have a pilot self-referral scheme for small works under £1,000.
This has a small fee, but does not require an occupationaltherapist
assessment and can be completed within 5 - 10 days - please phone
us for more details. Works over £5,000 are classed as Major
Adaptations; works over £1,000 and up to £5,000 are classed as
Minor Adapations.
Minor Adaptations
Minor adaptations are small changes to your
home that cost less than £5000, examples of these are:
- Handrails
- Shower over a bath
- Level access shower
Major Adaptations
A major adaptation is where a lot of work needs
to be carried out to your home and may cost up to £30,000. In
exceptional circumstances A1 Housing may exceed this amount.
Examples of major adaptations are:
- Through Floor Lift
- Curved Stairlift
- Large Ramp
- Extension
Please click here to access more detailed list of adaptations
and examples of what day-to-day problems they may help.
Who might get help ?
Adaptations are available for tenants, a member
of their family or someone who permanently lives in their home that
has a long-term substantial permanent medical condition. This can
be either a physical or mental medical condition.
If you can answer yes, to any of the following
you may qualify for help:
- Is it an effort getting in and out of your bath?
- Do you struggle getting in and out of your home?
- Do you feel unsafe going up and down your stairs?
How to apply for an adaptation
If you think that you need an adaptation you
will need to contact A1 Housing's Adaptations Team. Listed below
are ways you can contact :
- Telephone A1 Housing’s Adaptations Team on 01909 533379
- By writing to the Adaptations Team, A1 Housing (Bassetlaw) Ltd,
Carlton Forest House, Hundred Acre lane, Worksop, Notts S81
0TS
- Fill in the form Online
- Ask an A1 Housing Employee to refer you to the Occupational
Therapy Team
- Or ask an A1 Housing's employee to refer your enquiry to the
Adaptations Team
When applying for an adaptation please inform
us who in your household requires the adaptations.
The Adaptations Team will provide you with the
information on the adaptations process and we will forward your
details onto the Occupational Therapy Team. Once you have made your
enquiry, we will monitor the progress of your application.
What Happens at the assessment ?
The Occupational Therapist Service Advisor will
ask you about the problem you are facing and how you are coping
now. If they think they might be able to help, they advise you how
soon it will be before the Occupational Therapist can visit.
The Occupational Therapist will come and visit
you at home. They will talk about what you find difficult and may
ask you to demonstrate how you do certain tasks. The Occupational
Therapist may suggest a different way of doing things or order
specialist equipment; like a bath seat to help you in and out of
the bath. Any work that the Occupational Therapist recommends may
not be what you see as desirable.
Recommended works to your Home
If the Occupational Therapist has recommended
works to your home they will forward your referral to A1 Housing.
A1 Housing will consider the recommendations to check
- that the works are practicable and can be carried out in your
home and will not affect the structure of the building.
- that the works are eligible to be carried out through the
Adaptations Team and not through another section, for example a
ramp to a communal access.
- whether an alternative could be considered, for example
re-housing.
If the work meets the above criteria we will
decide whether it will be treated as a major or minor
adaptation.
Adaptations and Means Testing
Legislation set by central government requires
local authorities to carry out a means test on all adaptation
referrals. A means-test requires A1 Housing to look at your income
and savings to see if you have to pay anything towards the cost of
the adaptation works. It is your responsibility to provide us with
your income and saving details to enable us to assess your ability
to contribute to the costs of the adaptations. This information is
calculated against a government formula, this enables everyone with
the same income and household will be asked to contribute the same.
Depending on your income and savings you may be asked to
- Fund none of the works
- Fund a percentage of the works
- Fund all of the works
For more information on means testing please
click here.
If you receive any of the following benefits A1
Housing will pay for all the work
- Income Support
- Pension credit guarantee credit
- Income based job-seekers allowance
- Housing / Council Tax Benefit
Your contribution must be paid before the work
starts, but we are able to arrange payment by instalments - please
contact us for details. Different rules apply when adaptations are
for a child (see Adaptations for a Child with a Disability).
If you need help filling in the Means Test form
we now run Means Test Surgeries on Wednesday Mornings 10am until
Midday at the following Housing Offices:
- 1st Wednesday every month - Worksop Housing Office
- 2nd Wednesday every month - Retford Housing Office
- 3rd Wednesday every month - Harworth Parish Hall
Adaptations for a Child with a Disability
When an adaptation is for a child with a
disability no means test will be carried out, however, checks will
be done to ensure that the house where the adaptations are to be
carried out is the child’s main home.
How long will the adaptations take ?
Once the work has been referred to A1 Housing
by the Occupational Therapy Team. Government timescales for
completing adaptations are:
| High Priority Adaptations |
16 weeks |
| Routine Priority Adaptations |
52 weeks |
However, A1 Housing have consulted with
tenantsand set more challenging targets. These are:
| Self-referral scheme |
5 - 10 days |
| Minor adaptations |
13 weeks |
| Major adaptations |
28 weeks |
The priority of the works is determined by the
Occupational Therapist and will depend on your medical condition
and living conditions.
Before the work starts
If the work is complex it may be necessary to
obtain planning permission from the Council and this may mean that
surveyors from A1 Housing and specialist contractors will visit
your home. Once A1 Housing has received all the necessary
permissions for the works to go ahead we will send the work to the
contractor Connaughts. A1 Housing will write to you to let you know
when this has happened.
Where the work is relatively straight forward
such as a stairlift or hoist installation the work is carried out
by a contractor who will keep you informed on progress and carry
out the work.
The contractors employ Tenant Liaison Officers
to support you through to completion of the works and they will get
in touch with you 21days before the works start to introduce
themselves and tell you what to do to get ready. It is important
that you tell the Tenant Liaison Officer of any effects the work
may have on your health, for example, if dust may affect a
breathing condition. You should also discuss any concerns that you
have or if you think you may need additional help during the
works.
What can you expect from the contractor ?
All contractors working on behalf of A1 Housing
must adhere to our code of conduct, listed below
The Contractor will
- Be polite and tidily dressed introduce themselves and show
their identification before entering your home
- Explain what they are going to do and discuss how this will
affect you
- Take care of your property and possessions, protect them from
damage, dust and paint
- Keep your home safe and keep the mess and noise to a
minimum
The Contractor will not
- Use electricity, water or WC without permission
- Smoke in your home
- Use bad language
- Act in an offensive or aggressive manner
- Discuss the work you are having carried out with others
- Leave materials or tools lying around
- Make promises they cannot keep
- Work in an unoccupied home or under the supervision of anyone
below the age of 16 years
What Happens during the Works ?
If required, the contractor will have a site
manager to oversee the works and A1 Housing’s Clerk of Works will
also be checking to make sure everything is running smoothly. Your
Tenant Liaison Officer will also be available to offer help, advice
and sort out your problems.
Remember: During the work, there will be some
level of disruption to your home for example, noise or dust.
What happens when the works are Completed ?
When the work is completed, A1 Housing’s Clerk
of Works carries out checks on the quality of the work. All major
adaptations are quality checked and a random selection of the minor
adaptations.
If you have any concerns about the quality of
the work carried out please let our Clerk of Works know and they
will liaise with the contractor to put the work right.
We will ask you to fill in a questionnaire to
check you have been happy with the work and the process. Your
feedback is very important, as this will allow us to improve the
Adaptations Service.
If you are unhappy with the adaptations service
we provide please let us know. For more details on how to make a
complaint please click here Complaints.