Home adaptation · 7 November 2026
Home improvement grants for disabled people in Ireland: the council pays up to €40,000
Quick answer
The main home improvement grant for a disabled person in Ireland is the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, paid by your county or city council. It covers works such as a ramp, an accessible shower or downstairs toilet, a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed track hoist, space for a wheelchair and an extension, up to €40,000. Where the owner and their spouse or partner have a gross income of €37,500 or less, it pays 100% of the approved cost, before VAT. For one small job there is the Mobility Aids Grant, up to €8,000. Council tenants use the council’s own Disabled Person’s Grant Scheme instead. The council must approve the application before any work starts.
Is there a home improvement grant for disabled people in Ireland?
Yes, though you will not find it under that name. If you have been searching for disability grants for the home, this is the one that pays for building work. The Department of Social Protection does not pay a disability home improvement grant. Your county or city council does, under national rules set by the Department of Housing. One form covers three council home grants, and two of them are for disability and mobility:
- The Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, up to €40,000, for big changes to the house.
- The Mobility Aids Grant, up to €8,000, for one small job such as grab rails, a ramp, a level access shower or a stairlift.
The third grant on the form, Housing Aid for Older People, is for repairs to the home of a person aged 66 or over. It is not a disability grant, and it has its own rules.
Energy work is separate. Insulation, heat pumps and solar panels go through the SEAI, not the council. If the person is on certain welfare payments, the free Warmer Homes upgrade may apply.
What the Housing Adaptation Grant pays for
The December 2024 guidelines list the works the grant can cover:
- Access ramps, and other ways into the home
- Stairlifts and through-floor lifts
- Downstairs toilet facilities
- Accessible showers
- Fixed track hoists, but not their maintenance, servicing or training
- Adaptations for wheelchair access, such as wider doors and turning space
- Extensions, typically a bedroom and bathroom
- Any other work the council thinks is reasonably necessary to make the house suitable for the disabled person
The form adds grab rails to that list. Water supply and sewerage for the new works can be included, and so can extending the central heating into a new room. Since 1 January 2025 the grant cannot buy a new oil or gas boiler.
What it does not pay: the VAT on the work, sensory equipment, a nicer finish than the job needs, and anything started before the council’s written approval. A bedroom and bathroom extension is the biggest job the grant covers. If the person is an older parent, how the grant works for an older person explains which of the three council grants fits the job.
Who counts as disabled for the grant
The Regulations say the works must be reasonably necessary for a member of the household who has “an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment”. There is no age limit. A person with arthritis who can no longer manage the stairs, a wheelchair user, someone recovering from a stroke, a person with a mental health condition or an intellectual disability can all qualify, as long as the works are needed because of the impairment.
Children are covered. A parent who owns the home applies on the child’s behalf, and the guidelines say in writing that applications for people diagnosed with autism are considered under this grant. We have a separate post on the grant for a child with autism or a disability.
The GP fills in and stamps the Doctor’s Certificate pages of the form, and ticks a priority level. Councils with a waiting list deal with the most urgent medical cases first.
How much it pays: the income bands
| Gross household income (owner and spouse) | Share of approved cost paid | Maximum grant |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €37,500 | 100% | €40,000 |
| €37,501 to €43,750 | 85% | €34,000 |
| €43,751 to €50,000 | 75% | €30,000 |
| €50,001 to €62,500 | 50% | €20,000 |
| €62,501 to €75,000 | 30% | €12,000 |
| Over €75,000 | Not eligible | n/a |
Income means the gross income, for the previous tax year, of the owner of the house and their spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner. For an application made now, that is 2025. Nobody else in the house is counted, so an adult son or daughter living at home does not affect the grant. If the house belongs to a family member, it is the owner’s income that is assessed.
Nine payments are left out: Child Benefit, the Working Family Payment, Domiciliary Care Allowance, the Carer’s Support Grant, Foster Care Allowance, Fuel Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit, the Household Benefits Package and the Living Alone Increase. Every other payment counts, including Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Illness Benefit and the State Pension.
Then the deductions come off: €6,250 for each child under 18, €6,250 for each young person aged 18 to 23 in full-time education, €6,250 where a relative cares full time for the person the grant is for, up to €6,250 a year for the mortgage or rent on the home, and up to €12,500 for nursing home or home care fees in certain cases. The full means test, deductions and county contacts are on our main grant page.
One more thing the figures hide. The grant is a percentage of the approved cost, which is the council’s own estimate of a reasonable cost or the actual cost, whichever is lower. A dearer quote does not raise the grant. The percentage is applied to the cost before VAT, and the household pays the VAT.
Two worked examples
Made up, to show the sums. In each one the council has already set its approved cost, before VAT.
- Dublin, a wheelchair user who owns her home. Income with her partner €41,000 after the deductions. A ramp at the front door, a wet room and a wider bathroom door, approved cost €14,000. The grant pays 85%: €11,900. She pays €2,100 plus the VAT.
- Galway, a man on Invalidity Pension. Income €26,000. A straight stairlift and a level access shower, approved cost €9,500. On their own these are Mobility Aids Grant jobs, but that grant stops at €8,000, and the guidelines send work expected to cost more than that to the Housing Adaptation Grant. At 100% it pays the whole €9,500. He pays the VAT.
The Mobility Aids Grant for one small job
If the job is small and the income is modest, the Mobility Aids Grant is the quicker route. It pays up to €8,000 and can cover 100% of the approved cost, before VAT, where household income after the disregards and deductions is €37,500 or less. It covers accessible showers, ramps, grab rails, stairlifts, fixed track hoists and other minor works the council agrees to.
It is the same form. If the income is over €37,500, or the work costs more than €8,000, the application is considered under the Housing Adaptation Grant without a new form.
Other help worth knowing
| Scheme | Who it is for | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| Disabled Person’s Grant Scheme | Council tenants | The council adapts its own house. Ask the council’s housing department, not the grants section. |
| VAT refund on aids and appliances | Anyone who pays VAT on adapted equipment | Revenue may refund the VAT on goods such as a stairlift, a hoist or a specially adapted shower, claimed by the buyer within four years. Not on labour or building work. |
| HSE aids and appliances | People assessed by the HSE community OT | Equipment on loan or supplied free, such as a shower chair, commode or mobile hoist. No building work. |
| Warmer Homes Scheme | Homeowners on certain welfare payments, in a home built and occupied before 2006 | Free insulation and other energy upgrades from the SEAI. A long wait. |
| Housing Aid for Older People | Homeowners aged 66 or over | Up to €10,700 for repairs such as the roof, wiring, windows and heating. VAT included. |
Renting, council housing or living with family
- Private tenants can apply for the Housing Adaptation Grant and the Mobility Aids Grant, with a tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board and the landlord’s written permission. The tenant’s income is assessed, not the landlord’s.
- Approved Housing Body tenants apply too, with the body’s written permission.
- Council tenants cannot get these grants. Citizens Information points them to the Disabled Person’s Grant Scheme, run by the council’s housing department.
- Living in a house owned by a son, daughter or parent is fine. The owner applies on your behalf, and the owner’s income is assessed.
In every case the disabled person must live in the house as their normal home when the work is finished.
How to apply
- Get the national form from your council or gov.ie. One form, all three grants.
- The GP completes the Doctor’s Certificate, pages 17 and 18, with the priority level.
- Add proof of income for 2025 for the owner and spouse, usually a Statement of Liability from Revenue, or a Department of Social Protection statement if welfare is the only income.
- Add proof that the Local Property Tax is paid, deferred or exempt, with the owner’s name and the address.
- Add an OT report if the work needs one: a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed track hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used. If you have none, the council can arrange an assessment after your form is in. What the OT report has to say.
- Send it to the council’s housing grants section. The guidelines ask for a decision within six weeks of a complete application. The council sends a technician to look at the house.
- The approval letter gives the council’s estimated cost, your percentage and the grant amount, and asks for a written itemised quote and the contractor’s tax details. If the grant is €10,000 or more you need a Tax Clearance Certificate yourself.
- Only then does the work start. It should be finished within six months of approval. The grant is paid into your bank account when the work is done.
If the council says no, or approves less than you asked for, you can appeal in writing within three weeks of the decision.
If the form is the part that stops you
Everything above is enough to apply yourself, for free, and the grant finder on this site is free too. If you would rather not do the paperwork alone, our €44.99 kit for the council home grants prepares it from a short questionnaire: your answers laid out for the national form, a supporting statement, a prep sheet for the OT visit, quote request emails, a checklist and timeline, and chase and appeal letters. We never ask for your PPS number, income figures or documents. We cannot promise the council will approve it, but it goes in complete. Questions first? Email hello@thegranthub.ie, free.
Sources, checked 7 November 2026: gov.ie, Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People (updated 17 December 2024); Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People guidelines, December 2024; the national application form; Citizens Information, Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability (edited 20 January 2025); S.I. No. 612 of 2024; Revenue, VAT refunds on aids and appliances (published 20 December 2024).
Common questions
Is there a home improvement grant for disabled people in Ireland?
Yes. The Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, from your county or city council, pays up to €40,000 for works such as a ramp, an accessible shower, a stairlift or through-floor lift, a hoist or an extension. For one small job the Mobility Aids Grant pays up to €8,000.
How much is the grant for a disabled person’s home improvements?
Up to €40,000. It pays 100% of the approved cost where the owner and spouse have a gross income of €37,500 or less, falling to 30% between €62,501 and €75,000. There is no grant above €75,000. The grant does not cover VAT.
Does Disability Allowance count as income for the grant?
Yes. Only nine payments are ignored, such as Child Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Fuel Allowance. Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and the State Pension all count.
Can a council tenant get the Housing Adaptation Grant?
No. Council tenants ask the council’s housing department to adapt the house under the Disabled Person’s Grant Scheme. Private tenants and Approved Housing Body tenants can apply for the grant with the owner’s written permission.
Do I need an occupational therapist report?
For a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed track hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used, yes. The council can arrange the assessment after it gets your form, or you can use a private OT and get up to €300 back as part of the grant if it is paid.
Is the grant paid to the builder?
No. The council pays it into the applicant’s bank account when the work is finished and inspected. No work can start before the council’s written approval.
Applying for the council grant?
Our €44.99 grant kit prepares your council application from a short questionnaire, with the OT prep sheet, supporting statement, quote emails and checklist. Everything on this page stays free.
See what is in the kit for disabled people’s grants →