Housing Adaptation Grant Cork 2026: stairlift and bathroom grants up to €40,000 from Cork City or Cork County Council

Last updated: 21 October 2026 · For Cork City Council and Cork County Council

Cork is Ireland's largest county by area and second largest by population, and it has two separate local authorities running the State home adaptation grants. If you live in Cork city itself, you apply to Cork City Council. If you live anywhere in the rest of County Cork, Mallow, Bandon, Midleton, Cobh, Macroom, Youghal, Skibbereen, Bantry, Clonakilty and everywhere in between, you apply to Cork County Council. The grant rules are identical, but the council you write to is different.

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Which Cork council do you apply to?

The split is straightforward: Cork City Council covers the city's administrative area; Cork County Council covers everywhere else. If unsure, enter your Eircode at finder.eircode.ie, the result tells you your local authority.

Cork's city boundary extended in 2019, bringing several towns (Glanmire, Tower, Blarney, Ballincollig) into the city council's area. If you're near the boundary, definitely confirm via Eircode lookup before sending your application to the wrong council.

How to apply in Cork, step by step

1. Identify your council using the Eircode lookup or the table above.
2. Check whether you need an OT report. You need one for a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only a stairlift or fixed hoist). Ask your GP or public health nurse for an HSE occupational therapist referral early, or use a private OT. If you pay a private OT and the grant is paid, the council pays back up to €300 of the fee as part of the grant, not on top of it (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only where the council decides the assessment was needed). If you have none, the council can arrange an assessment after it gets your application.
3. Check what the council wants on quotes. Cork City Council’s checklist asks for a quotation with the application only for roof, rewiring, and window and door work. For a stairlift or other adaptation, both Cork councils use the national form, which asks for no set number: after approval, the council asks for information from the contractor doing the work, such as a quote and their tax reference number.
4. Download the application form from your council's website (links below).
5. Submit: the form (with the Doctor’s Certificate signed and stamped by your GP, for the Housing Adaptation or Mobility Aids Grant), proof of income for the previous tax year for the owner and their spouse or partner (a Revenue Statement of Liability, not a P60, plus a Department of Social Protection payment statement for payments that are not on it, such as Disability Allowance or Fuel Allowance), proof that Local Property Tax is paid, deferred or exempt for all years, with the owner’s name and the address (Cork City Council asks for a Revenue letter showing LPT paid for 2013 to 2025, or the full payment history), and an OT report if the work needs one. If the grant comes to €10,000 or more you will also need tax clearance from Revenue, which the council asks for after approval. Cork City also asks for the extra items on its checklist for roof, rewiring, heating, and window and door work: quotes, photographs and reports.
6. Wait for written approval. The national target is a decision within six weeks of a complete application. Do not start works.
7. Have works carried out after approval. Submit completion documents to receive payment.

Steps, documents, quotes and OT reports: national application form, Cork City Council checklist, national guidelines, December 2024, checked 21 October 2026.

Cork council application details

Cork City Council

• Send to: Housing Loans & Grants Section, Cork City Council, City Hall, Anglesea Street, Cork T12 T997
• In person: Ground Floor, City Hall, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
• Phone: 021 4924000 (City Hall)
• Email, for questions: housinggrants@corkcity.ie
• Grants page: corkcity.ie

Cork County Council

• Email or post: the council’s form (July 2026) says all documents can be emailed as attachments to privatehousegrants@corkcoco.ie, or posted to Housing Grants, Cork County Council, Annabella, Mallow, Co. Cork, P51 Y6YT
• One grants office for the whole county, in Mallow. Do not send the form to County Hall in Cork
• Grants line: 022 30416
• Grants page: corkcoco.ie

Addresses, phone numbers and emails checked on Cork City Council, Cork County Council pages and application forms on 21 October 2026. Confirm with the council before posting anything.

Cork County Council and Cork City Council grants for pensioners, stairlifts and bathrooms

When people look for Cork County Council grants for pensioners, or housing grants from Cork City Council, they usually mean three grants. Both Cork councils run all three, and each takes all three on one application form.

• Housing Aid for Older People: up to €10,700 for homeowners aged 66 or over, for essential repairs and improvements such as heating, windows or rewiring.
• Mobility Aids Grant: up to €8,000 for a stairlift, grab rails, a ramp or a level-access shower, for household incomes up to €37,500.
• Housing Adaptation Grant: up to €40,000 for bigger work such as a through-floor lift, a downstairs bathroom or an extension, for household incomes up to €75,000.

These are also what people mean by home improvement grants for pensioners, or grants for disabled adaptations, in Cork. There is no separate HSE stair lift grant in Cork. The council pays the grant, and the HSE’s part is usually the occupational therapist report.

How long it takes in Cork

The national guidelines ask councils to decide within six weeks of receiving a fully completed and valid application. That is a target, not a deadline, and the clock starts only when nothing is missing: a council sends back an application that is missing key documents, with a checklist. We found no processing time on either council’s pages (checked 21 October 2026). Cork City Council says applications are prioritised on the basis of medical need and subject to the availability of funding (Cork City Council).

If the work needs an occupational therapist report (a stairlift or through-floor lift, a fixed hoist, an extension or a big change to how a room is used), ask your GP or public health nurse for the referral early, and ask how long the wait is: we found no official waiting times for these assessments. If you pay a private OT and the grant is paid, the council pays back up to €300 of the fee as part of the grant, not on top of it (for the Mobility Aids Grant, only where the council decides the assessment was needed). Order nothing until the council approves in writing: work started before approval is not paid for.

Getting the application form

Cork City Council and Cork County Council each have their own form on their websites, under housing grants. Apply to the council for the area you live in; the section above explains which one that is. Our guide to the housing adaptation grant application form shows what each section asks for and what to have ready before you start.

What's specific to applying in Cork

• Older rural housing. West Cork especially has many homes built before modern stair regulations. Curved stairlifts are common because of bends, half-landings and irregular tread depths.
• Listed buildings in the city. Cork's city centre has a high concentration of protected structures (Victorian terraces, Georgian houses). If your home is listed, you may need a Section 57 declaration before fitting a curved rail or through-floor lift.
• Boundary changes (2019). If you live in Glanmire, Tower, Blarney or Ballincollig, you're now under Cork City Council, even if you've always thought of yourself as Cork County. Check before applying.
• Coastal salt air. If you're fitting an outdoor stairlift in coastal Cork (Cobh, Crosshaven, Kinsale, Skibbereen, Bantry), specify weatherproofed/marine-grade, it adds modest cost but doubles lifespan.

Cork stairlift coverage by town

Stairlift and home adaptation installers work across all of County Cork. Common service areas include: Cork city, Mallow, Bandon, Midleton, Cobh, Macroom, Youghal, Kinsale, Skibbereen, Bantry, Clonakilty, Carrigaline, Carrigtwohill, Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Charleville, Crosshaven, Passage West, Glanmire, Ballincollig, Blarney, Douglas, Bishopstown.

FAQs, Cork specifically