Home improvement grants for the elderly

There is some help available for people hoping to repair their homes in the form of the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, which is aimed at people aged 66 and older, who are living in poor housing conditions. It is provided so essential repairs can be made to improve the condition of an older person's home.

This can include the repairing or replacing the roof, upgrading the electrical wiring, repairing or replacing the windows and doors, and providing central heating. The means-tested grant is paid where the older person either owns the home, or has a right to live in the home where the work will be done.

The grant covers some of the cost of work needed, but not all of it. The maximum grant available is €8,000 or 95% of the cost of the work approved by your local authority. It is available to people with annual household incomes of less than €30,000. This reduces to 30% for those with annual household incomes of €50,001 to €60,000.

Grants of up to €30,000 are also available to assist disabled people in carrying out necessary works to make a house more suitable for their needs. The grant can be used to make a home more accessible by adding ramps or other ways to access a home, extending the home to create more space, adding accessible bathroom facilities, and installing a stair lift and grab rails. If the household income is less than €30,000, it is possible to get 95% of the cost of the works up to the maximum grant amount.

There was €83.125 million in funding allocated for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older and Disabled people for this year. This is a 2.3% increase on the initial 2022 funding allocation and represents a continuation of the year-on-year increases in the grant since 2014.