The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Scheme of Assistance) Regulations 2008

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 73(1)(b) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 requires that a local authority provide assistance for the purpose of adapting a house for a disabled person or reinstating such adaptations. Various types of assistance are listed in section 71(3).

Regulation 3 provides that such assistance must be by way of a grant where the adaptations are essential to the disabled person’s needs and the work is structural or involves permanent changes to the house, except in specific cases set out in regulation 3(3). Where the adaptations are essential to the needs of the disabled person, but do not qualify for mandatory assistance by grant, the assistance provided must include advice and information to help the applicant to fund the work.

Regulation 4 provides that where a grant is mandatory, either because it is for the works described in regulation 3 or it is for the purpose of providing standard amenities as described in section 73 of the Act, the specified percentage of the approved expense, as defined in section 76, is 80 per cent. If the applicant for the grant, or some connected person as listed in section 77(2)(a)(ii) to (iv), is in receipt of any of the benefits listed in Regulation 4(3), the specified percentage of the approved expense is 100 per cent.

Applicants for any grant or subsidised loan may be required to pay a contribution towards the approved expense. In regulation 5 the Scottish Ministers delegate the assessment of the applicant’s contribution to local authorities.