Purpose of Grant
The Scheme of Housing Aid for Older People is available to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out.
Who is Eligible for the Grant
An elderly person (persons living alone) who wishes to carry out general repairs to the dwelling in which they are residing in order to prolong the useful life of the house for some ten years rather than requiring the elderly occupants to seek rehousing. The occupant must be 66 years of age or older.
Where there is more than one occupant, one of the occupants must be over 66 years of age and the remaining occupants must be: -
o over 66 years of age
o Children under 18 or
o Aged 18 – 23 and in full time education or engaged in a FAS apprenticeship*.
*Evidence must be submitted from Educational / Training body for household members aged between 18 and 23 years and in full time education or engaged in a FAS apprenticeships.
In exceptional cases applications may be considered where a person under the age of 66 years resides with the elderly applicant. The criteria requires that the occupant who is under the age limit, is seriously handicapped and is cared for by their parent(s) i.e. the elderly occupants are the carers looking after a child/younger person who is severely handicapped & totally dependant on the adult for care.
The following conditions also apply:
(a) The dwelling must be the applicants normal place of residence.
(b) The repairs, whilst less than those appropriate to render the house fit in every respect, constitute repairs considered reasonably necessary to prolong the useful life of the house.
What type of Work is Covered
The Grant, which is not a reconstruction grant, may be paid in respect of carrying out repairs / improvements to a house where, in the opinion of the Local Authority, the repairs / improvements, whilst less than those appropriate to render the house fit in every respect, constitute repairs / improvements that are reasonably necessary to prolong the useful life of the house.
The type of works which can be considered are repairs / improvements to windows/doors, roof, chimney, dry lining/plastering, rewiring, smoke alarms, radon remediation works, and water / sewerage facilities.
Windows and Doors
Works must be necessary only as a result of the windows and doors reaching the end of their natural life under normal usage and weathering, and not as a result of poor design / construction or maintenance. The presence of soft wood or single glazed windows will not automatically qualify a dwelling to be eligible for grant assistance.
Where an item can be repaired in-lieu of replacement, grant aid will always reflect the repair cost as opposed to the replacement cost, e.g. repair’s to locks / latches / seals / slips / sashes. No allowance will be available for replacement of defective glass panes.
Roof
To qualify for assistance there must be evidence of water penetration / internal damage being caused due to the state of the existing roof. The repair works must be necessary only as a result of the roof reaching the end of its natural life expectancy and not as a result of poor design / construction / workmanship when it was originally constructed. A roof constructed less than 25 years is therefore unlikely to qualify. Where an existing roof is deemed to be dangerous by a qualified structural engineer, this would qualify for grant assistance. The first option to be considered would be the repair to the roof as opposed to its replacement. Where repair is a feasible option, the grant payable will reflect the repair cost as opposed to the replacement cost on a pro rota basis. Damage to a roof caused by the erection of aerials / satellite dishes resulting in broken / damaged slates / tiles etc will not qualify for grant assistance.
Chimney
The Chimney must show clear evidence of severe cracking and/or water penetration to interior walls and / or severe failure of the chimney lining and / or structural deterioration. The repair works must be necessary only as result of the chimney reaching the end of its natural life expectancy under normal long-term usage and weathering, and not as a result of poor design / construction / workmanship when it was originally constructed. With regard to this, it is therefore unlikely that any Chimney less than 25 years old will qualify.
Eligible remedial works include relining, rebuilding, crowns, caps, crack repair, picking and plastering, waterproofing and replacement lead work. Where an item can be repaired instead of replaced the grant aid will reflect the repair cost as opposed to the replacement cost.
The following will not qualify for grant assistance : Deterioration caused by the erection of aerials / dishes. Deterioration caused by using unsuitable fuels / combustion temperatures. Deterioration caused by chimney fires and / or failure to clean the chimney or a regular basis.
Dry Lining/Plastering
If a house or part thereof is suffering from water penetration through the walls, or is constructed from a solid block/stone, it may qualify for dry lining/plastering.
Re-wiring
The existing wiring must be deemed dangerous or deemed necessary only as a result of the existing wiring having reached its natural life expectancy. It is therefore unlikely that re-wiring of a property built in the 1990’s or later would qualify. A full report on the existing wiring with recommendations (clearly stating the works required to make the wiring safe or to bring the wiring up to the current RECI/ ECSSA standards) from a RECI/ ECSSA approved electrician must be submitted with the application.
Where the existing wiring can be upgraded instead of replaced the grant aid will reflect the upgrade cost as opposed to replacement cost.
It will be necessary to submit a RECI/ ECSSA certificate from approved electrician in order to obtain payment of grant aid when works are complete.
Smoke Alarms
It is strongly recommended that an applicant should include smoke alarms in any suite of works undertaken, if not already present and operating in a dwelling. The preferred option is to include the provision of a mains operated smoke alarm in conjunction with any rewiring works which are taking place.
Alternatively as a minimum, at least, two self contained, ten year battery operated alarms should be installed. In such cases it is important to ensure that batteries are frequently checked and replaced as required.
Radon Remediation Works
Grant aid towards the cost of remediation works shall be restricted to homes with reference levels of 200 Bq/m3 and above. Radon levels can be checked by installing a Monitoring device available from the RPII (Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland), 3 Clonskeagh Square, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, Tel: 01 269 77 66.
The types of radon remediation works necessary will vary according to the reference level.
For homes with measurements between 200 Bq/m3 and 400 Bq/m3, the following remediation works are deemed appropriate:
Sealing of floors and walls;
Increasing indoor ventilation such as unblocking air vents;
Providing additional wall vents;
Increasing under floor ventilation, i.e. the installation of additional sub floor vents or airbricks or the clearing or replacement of existing ones.
For homes with reference levels of 400 Bq/m3 and above the most appropriate remediation works are the installation of a passive or fan assisted sump.
Before approving a grant for Radon Radiation Works, the Council will have to be satisfied as to the appropriateness of the proposed remediation works while bearing in mind the ongoing need to obtain best possible value for money.
Grant aid for Radon Remediation Works is not available as a standalone item, they must form part of a suite of other works under the scheme. Furthermore, grant aid is not available towards the cost of carrying out the initial radon measurements in homes or towards the cost of re-testing homes following remediation.
Water/Sewerage Facilities
Where there are no existing water/sewerage facilities in a dwelling, these can be considered for inclusion in the works. An example would be where the only existing water supply is an outside tap or where there is an outside toilet.
As separate grants are available from the Water, Environment & Emergency Department for the provision of a well water supply, this is not covered under the Housing Aid for Older People Scheme.
Central Heating/Insulation
Assistance is available from other Authorities/Agencies for these works.
Other
Other minor repairs or improvements as appropriate may be considered where deemed necessary. An example would be repair of a ceiling / floor.
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