Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not act in accordance with the disabled facilities grant conditions when it decided to recoup a £10,000 charge on her parents’, Mr and Mrs J’s, property after they both died. Mrs X also says her parents did not fully understand a charge would be put on the property. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council did not act in accordance with the disabled facilities grant conditions when it decided to recoup a £10,000 charge on her parents’, Mr and Mrs J’s, property after they both died. Mrs X also said her parents did not fully understand a charge would be put on the property. Mrs X stated this caused the family distress and the loss of £10,000 from her parent’s estate. Mrs X wanted the Council to repay the amount.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I read the documents provided by Mrs X and discussed the complaint with her on the phone.
5. I considered the documents the Council sent in response to my enquiries.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant Legislation

Disabled Facilities Grants/Adaptations

7. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable.
8. Before agreeing a DFG the Council must obtain an owner’s certificate. The owner’s certificate confirms that the owner intends to live in the property throughout the grant condition period, or for a shorter period as their health or other relevant circumstances permit them to. It states the council should not require a repayment of the grant if circumstances change and the disabled person can no longer occupy the property as intended. (Disabled facilities Grant (DFG) Delivery: Guidance for local authorities in England Annex B, paragraph 35)
9. The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996: Disabled Facilities Grant General Consent 2008 (General Consent), says that where the DFG exceeds £5,000 the council may impose conditions which allow it to demand repayment or part repayment of the grant if the property is sold or disposed of within 10 years of the work being carried out. This is secured by way of a local land charge against the property. The law says councils may only demand repayment of part of the DFG that exceeds £5,000 but may not demand an amount in excess of £10,000.
10. The council must first consider if it is reasonable to require repayment taking into account:
• if the recipient of the grant would suffer financial hardship if they had to repay;
• whether the sale of the property was to allow the recipient to take employment;
• if the sale was connected to the physical or mental health or wellbeing of the recipient of the grant or ‘of the disabled occupant of the premises’; and
• whether the sale was to allow the recipient to give or receive care.
11. The Act states that any reference to the ‘applicant’ for a grant will apply to their personal representative after the applicant’s death. The General Consent states the ‘applicant’ is also referred to as the ‘recipient’. Therefore, in the event of the owner’s death, the terms of the grant apply to the owner’s personal representative.

What happened

Background

12. Mr and Mrs J lived for over 50 years in a property that they owned. They had children including Mrs X and Mr Y. In 2015 Mrs J was in her early eighties. She had a progressive neuromuscular condition that affected all of her limbs.
13. At the beginning of January 2015 the Council’s Occupational Therapist visited Mrs J at home and completed an assessment of her needs. The assessment said that moving around the property and between her bed and chair and bathroom was becoming more difficult for Mrs J, as was leaving the house. It noted that Mr J provided Mrs J a lot of support.
14. Mrs J completed an application for a disabled facilities grant for a step lift to the front entrance and a ground floor bathroom for their property in March 2015. Mrs J provided her and Mr J’s financial information so the Council could establish their contribution to the grant. As part of that application both Mr and Mrs J signed a ‘declaration and owner’s certificate’.
15. The grant conditions on the application stated the grant would be registered as a local land charge against the property. It said if the applicant disposed of the property by sale or otherwise within ten years of the certified date she would be required to repay £10,000. It set out the four things it would consider as set out by the general consent.
16. The Council considered and approved Mrs J’s application in April 2015. It decided that Mrs J did not need to contribute to the adaptations and the costs of the work would be over £10,000. The approval document set out the same terms and conditions for repaying the grant as the application.
17. The Council certified the work had been completed in July 2015. The Council sent Mrs J the certificate and told her it would now register a local land charge against the property.
18. Mrs J died in 2018. Mr J remained living in the property and benefitted from the adaptations completed under the DFG.
19. Mr J died in 2022 and Mr Y became the executor of Mr and Mr J’s estate.

Events since 2022

20. Mr Y as the executor of Mr and Mrs J’s estate arranged the sale of their house in 2022. As it was within ten years of the completion certificate date, the land charge still applied. During the sale process Mr Y became aware of the land charge against the property and contacted the Council.
21. The Council provided information to Mr Y in October 2022 about the DFGs Mrs J had received and the amount of grants. It explained the grant conditions about repayment. It said there were certain circumstances it must take into account when asking for the repayment of the grant and asked Mr Y if any of the following applied to him:
• “Are you moving home to be able to take up employment elsewhere in the country?
• Are you moving home because the property is no longer suitable to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the applicant or disabled person?
• Are you moving home to be nearer to someone who will provide you with care because of your disability or infirmity?
• Are you moving home to be able to provide someone with care because of their disability or infirmity?
• Will repaying the grant cause you financial hardship?”
22. Mrs X stated that she and Mr Y exchanged many phone calls with the Council as they did not agree with paying the charge for the reasons in paragraph one of this statement. However, as they did not wish to lose the sale of the house Mr Y paid the £10,000 to the Council in January 2023. The Council said it does not have a record of any telephone calls from Mrs X or Mr Y and the Council Officer who dealt with the matter was not aware of a dispute or appeal being raised.
23. Mrs X complained to the Council at the end of January 2023. She said Mr and Mrs J were not aware the grant would have to be repaid if they died. Mrs X asked the Council to repay the £10,000.
24. The Council responded in February 2023 and did not uphold Mrs X’s complaint. It said:
• the grant application form was signed by Mrs J and the terms and conditions were explained to her and Mr J by a Council Officer at the time. It provided a copy of the signed paperwork;
• it had explained the amount reclaimed and the exemptions and how to appeal to Mr Y in October 2022 but he did not appeal the amounts; and
• Mrs X could escalate the complaint to stage two if she remained dissatisfied.
25. Dissatisfied with the Council’s response Mrs X complained to us in March 2023. She said the Council had not used its discretion to waive the repayment on the basis Mr and Mrs J had intended to remain in the property for more than ten years. We asked the Council to consider Mrs X’s complaint.
26. The Council responded and did not uphold the complaint. It said it had acted in accordance with the general consent.
27. In its response to my enquiries the Council told me that at the time of the repayment the land charge was binding on Mr Y, as the executor. Therefore it would have considered the exemptions as they applied to Mr Y, not Mr and Mrs J. It said Mr Y had not appealed so it had not considered its discretion. It said it was not aware before Mr Y made the payment that he disputed it.

My findings

Did Mr and Mrs J understand the land charge?

28. Mrs J completed the application form, provided her financial information and signed a declaration and owners certificate in 2015 which set out the terms and conditions of the DFG. Mr J also signed a declaration and owner’s certificate. The Council sent Mrs J an approval document which also set out the terms and conditions. There is no evidence that Mr and Mrs J were not aware of the land charge against their property, or did not understand when a repayment would be required. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

Did the Council act in accordance with the disabled facilities grant conditions?

29. When Mrs X and Mr Y became aware of the land charge, Mr Y was in the process of selling Mr and Mrs J’s property. He contacted the Council and in return it provided information on the land charge and the relevant legislation. As Mr Y was Mrs J’s personal representative he became the ‘recipient’ of the grant under the terms of the act. The Council asked Mr Y if any of the exemptions applied to him. Mrs X said she and Mr Y called the Council about the matter. However, the Council does not have any record of those calls. I cannot make a finding on whether those calls occurred, but I have not seen any evidence Mr Y provided further information to the Council to demonstrate the exemptions applied to him. Mr Y then paid the amount of the land charge. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

Back to top

Final decision

30. I have completed my investigation. I did not find any fault in the Council’s actions.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman