Emergency Works Grants (EWG) are available for owner occupiers who are over 60 or disabled who live within the borough of Burnley. The grant is available where works of repair have been identified as being Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System that pose an imminent threat to the occupants of a property. The grant can be administered quickly to remedy urgent action. The grant is not for larger scale home improvements but can help to remove a danger before more significant improvement works are carried out.
Repairs
This is not an exhaustive list but common repairs include:
- Repairing leaking roofs
- Repairing/replacing dangerous electrics
- Repairing/replacing or installing a central heating system
- Addressing significant damp or dry rot
Eligible households:
- To qualify a person must be an owner-occupier (including a Park Home owner) in receipt of income related benefits and aged 60 and over or must be a disabled person in receipt of income related benefits.
- The property must be their only residence.
- In most cases, private tenants will not be eligible as usually the landlord would be expected to carry out such works as part of their repairing obligations for the property. Housing Association tenants are not eligible as there are systems in place to report and deal with emergency repairs through the landlord.
Amount of grant
All grant applicants will be subject to a ‘means test’ to decide how much, if anything, the applicant must contribute to the cost of the works.
The amount of grant given is the amount needed to meet the costs of the works over and above the applicant’s contribution.
There is however, a grant limit of £10,000, inclusive of fees.
In cases of Emergency Work Grants where the amount of assistance required to remove a Category One Hazard or to deal with unforeseen works exceeds £10,000, the grant limit can be raised up to a maximum of £15,000. The additional amount will be reserved for essential major works where an imminent risk exits such as re-roofing, structural works and other works considered essential by the council.
The grants process
Emergency Works Grants are available from the Council’s Housing & Development Control Unit. On completion of an enquiry form a grants officer will visit you in your home to determine whether the work is eligible for a grant and what will be included in the grant.