Free Stairlifts

Stairlifts can be a considerable expense for many people, particularly for those who do not have straight staircases – and most people don’t!  Luckily, there may be some help available to people that could potentially allow them to qualify for free stairlifts.

Free Stairlifts – Council’s Disabled Facilities Grants

Every local council should run a disabled facilities grants programme, through which you may be able to apply for financial assistance to pay for your stairlift, potentially allowing you to have free stairlifts installed in your home.  Every council has different acceptance criteria for their disabilities grants, although some of the more common criteria include:

• To be in receipt of a means tested benefit such as pension credit or disability living allowance at the higher rate
• To be aged over 60
• To have a doctor’s letter which states that you are no longer able to travel up and down stairs unaided

How do I Apply for Free Stairlifts?

Applying for the disabled facilities grants through your local council may seem like a daunting task, particularly since they will more than likely ask you a series of questions that may be very difficult to understand or answer appropriately.

Your first port of call, of course, should be your local council to ask them for all the documentation you require to be able to apply for financial assistance to help you get free stairlifts.  Once you have received this documentation, you may want to speak to friends or members of your family who can help you to submit all of the required information.  However, you could also seek advice from organisations such as:

• Adult social care, through your local council
• Age UK
• The Citizen’s Advice Bureau
• Help the Aged
• Age Concern

There are many people in charitable organisations that focus specifically on providing advice and guidance to the elderly and that would be able to help you complete your form.

Of course, financial aid towards free stairlifts is not only available to the elderly.  A stairlift can also be a tremendous help to families with disabled children.  With most councils, if a family has a disabled child under the age of 19, there will be no need to have a means tested assessment done in order to apply for the disabled facilities grant.

Means testing your income in order to assess whether you may be able to apply for free stairlifts generally means that:

• The local authority will check whether you receive any benefits that are means tested
• Whether you have any savings above £6,000
• Whether you have a partner and if so what his or her income is

As you can see, it may be difficult to receive free stairlifts, particularly in this economic climate, but it certainly is not impossible.  Most stairlift installation companies will also be able to advise you on what options are available to you, so you should be able to receive some sound advice on the possibility of receiving free stairlifts.  The best and first option, however, should always be your local authority.

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