Occupational Therapy adaptations to council housing

Adaptations are changes to your home to make it easier and safer to manage everyday tasks. There are two ways adaptations are assessed in council homes:

• when part of the home, like a bathroom, kitchen or external doors and steps are due to be upgraded by our Housing Service at the end of their expected lifespan, the needs of the current tenant are assessed by a Housing Occupational Therapist (Housing OT)
• if an adaptation is needed for a council tenant before an upgrade is due, they are assessed by our Social Care Occupational Therapy Service 

In both cases, the occupational therapists will assess the person based on their functional needs rather than a medical condition. A medical condition will only be considered where it affects the person’s ability to complete daily tasks safely and independently.

The information on this page explains how adaptations are considered in particular situations.

Bathrooms upgrades (excluding sheltered housing and sheltered linked cottages)

Small ground floor or single storey homes

If you are a council tenant living in either a 1 or 2 bedroom single storey house or ground floor flat, and your bathroom is due to be replaced, it will normally be upgraded to a full wet room. Bathrooms are typically replaced every 20 years. Providing wet rooms helps make sure the home remains suitable for tenants with different functional abilities throughout the life of the new bathroom.

If you live in this type of home and you currently have a bath, you will be offered a choice of either:

• New bath with an over bath shower
• Full wet room

If your home already has a shower arrangement, such as a wet room, level-access shower, easy-access shower, or shower cubicle, you will not be able to request a bath as part of the upgrade.

Tenants are not normally permitted to install a bath at their own expense, in place of a shower arrangement. Any request to do this would only be considered if the tenant agrees to remove their bath and reinstate the wet room to our specification, and at their own cost, when the tenancy ends.

All other council housing

If your bathroom is due to be upgraded the standard replacement is a bath with over-bath shower. If your home already has a wet room or another adapted shower arrangement that is not needed by the current tenant, as confirmed by the Housing OT, the tenant can choose to have a bath with an over bath shower installed. The exception is where the bathroom is too small to fit a bath. In these circumstances, a shower cubicle must be fitted.

If the Social Care Occupational Therapy Service is asked to assess for adaptations before the bathroom is due for replacement, they will not assess for the installation of a standard bath. This reflects our approach of providing and keeping existing showering and wet room facilities wherever possible. The Social Care Occupational Therapy Service doesn't fund or recommend the provision of standard domestic baths as these aren't considered a medical or functional adaptation.

Fencing around council homes

Fencing is provided around council housing when the homes are built, taking account of planning requirements at the time. The Housing Service is responsible for maintaining and repairing fencing that forms part of the property and is covered by the tenancy agreement. Dividing fences between neighbouring gardens are the responsibility of the tenants.

Our Housing OTs and the Social Care Occupational Therapy Service don't assess requests for new fencing. Fencing will not be provided in response to concerns about a child's safety, behavioural issues or medical conditions, as it is not considered an adaptation related to a person’s functional needs in the home.

Tenants who wish to install additional fencing at their own expense should speak to their local housing officer and get permission before the work is carried out.