Adapting property for disabled child - likely costs

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My DS and DIL have a severely physically disabled child who is not yet 2. They currently live in a 3 story Victorian house which would be impossible to adapt for her needs and so they are in the process of trying to buy a bungalow.

None of the bungalows they have seen is perfect - they would all need some work to adapt them (eg widening doors for a wheelchair; creating an accessible bathroom; making the garden wheelchair accessible; or building an extension to create extra bedrooms and/or bathrooms).

They have no idea how much these adaptations would cost. Is there a guide anywhere that would give them a rough idea of costs? (Obviously if they want to proceed with a particular property they would have to get advice from a builder about whether the adaptations they need would be possible, but at this stage they just need a rough idea of how much they might need to spend over the purchase price.)

They would be eligible for a disabled facilities grant where councils will pay up to £30k for adaptations as the child is under 18. They also help with sending out OTs to advise on exactly what adaptations need to be made.

www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants/what-youll-get

which all sounds great but can take a v long time to get delivered. And can be somewhat stressful sadly. So they are doing right to get started whilst their child is young.

We had our Victorian house adapted to take DW's wheelchair two years ago. A window converted into a new back door to allow wheelchair access. An interior wall taken down to turn the dining room into a large ground floor bedroom. Ceiling hoists fitted in this new bedroom and in the living room.

This was in Berkshire. It came to about £3.5K in round numbers.

A level access shower is about £9000, extensions start at around £50000. It would be perfectly reasonable to contact children's social services OT now and try and get an idea of timeframes. Waiting lists really vary for instance recently my team was managing 3 month wait for OT then 3 month for the building works for a simple level access shower, but in previous years people were waiting two years.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

They are eligible for the disabled facilities grant. The council sent someone out to look at their existing house who concluded that it could not be satisfactorily adapted, so they need to move. They want their child to have wheelchair access to the whole property and garden in due course.

The parents both work at home and have another child and will have overnight respite care from a carer at times, so they are looking for 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. They expect that they will have to spend their own money to get some of what they want in addition to the grant but are struggling to know how much things will cost.

For example, they saw a nice bungalow in the area they want but it had only 2 bedrooms and one bathroom. There was plenty of room to extend the property but they had no idea how much that would cost so they didn't know if they could afford to buy it and add an extension. So it is helpful to know, for example, that an extension would start at £50k.

What I was wondering is if there is a website or similar that gives estimates for typical examples of building work. Sarah Beeney produced a book that did this years ago (which I have) but it is now hopelessly out of date.

There are private property search specialists who complete the search and cost the changes for you, they also can uncover properties which you may not think are suitable. They charge for their service but long term may be a worthwhile investment.

designforindependence.co.uk

Thank you - that may be worth thinking about (although they are a young couple without a lot of spare cash).

the best advice I can give ( having done the opposite with 2 wheelchair users in the household) is think with their heads and not their hearts when buying a property.
If they can drop on a bungalow( or even a house ) with a downstairs shower room or wetroom and a dining room that can be used as a bedroom they will find it much easier to adapt. A disabled facilities grant would likely cover the cost of ceiling track hoists ( which will be needed as their child grows ) and any adaptations to doorways and the shower room.
If they need to monitor their child overnight they could use a monitor or a cctv camera or if they need to be right on hand a large enough room could accommodate an extra bed or comfortable recliner to sleep in. Some go flat and are really comfy.
Also consider a flat garden and good size driveway with level access to the doors front and back.
After 20 yrs of various adaptations for my children I wish we had thought of all this stuff from the get go. But you live and learn.

Thank you @flapjackfairy , it is very helpful to hear from your experience. Very best wishes to you and your family.

Happy to look at some adaptable properties if you want to DM me with price and location