Home improvement agencies in the United Kingdom
Home improvement agencies in England:
Bedfordshire (4),
Berkshire (6),
Buckinghamshire (5),
Cambridgeshire (6),
Channel Islands (2),
Cheshire (8),
Cornwall (7),
Cumbria (6),
Derbyshire (9),
Devon (10),
Dorset (8),
Durham (10),
East Riding of Yorkshire (2),
East Sussex (6),
Essex (14),
Gloucestershire (7),
Greater London (33),
Greater Manchester (11),
Hampshire (13),
Herefordshire (1),
Hertfordshire (10),
Isle of Wight (1),
Kent (13),
Lancashire (14),
Leicestershire (9),
Lincolnshire (9),
Merseyside (5),
Norfolk (7),
North Yorkshire (10),
Northamptonshire (7),
Northumberland (6),
Nottinghamshire (8),
Oxfordshire (9),
Shropshire (6),
Somerset (8),
South Yorkshire (4),
Staffordshire (9),
Suffolk (7),
Surrey (11),
Tyne and Wear (5),
Warwickshire (5),
West Midlands (8),
West Sussex (7),
West Yorkshire (5),
Wiltshire (5),
Worcestershire (7),
Home improvement agencies in Scotland:
Aberdeen (1),
Aberdeenshire (1),
Angus (1),
Argyll & Bute (1),
Clackmannanshire (1),
Dumfries & Galloway (2),
Dundee (1),
East Ayrshire (1),
East Dunbartonshire (1),
East Lothian (1),
East Renfrewshire (1),
Edinburgh (1),
Eilean Siar / Western Isles (0),
Falkirk (1),
Fife (1),
Glasgow (1),
Highland (7),
Inverclyde (1),
Midlothian (1),
Moray (1),
North Ayrshire (2),
North Lanarkshire (1),
Orkney Islands (1),
Perth & Kinross (2),
Renfrewshire (1),
Scottish Borders (1),
Shetland Islands (1),
South Ayrshire (1),
South Lanarkshire (1),
Stirling (1),
West Dunbartonshire (1),
West Lothian (1),
Home improvement agencies in Wales:
Anglesey (1),
Blaenau Gwent (1),
Bridgend (1),
Caerphilly (1),
Cardiff (1),
Carmarthenshire (1),
Ceredigion (1),
Conwy (1),
Denbighshire (1),
Flintshire (1),
Gwynedd (1),
Merthyr Tydfil (1),
Monmouthshire (1),
Neath Port Talbot (1),
Newport (1),
Pembrokeshire (1),
Powys (1),
Rhondda Cynon Taff (1),
Swansea (1),
Torfaen (1),
Vale of Glamorgan (1),
Wrexham (1),
What are home improvement agencies?
Provide advice, support and assistance to help people repair, improve or adapt their home
Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) are local not for profit organisations funded and supported by local and central government. They provide advice, support and assistance to elderly, disabled and vulnerable people who own and live in their own property. They help people to repair, improve, maintain or adapt their home to meet their changing needs. The purpose of the service is to help people to remain independent, in their own homes, warm, safe and secure.
To assess someone’s needs HIA staff will visit them and offer information, advice and support on:
- Problems relating to their property
- All their housing options
- Completion of any necessary forms
- Legal entitlements
- Other available support services
Finance
HIA staff will give information about financial options and their implications. They will also give practical assistance on raising funds. This will include:
- Availability of grants from statutory bodies
- Releasing equity and accessing loans
- Obtaining independent financial advice
- Accessing charitable funding
- Benefit entitlement
- The effect that certain options may have on benefit entitlement
- Insurance claims
- Savings
Technical Matters
HIA staff will give reliable technical advice, which will include:
- Home visit and inspection
- Advice on the scale and cost of any necessary works
- Help with choosing a reputable and reliable builder
- Monitoring the builder’s performance
- Appropriate contracts and documentation
Other services
HIAs sometimes also provide additional services, for example, a Handyperson, decorating or gardening services.
For more information about Home Improvement Agencies, visit the website of your national co-ordinating organisation: