What does it do?Home Repair Assistance loan
Wirral Council can offer financial help for home repairs to homeowners who receive Income Support or Council Tax Benefit or who have been refused a commercial loan. An interest-free loan known as a Home Repair Assistance loan is available to people who can’t pay for repairs to their property.
How does the loan work?
The loan is placed as a financial charge on the property. This means it must be paid back to the Council when the property is sold.
The maximum interest-free loan will be £6,000. Applicants must be over 18 years old and either be receiving Income Support or Council Tax Benefit or have been refused a commercial loan.
What sort of repairs can the loan be used for?
- A Home Repair Assistance loan is available to pay for repairs in situations where:
- There is a risk of electric shock or fire as a result of a faulty electrical installation
- There is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning
- There is a risk in the very near future of the collapse of part of the building
- Rainwater is getting into an occupied room or around a light fitting or a power source and is likely to cause a serious risk to health
- The property is so damp that it is unhealthy to live in
- The repair or replacement of a domestic water or central heating appliance is needed in accommodation which is occupied by elderly people or young children
- The drains have collapsed and are causing sewage to leak out and the repairs are not covered by property insurance
- The Council considers the property to be too cold.
If the cost of any professional investigation such as an electrical, gas engineer's or timber specialist's report is met as part of the loan from the Council, this will have to be paid back to the Council. This is payable whether or not the repairs go ahead.
When a homeowner asks for help, the Council will carry out an inspection of the home. Sometimes the Council might ask for other urgent repairs or improvements to be made. The costs for these will be included in the amount of the loan. Where the cost of works is likely to be over £6,000 an Equity Renewal Loan may be offered instead of Home Repair Assistance.