Housing Authority amends disability grant scheme

The Housing Authority's disability grant scheme has been amended to make more people eligible for assistance.

"The authority's board continually adjusts its policies to reflect the demands and needs of our customers," authority chairman Marisa Micallef said.

"The element of means testing that has been introduced is extremely sensitive and humane because no two families' circumstances, particularly where disabled children are concerned, are exactly the same."

One of the changes concerns the calculation of assets of the applicants. The board has decided that the amount of expenses related to treatment or equipment for the needs of the disabled person would be deducted from the amount of assets during the year of assessment.

Applicants have to produce bills and fiscal receipts showing the amounts spent, related to the disability, during that year.

The board also agreed that the applicants under this scheme should produce an official estimate showing the cost of the lift and an estimate of the structural alterations to their property.

The authority would then grant the applicants a percentage of the estimate according to their assets.

The maximum grant for the installation of a passenger lift under this scheme is Lm5,000; that is Lm4,000 for the lift and Lm1,000 for the structural alterations.

Another change that will entitle more persons to benefit from this grant includes increasing the ceiling on the value of property.