Child Dla

savvymum1

Hi, my son gets DLA and I get carers allowance we live in a two bed house and want to get the garage converted for us to sleep in so my son gets the biggest bedroom it's a very large double with built in wardrobes so we would like to turn it into a bedroom with a special sensory space for him. We had planned to get a small bank loan out for the work but my husband suggests for a couple of years saving the DLA and carers to pay for it. Would this be allowed? We can cover his hobbies, therapies etc from other wages. I'm not sure so just wanted your thoughts please. 

Savvy_Sue

You can do pretty much what you like with DLA, it's not means-tested and there are no checks on how it is spent. 

I would think it is unlikely (because there's a limited pot of money and possibly restrictions on what it can be spent on, with converting a garage when you already have 'enough' possibly being a low priority), but you could also check whether you would be able to get a Disabled Facilities Grant from your local council - search their website. It also might not be a lot faster than saving up the DLA ... 

poppy12345

You can do what you want with the money. However, if you claim certain means tested benefits then these will be affected by savings over more than £6,000.

Albermarle

but you could also check whether you would be able to get a Disabled Facilities Grant from your local council

We did this about 20 years ago. We got approx one third as a grant, one third as an interest free loan and one third we paid ourselves. This was fair enough as some of the associated work was more general home improvement, than anything very specifically disabled related. Also we did not pay VAT on supplies.