Special Needs Capital Grant

This is a Scotland specific grant normally administered by the Scottish Government. The purpose of the grant is to assist disabled people to meet the capital costs of purchase.

To apply for grant funding:

there must be a housing need, which is recognised and supported by the local authority social work department and, ideally, the housing department.
there must be insufficient means to achieve the purchase without grant assistance.
it must be demonstrated that all other housing options have been explored and shown to be unfeasible, for instance because of lack of availability or unreasonable delay.

As well as meeting the preceding criteria, the availability of the grant is also dependent on there being money within the Scottish Government's annual budget. Only a small amount is set aside each year for such projects and there is no guarantee that each application will be successful.

The maximum public subsidy available to help purchase is 40% of ‘project costs'. ‘Project costs' are principally the valuation price of a property but can include essential repairs and adaptations. The purchase price may differ significantly from the valuation price and so someone wishing to purchase would need to be able to fund the difference between the valuation and purchase price from their own resources. A mortgage would not cover this difference as it too is based on valuation rather than purchase price. If there is additional funding from a local authority this will be included in the 40% limit. As well as being percentage limited, the Scottish Government can also impose a cash limit if they consider the grant too large.

SNCG is not available directly to individuals and must be applied for and administered through an intermediary, such as Ownership Options. At the moment Ownership Options is the only organisation using SNCG for purchase.

In order to apply for SNCG, OOiS needs certain information from clients, and it would be useful to have this information to hand if you wish to contact us. The following information is needed:

Written support from an occupational therapist or appropriate professional confirming the housing needs of the disabled person.
If existing owners, valuation of property which they own, and outstanding mortgage if any. From these figures the amount of equity available for future purchase can be determined.
Amount of savings and/or family contribution to the project, if any.
The likely price of a house which would be suitable for the disabled person. Estimates can be obtained by speaking with solicitors or estate agents.
Any possible mortgage finance they may be able to get and the interest rates that they can borrow on.