Home improvements

Means-testing - test of resources

Grants and financial assistance for home repair and adaptation

We provide a range of grants and other financial assistance to enable the repair and adaptation of homes within Central Bedfordshire. Each form of financial assistance has specific eligibility criteria, and for some, such as Home Improvement Assistance, a Test of Resources is conducted to determine the applicant's expected contribution toward the cost of the works before any assistance (if applicable) is provided.

Applicants can get an approximate idea of their expected contribution by downloading and completing the Preliminary Means Test (PMT) form (PDF) and emailing it to psh@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

Upon receiving completed PMT forms, we will carry out a calculation and notify the sender of how much (if any) contribution they would be expected to make.

Loan assistance may also be available to landlords to help raise the standard of their rented properties above the legal minimum, or for bringing empty properties into use. In such cases, instead of a Test of Resources, the amount of financial assistance would be based on a percentage of the cost of eligible works.