Disabled Facilities Grant wet rooms in Cornwall and Plymouth
If you or someone you care for is finding the bath or shower hard to use, a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) from your local council may help pay towards adapting your bathroom. We turn existing bathrooms into level-access wet rooms and low-level shower rooms for elderly and disabled people and their carers.
Grants
What is a Disabled Facilities Grant?
A Disabled Facilities Grant is money from your local council towards changes to your home that help a disabled person live there more safely and independently, such as replacing a bath with a level-access shower.
- In England, the council can award up to £30,000 for a mandatory grant. Some councils offer extra help on top. (Source: GOV.UK)
- The grant is usually means-tested, so you may be asked to pay part of the cost. The council will tell you how much.
- The grant can be for an owner-occupier, a tenant or a landlord with a disabled tenant.
- Do not start any work before the council gives written approval. If work starts early, the grant may be refused.
In Cornwall, you can choose your own contractor, so you can ask the council for Aqua Care Wet Rooms. For other councils, please ask whether you can choose your own contractor. Find out more on GOV.UK: gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants
Who may be eligible?
Only your council can decide whether you are eligible. In most cases:
- An occupational therapist (OT) assesses your needs and recommends what changes are needed.
- The council carries out a means test to work out whether you need to pay towards the work. (Children under 18 are not means-tested.)
- The council decides whether to approve a grant, what work it covers and how much it pays.
Where to start
Ask for an occupational therapist (OT) assessment:
- Cornwall: Cornwall Council Adult Social Care, 0300 1234 131, or the online form on cornwall.gov.uk
- Home Solutions, for adaptation and grant questions: 01872 224707
- Plymouth: Plymouth City Council / Livewell Southwest (Adult Social Care), 01752 668000
Aqua Care Wet Rooms Ltd work in association with Cornwall Council Home Solutions in delivering bathroom adaptations for disabled and elderly residents in Cornwall.
Want things to move faster?
A private OT can give advice sooner, but your council may still need its own OT to decide what the grant covers, so ask your council before paying. A private OT's fee can sometimes be included in the grant if your council agrees and the grant is approved. Check with your council before you book, as you may have to pay the fee yourself if the grant isn't approved.
In Cornwall, you can choose your own contractor, so you can ask the council for Aqua Care Wet Rooms. For other councils, please ask whether you can choose your own contractor.
Why choose us
Choose Aqua Care for your wet room in Cornwall
Cornwall Council allows householders to choose their own contractor for a Disabled Facilities Grant. Aqua Care is a registered contractor with Cornwall Home Solutions.
Aqua Care Wet Rooms Ltd work in association with Cornwall Council Home Solutions in delivering bathroom adaptations for disabled and elderly residents in Cornwall.
From our side, we engage our trusted OT service within days and complete the design and submission within a week. The grant decision is the council’s. We cannot apply for the grant, and we cannot promise approval or how long the council will take to decide.
Where an asbestos survey is needed, you arrange it. We put it on the quote as an itemised line, funded as professional fees.
We do not take a deposit on DFG work. Our invoice is addressed to you. The council pays Aqua directly only if you agree; otherwise it pays you. Nothing is paid up front.
In Plymouth, council-arranged work also comes through the INCIC-run Dynamic Purchasing System via In8it. That is not a council endorsement, and it does not mean a grant will be approved.
How we help
From OT referral to completion
You contact your council or OT
An occupational therapist visits and recommends the adaptations you need.
You get in touch with us
Get in touch with your OT's recommendations and any council paperwork. In Cornwall you can choose your own contractor.
Free survey visit
We come to your home, look at your bathroom, listen to what you and your carers need, and take measurements.
We send an itemised quote
It follows the OT's recommendations and the council's schedule of works, with drawings where needed, plus copies of our TrustMark registration and insurance. There is no plans charge on DFG (grant) jobs. Your council may ask for more than one quote.
The council decides
You send the quotes to the council. Once it approves the grant in writing, we agree a start date with you. We usually start within 2 months of approval, and sooner for urgent jobs. We never start before written approval.
We carry out the work
We keep you informed and keep the room tidy and safe. We arrange Building Control where it is needed, and electrical work is certified by a registered electrician. If anything unexpected comes up, we ask the council to agree it before we do it.
Completion and sign-off
The council officer or OT checks the work. We give you a full handover, the certificates and your guarantee paperwork.
Payment
We do not take a deposit on DFG work. Our invoice is addressed to you. The council pays Aqua directly only if you agree; otherwise it pays you. Nothing is paid up front. The council pays the grant under its own rules, usually after the work is checked and signed off. If the means test shows you need to pay a contribution, the council will tell you how and when.
A typical job takes about 5 working days on site. Every home is different, so we will confirm the timing for your job.
Included
What's included
Every adaptation is designed around the person who will use it. Depending on what your OT recommends and what the council approves, the work can include:
- Level-access wet rooms: a level floor with no step into the shower
- Low-level shower rooms: the step into the shower tray is 40mm or less
- Grab rails, placed where you need them
- Altro Pisces safety flooring: slip-resistant and hard-wearing
- PVC wall cladding: waterproof and easy to keep clean
- Easy-to-use electric showers
- Geberit AquaClean Mera wash-and-dry toilets
- Plumbing, including moving or replacing pipework
- Removing the old bath or shower and taking away all the waste
Optional extras (not part of the standard installation): shower seats, and half-height shower screens, so a carer can help without getting soaked.
Our standard finish is mid-range and hard-wearing, chosen to look good and last. The council decides which items the grant covers. If you would like anything that is not in the approved schedule, we will quote for it separately so you can decide.
TrustMark Registered Business No. 3393245
Why TrustMark matters when you choose us
We’re registered with TrustMark, so the checks and protections below apply when you choose us. You can check our registration yourself on TrustMark’s own website.
Government endorsed
TrustMark is the UK’s only Government Endorsed Quality Scheme. It covers work you choose to have carried out in or around your home.
Vetted, then checked
TrustMark Registered Businesses are thoroughly vetted to meet required standards. Their work and practices are then monitored and checked by their Scheme Provider.
Standards we must keep
We have to meet TrustMark’s standards of technical competence, customer service and trading practices, set out in its Customer Charter, Code of Conduct and Framework Operating Requirements.
A clear route if things go wrong
Every Registered Business must have a clear, fair complaints process. If we can’t put something right, you can go to our Scheme Provider, Independence Brokerage Services CIC (INCIC), and then to the independent Dispute Resolution Ombudsman.
A guarantee on the work
TrustMark Registered Businesses provide a minimum two-year guarantee on work in and around the home, including product warranties and workmanship.
Available
Insurance-backed guarantee
A 2-year insurance-backed guarantee is available. It is not included on every job. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Private jobs
Our own workmanship guarantee
We also provide our own workmanship guarantee on private jobs. Your statutory rights are not affected.
TrustMark information from trustmark.org.uk, checked 12 November 2026: Why TrustMark? · Complaints Process.
Why us
Why choose Aqua Care Wet Rooms?
- Family-run and local: based in Lostwithiel, working in Cornwall and Plymouth
- TrustMark registered: licence number 3393245
- Aqua Care Wet Rooms Ltd work in association with Cornwall Council Home Solutions in delivering bathroom adaptations for disabled and elderly residents in Cornwall
- Insured: certificates available on request
- A 2-year insurance-backed guarantee is available. Your statutory rights are not affected.
- Specialists in accessible bathrooms for elderly and disabled people and their carers
- Clear itemised quotes that match your OT's recommendations
- One point of contact from survey to handover
- Building Control arranged for you where needed, and electrics certified by a registered electrician
Good to know
DFG questions
Who applies, who decides, timings and what the grant covers.
Start my grant-funded surveyDo I apply for the grant, or do you?
You (or someone helping you) apply to your council. We give you an itemised quote to include with your application. We cannot apply for you.
Can you tell me if I'll get a grant?
No. Only the council can decide, usually after an OT assessment and a means test. Please contact your council or OT.
Can I choose my own contractor?
In Cornwall, you can choose your own contractor, so you can ask the council for Aqua Care Wet Rooms. For other councils, please ask whether you can choose your own contractor.
Will I have to pay anything?
We do not take a deposit on DFG work. Our invoice is addressed to you. The council pays Aqua directly only if you agree; otherwise it pays you. Nothing is paid up front. Whether you have to pay a contribution depends on the means test and on what the council approves. The council will tell you if you need to pay a contribution. If you choose extras that the grant does not cover, we will quote for those separately.
How long does it take?
Councils must decide on a valid application within six months. Once the grant is approved, we usually start within 2 months, and sooner for urgent jobs. A typical job then takes about 5 working days on site. We will confirm the timing for your job.
Can work start before the grant is approved?
No. Work should not start until the council has approved the grant in writing, or you could lose the grant.
Can I use a private OT to speed things up?
A private OT may be able to give advice sooner, but your council may still need its own OT to decide what the grant covers, so ask your council before paying. A private OT's fee can sometimes be included in the grant if your council agrees and the grant is approved. Check with your council before you book, as you may have to pay the fee yourself if the grant isn't approved. We do not recommend any particular private OT.
What if I'm not getting a grant?
We also adapt bathrooms for people paying privately. Get in touch for a quote, or see our self-funders page.
Which areas do you cover?
Cornwall and Plymouth. In Cornwall this includes Bodmin, Wadebridge, Fowey and St Austell.
Is there a guarantee on the work?
Yes. A 2-year insurance-backed guarantee is available. It is not included on every job. We also provide our own workmanship guarantee on private jobs. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Talk to us about a DFG wet room
Do you have an OT recommendation, or are you a carer helping someone through the process? We're happy to talk it through.