Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Home Modifications (Disability) for tenants and applicants
What are Home Modifications (Disability)?
Home Modifications (Disability) are low and/or high-level changes to your home based on your ongoing medical, age-related, or disability needs. They are made to ensure you can live safely and independently in your home.
Homes NSW provides two categories of Home Modifications (Disability) – Standard and Major.
What kind of Home Modifications (Disability) can I request?
Some home modification requests can be simple, like installing lever taps. These types of Home Modifications (Disability) are known as Standard Modifications.
More complex modifications that require structural changes to the property, such as changes to kitchens or bathrooms, are known as Major Modifications.
When can I request Home Modifications (Disability)?
You can request Home Modifications (Disability) as soon as you require medical or disability related modifications. If you are an applicant on the NSW Housing Register, you can make your application for Home Modifications (Disability) after you have accepted an offer of a social housing in a property that is managed by Homes NSW.
The Homes NSW Maintenance Hub and your request for Home Modifications (Disability)?
When a request for Home Modifications (Disability) is received, the Maintenance Hub will review the request and determine if the request is for Standard or Major Modifications, and if the request requires supporting documentation or an occupational therapist report.
The Table of Standard Modifications lists all the modifications that Homes NSW considers Standard, that do not require you to provide supporting evidence or an occupational therapist report, and those that do.
When the request is for Standard Modifications:
- and supporting documentation or an occupational therapist report IS NOT required, the request is approved, and the Maintenance Hub arranges for the work to be done.
- if supporting documentation, or an occupational therapist report IS required, your will be asked to provide the supporting documentation or occupational therapist report. When an occupational therapist report is required, the OT is also required to provide an Occupational Therapist Summary Report.
- Standard Modifications can usually be installed within 5 working days after receiving any documentation (if required) and depends on your availability and providing access to the property.
When the request is for Major Modifications:
- An Application for Home Modifications (Disability) form; and an occupational therapist report; and the Occupational Therapist Summary Report, and any necessary consents ARE required for Major Home Modifications (Disability).
- If your application is received without the occupational therapist report and Occupational Therapist Summary Report, the Housing Services client service team will ask you in writing, to provide them. Once they are received, Housing Services will refer them to Housing Portfolio who will assess your application and provide the outcome to Housing Services, who will advise you (in writing) of the decision of your application.
- A joint inspection of the property with representative/s of Homes NSW staff, you and the occupational therapist may be needed.
Can I talk to my Client Service Team about Home Modifications (Disability)?
Yes. If you are an applicant on the NSW Housing Register being made an offer of public housing, or a current tenant of a property managed by Homes NSW that requires Home Modifications (Disability), we encourage you to speak to your Housing Services Client Service Team if you, or an authorised member of your household requires medical or disability related home modifications. Your client service team can then refer you to the Maintenance Hub to make the request for any Standard Modifications, or provide you with the Application for Home Modifications (Disability) if the request is for Major Modifications, which you can then return to them via email, or in person.
Because Major Modifications require more extensive work to the property, you will need to provide a report from an occupational therapist that details the specific measurements and dimensions required for installation of the Major Modifications. The occupational therapist is also required to include the Occupational Therapist Summary Report which guides the occupational therapist to summarise the information that has been detailed in their report.
Where can I find the application for Home Modifications (Disability) form?
To request Major Modifications, complete the Application for Home Modifications (Disability) form.
You will need to print the form, complete all the necessary fields, and attach the:
- occupational therapist report, and
- Occupational Therapist Summary Report, and any necessary
- consent form/s.
When you would like another person to act on your behalf during the modifications process, complete and attach the:
We also need your consent to discuss your application for Home Modifications (Disability) when you have a support work or an agency worker, including a NDIS worker. In those cases you will need to complete and attach the:
Where do I send the completed application for Home Modifications (Disability) form and supporting documents?
You can email the completed form, occupational therapist report, Occupational Therapist Summary Report, and any necessary consent/s to your client service team or hand it in, in person at your local Housing Services office.
What information do I need with my application for Home Modifications (Disability)?
You’ll need to include:
- an occupational therapist report, and
- your occupational therapist is also required to complete and provide the Occupational Therapist Summary Report.
Major Modifications are require more extensive work and particular adjustments in the home. The occupational therapist report provides Housing Portfolio with specific information on dimensions and measurements that are required to enable the correct installation of modifications for your medical or disability needs.
How do I request an occupational therapist report?
If you have a NDIS plan, speak with your plan coordinator about assistance. If you are not part of NDIS, speak with your doctor or health professional. They can refer you to an occupational therapist who will contact you and assess your needs. They’ll also complete a report for us to review on what modifications you need.
You can also speak to your local Housing Services client service for information on how to request an occupational therapist report.
Why do I need an occupational therapist report?
Occupational therapists have clinical and professional expertise in assessing your medical or health needs.
Homes NSW relies on that professional expertise to provide us with measurements and drawings of exactly what, where, and how you require your Homes NSW-managed property to be modified.
What happens after I submit the application for Home Modifications (Disability) and the occupational therapist reports?
Because every person’s situation is unique, the Housing Portfolio team assess every request for Major Modifications individually. There are two main factors considered:
- whether you will be able to sustain a successful tenancy with the requested modification (that is, will it enable you to live safely and independently in the home)
- whether the home can be physically modified to meet your needs
- such as the age, structure and location of the property.
Why could a Home Modifications (Disability) request be declined?
Reasons for declining your request may include (but are not limited to):
- the location cannot be easily accessed by builders to make the changes,
- the way the property was originally built means it cannot be reasonably reinforced,
- the property may have been identified for sale or redevelopment in the future,
- the property is headleased from an external party (eg. a Private Landlord) who has declined the request for home modifications,
- The changes may impact on the property’s fire safety requirements.
What other reasons could affect my request?
Requests may be declined if they are not medically or disability related.
There may also be tenancy reasons, such as the person requiring the modifications is not an authorised household member or the property is over-occupied.
What happens if my request is not approved?
If your request for Home Modifications (Disability) is declined, we will let you know in writing – explaining why, and suggest other options.
If your request is declined, Homes NSW will speak to your occupational therapist or service provider to see if any interim changes can be made to the property to assist you.
Can all Homes NSW managed properties be modified?
Not all Homes NSW managed properties can be modified. There are certain factors we need to consider, that include:
- how old the property is;
- the existing construction of the property, and the ability to undertake the works;
- the location of the property or building.
If the property you live in is not able to be modified to suit your medial or disability needs, Homes NSW might need to consider transferring you to another property.
What happens if my request is not approved because my home is not suitable for the Major Modifications needed?
Staff of Homes NSW will discuss the option of transferring you to a property that can be modified for you to another property that meets your needs or that can be modified to suit your needs.
In cases where this happens, we will ask you to provide a Housing Needs Assessment from your occupational therapist that details your medial or disability needs and any necessary adjustments or features to suit those needs now and in the foreseeable future.
What happens after my request for Major Modifications is approved?
If the request for Major Modifications is approved, you will receive a written letter to confirm the Major Modifications that have been approved, and Housing Portfolio will schedule the work to be completed.
For some tenants, you may need to relocate elsewhere while some modifications are occurring at your property. Your local Housing Services client service officer will talk to you about other housing options for you and your household for the time that you cannot stay in your home while work is underway.
How long will the modifications take to complete?
As a guide, from the time the request is approved:
- Standard Modifications can usually be installed within 5 working days after any documentation (if required) is received and depending on your availability and access to the property,
- Major Modifications require more extensive work and may take up to 90 days.
Once all the Major Modification work is completed, Homes NSW staff will inspect the work with your occupational therapist and ensure that the modifications are compliant, and meet the required standards of the agreed items from the occupational therapist report.
What if I disagree with the decision or completed modification?
If you disagree with a decision related to your Home Modifications (Disability), you should first discuss your concern with your client service team. They’ll let you know why the decision was made and the reasons for it.
If you still disagree with the decision, you can ask for the decision to be reviewed. A review is a formal process that checks whether the right decision has been made on a matter.
For more information about how reviews work visit the Appeals and reviewing decisions page and the Appeals policy on the FACS website.
Do people need to visit my home before deciding the outcome of my request for modifications?
For most Standard Modifications, this won’t be needed.
For requests for Major Modification requests, we may contact you and your occupational therapist to attend an initial joint inspection of the property with representative/s of Homes NSW.
Homes NSW staff will be in contact with you when a visit to your home is necessary.
How long does it take to get a decision on a request?
Requests for Standard Modifications, that do not require any supporting documentation are assessed, approved as soon as possible after receiving your request.
For Standard Modifications that do require supporting documentation, Homes NSW will assess and approve these as soon as possible after receiving your request and the required documentation.
Standard Modifications can usually be installed within 5 working days after approval, depending on having received any documentation (if required) and your availability and providing access to the home.
All requests for Major Modifications are assessed individually on a case-by case basis. Any requests where an occupational therapist identifies Standard Modifications or interim changes required to keep client’s safe in their home, will be actioned as soon as possible while we make a decision about the request for Major Modifications.
You can contact the Maintenance Hub, or your local Housing Services office to check on the progress of your request.
What happens if I need to transfer to another property?
If this is necessary, Homes NSW staff will work with you and your occupational therapist or supports to transfer you to another property that suits your needs or can be suitably modified to meet your medical or disability needs.
If a transfer to another property is needed, your client service team will discuss this with you further.
How long does it take for my modifications to be done?
As a guide, from the time the modifications are approved:
- Standard Modifications can usually be installed within 5 working days after any documentation (if required) is received and depending on your availability and access to the property
- Major Modifications may take up to 90 working days
What if I disagree with the decision to decline my Major Modifications?
If you disagree with a decision about modifications to a home, you should first contact your Homes NSW Client Service Officer to discuss the matter. If you are still not satisfied, you can ask for the decision to be reviewed.
A review is a formal process that checks whether the right decision has been made on a matter. For more information about how reviews work visit the Appeals and reviewing decisions page and the Appeals policy on the FACS website.