What we're actually being asked about home adaptations

Working through Foundations' enquiries inbox week to week, a pattern keeps showing up.

Often it's the person themselves who gets in touch — and what they know is what they can no longer do. Getting up the stairs. Getting in and out of the bath. Getting through the front door with a wheelchair. What they don't know is what can actually be done about it, or who to ask. Who can explain the process in plain terms? Who can help them fill in the forms? Who do they turn to when something in the middle of it stops making sense?

That's the real gap. Not a lack of willingness to seek help, but not knowing that a Disabled Facilities Grant exists, or where the nearest person who understands it actually sits. And when it isn't the person themselves asking, it's usually the support worker or the housing officer at a local charity, trying to answer a question a client has just put to them and unsure whether they've got it right.

Either way, the same handful of practical questions come round again and again: can someone apply if they rent rather than own? What happens if an application stalls or gets refused? Who actually fills in the forms, and who checks them? These aren't edge cases. They're the ordinary questions that decide whether someone gets the bathroom or the ramp they need, or gives up partway through trying to find out.

That's exactly why we've built the Home Adaptations Advice Network (HAAN)

If you work anywhere in the voluntary or charity sector and you've ever fielded one of these questions — even once — HAAN is for you. It's free to join, and it exists for one reason: so that whoever first hears the question, someone is there to support the person who has to answer it.

What you'll get as a member:

• Plain-English answers to the questions already landing in enquiry inboxes like ours
• Guidance that's kept current as rules and processes change — no more guessing whether your last answer is still right
• A place to ask when a case doesn't fit the standard advice
• A community of people doing the same work, facing the same questions

Don't wait until you're stuck for an answer — join now, before the questions start coming in.

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Foundations are the national umbrella body for Home Improvement Agencies. They are running three launch forums — on 2, 11 and 16 September 2026 — to walk through exactly these kinds of questions and open the network up properly. Whichever date suits you, come along, ask them anything, and see what HAAN can do for you and the people you support.

•  Find out more at adaptmyhome.org.uk/advisors (opens new window)
•  Book your place at one of their intro sessions via Our Upcoming Events (opens new window)

And, if you found this of interest, check out the dedicated webpages the Housing LIN curates on home improvements/housing quality and accessibility and adaptability.