Stairlift Grants in Northern Ireland

We are an independent information site. We do not sell or install stairlifts, and we have no connection to the Housing Executive or any Trust. Rules are quoted from nidirect and the Housing Executive at each point.

Key facts

• The Housing Executive states you may get up to £35,000, and in some cases the award may be increased up to a maximum of £70,000. Some UK-wide pages, including GOV.UK’s, still show older or different figures for Northern Ireland, so use the Housing Executive’s own numbers.
• The means test is called a test of resources and is based on household income. The Housing Executive states that if you receive Child Benefit for the child the application is for, no test of resources is carried out.
• Only works recommended by your local occupational therapist can be considered for grant aid, per nidirect, and the route in is your Health and Social Care Trust, not the Housing Executive.
• You must not start any work until you receive an approval of application in writing from the Housing Executive, which can take up to six months.
• Housing Executive and housing association tenants do not use the grant: the Housing Executive states there is no cost for adaptations to your home, following the same Trust OT assessment, and lists installing a lift among the major adaptations it carries out.
• Home owners, landlords and private tenants can get help through the grant route.

Who this page is for

Anyone in Northern Ireland facing the cost of a stairlift, whether they own, rent privately or rent from the Housing Executive or a housing association, and the family members handling it for them. It exists because most of what you will read about stairlift grants describes England’s council-run system, and in Northern Ireland the bodies, the figures and the order of steps are all different.

It is not a guide to the lift itself. Our types of stairlift guide and prices guide cover the hardware and the market.

How the Northern Ireland system works

England, Wales and Scotland run adaptations through councils. Northern Ireland splits the job. The health side, your local Health and Social Care Trust, owns the assessment: an occupational therapist visits, assesses what you need, and recommends works. The housing side, the Housing Executive, owns the money: it takes the OT recommendation, runs the test of resources, approves the grant and pays it after the work is done and checked.

That split produces the two rules that catch people out.

You cannot start at the Housing Executive. nidirect’s instruction is to contact your local Trust, who will answer your questions, start the process and contact the Housing Executive. Ringing the Housing Executive first sends you back to the Trust.

You cannot start the work early. The Housing Executive’s wording is blunt: you must not start any work until you receive an approval of application in writing. Approval can take up to six months. An installer who offers to fit now and sort the paperwork later is offering to cost you the entire grant.

The route, step by step

Start with the Trust’s occupational therapy service

Contact your Trust’s occupational therapy service and ask for an assessment, saying the stairs are the concern. The OT visits and decides what to recommend. Only works the OT recommends can be considered for grant aid, so this visit decides the case. Our guide to what an occupational therapist does covers what to expect and how to prepare.

The Housing Executive processes the application

After the Trust contacts them, the Housing Executive runs the test of resources on household income to decide whether you contribute. If the application is for a child you receive Child Benefit for, there is no test of resources. Approval arrives in writing, confirms the grant amount, gives permission to start and sets a completion deadline.

The work happens, then the money moves

After completion you submit accounts, receipts and certificates to the Housing Executive, and payment follows once both the occupational therapist and the Housing Executive have approved the finished work. Plan cash flow around that order if a contribution applies to you.

Housing Executive and housing association tenants

These tenants skip the grant. The same Trust OT assessment applies, but the landlord carries out the adaptation and the Housing Executive states there is no cost for adaptations to your home, with rent unlikely to rise unless there have been substantial additions to the house. Its examples of major adaptations include installing a lift. Start with the Trust OT, and tell your landlord an assessment is under way.

What it means in pounds

Our UK Stairlift Price Index puts the median advertised price of a new straight stairlift at £1,995 and a new curved stairlift at £4,395, from 73 advertised prices across 25 sellers captured on 20 August 2026. Against a £35,000 ceiling, the cap is not the constraint for a stairlift; the test of resources and the six-month clock are the real variables. Whether you contribute, and how much, comes out of the test of resources, and for a child’s application there is no test at all.

Two purchase-side points matter in Northern Ireland specifically, both from Stannah’s own published FAQ. Stannah’s two-year warranty is not available on products purchased with the aid of a grant, and is stated as only applicable to residents of England, Scotland and Wales. Its 14-day money-back guarantee is separately stated as not available in Northern Ireland. Neither point stops a grant-funded or NI purchase making sense, but ask any supplier, in writing, exactly what warranty and cooling-off terms apply to your purchase in Northern Ireland before you sign, and get the servicing arrangement in the same letter.

VAT relief works as elsewhere in the UK: HMRC’s VAT Notice 701/7 provides for zero-rating for a person who is chronically sick or disabled, on a written declaration the installer handles.

Drawbacks and things to know before you start

The six months is real. The Housing Executive itself says approval can take up to six months, and that is before installation. If the stairs are dangerous now, say so to the Trust OT, ask what interim measures are possible, and consider whether a rented or reconditioned lift bridges the gap while the application runs. A private stopgap does not need approval; just do not confuse it with the grant-funded work.

The recommendation is the gate. If the OT concludes a different measure meets the need, that is what goes forward. There is no appeal route through a retailer.

Maintenance ends up yours. Once any initial guarantee ends, servicing on the open market typically runs £80 to £180 a year, whoever funded the installation. Ask what the grant-funded installation includes.

If the grant route fails or is too slow, the fallbacks are a reconditioned lift, renting, or charitable help, and our guide to charities that help with stairlifts covers who to ask. nidirect also confirms landlords can get help, so a private tenant’s conversation with their landlord has an official basis; our tenants guide covers it.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a stairlift grant in Northern Ireland?

Yes, the Disabled Facilities Grant, administered by the Housing Executive on the recommendation of your Health and Social Care Trust’s occupational therapist. It pays up to £35,000, and in some cases the Housing Executive may increase the award up to £70,000.

Is the grant means tested?

Yes, through what the Housing Executive calls a test of resources, based on household income. The exception is a child: if you receive Child Benefit for the child the application is for, no test of resources is carried out.

Who do I contact first?

Your local Health and Social Care Trust’s occupational therapy service, not the Housing Executive. nidirect states the Trust will answer your questions, start the process and contact the Housing Executive. Only works recommended by the occupational therapist can be considered for grant aid.

Can I start the work while I wait?

Not if you want the grant. The Housing Executive states you must not start any work until you receive its approval of application in writing. If you need something in the meantime, a rented lift is a separate private arrangement, and keep it separate.

How long does it take?

The Housing Executive says approval can take up to six months, and installation follows approval. Tell the Trust OT if your situation is urgent.

I am a Housing Executive or housing association tenant. Do I apply?

No. After the same Trust OT assessment, your landlord carries out the adaptation and the Housing Executive states there is no cost for adaptations to your home. Installing a lift is on its own list of major adaptations. Start with the Trust and tell your landlord.

Is the maximum really £35,000? I have read £25,000.

The Housing Executive and nidirect both state up to £35,000, with discretion to increase to £70,000 in some cases. Some UK-wide pages still carry other figures for Northern Ireland; go with the Housing Executive’s own published numbers, and check them at the point of applying.

Next steps

Ring your Health and Social Care Trust and ask for an occupational therapy assessment, saying the stairs are the concern and mentioning if the application would be for a child you receive Child Benefit for. Ask the OT what the current waits look like on both sides, Trust and Housing Executive. Do not order anything until the written approval arrives, and when you do get quotes, ask each supplier in writing what warranty applies in Northern Ireland.

Related guides

• Stairlift grants
• Occupational therapist assessments
• Charities that help with stairlifts
• Grants for tenants and council housing
• Stairlift prices
• Types of stairlift
• Reconditioned stairlifts
• What an occupational therapist does

Sources

• Disabled Facilities Grants, nidirect, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/disabled-facilities-grants, accessed 26 September 2026.
• Disabled facilities grant, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, https://www.nihe.gov.uk/housing-help/grants/types-of-grants-available/disabled-facilities-grant, accessed 26 September 2026.
• Getting help and advice about adaptations, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, https://www.nihe.gov.uk/my-housing-executive/adaptations/getting-help-and-advice, accessed 26 September 2026.
• Stairlift FAQs, Stannah, https://www.stannah.com/our-stairlifts/faqs, accessed 25 September 2026.
• Reliefs from VAT for disabled and older people (VAT Notice 701/7), HMRC, last updated 31 December 2020, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reliefs-from-vat-for-disabled-and-older-people-notice-7017, accessed 26 September 2026.
• UK Stairlift Price Index, Stairlift Guru, capture of 20 August 2026, https://stairliftguru.co.uk/stairlift-prices/uk-stairlift-price-index/

How we are funded

We do not sell or install stairlifts. Quotes go to UK suppliers. If you buy a stairlift from a supplier we introduced you to, that supplier pays us a fee. Requesting quotes is free and we are not paid for the request itself. Stairlift Guru is published by Whito Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (number 10918465), and we have no ownership link to any supplier.

How to cite this page

Stairlift Guru, “Stairlift Grants in Northern Ireland”, stairliftguru.co.uk, reviewed September 2026. Rules and figures are quoted from nidirect and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, named at the point of use.

Last reviewed: September 2026. Editor: Stairlift Guru Editorial Team.

Data appendix: the four nations at a glance

Figures as published by GOV.UK, Age Cymru, Shelter Cymru, Citizens Advice Scotland, Shelter Scotland, nidirect and the Housing Executive, accessed 26 September 2026. See each nation’s page for sources.