House extension adaption grant

On a personal note one of my sisters availed of this grant as did the in-laws a number of years ago and given the medical conditions involved they could never have managed without the ground floor extensions. Professionally I have planned loads of these and got to know the clients on a semi-personal basis and every single one were full of praise for the end product.

Why would you be able to claim back the builders VAT?

My in-laws got this done about 2 years ago. Cost was just under 50K. My in laws had the 20k saved and My wife and her 2 siblings chipped in with the remaining 30k until the grant came through.

Planning permission was needed as the extension was put on the side of the house so would be visible from the road. They looked at a design to the back that didnt need planning but it would have meant building to the rear of the kitchen and sharing the main bathroom. It wasnt a workable long term plan. There was an architect involved too.

One of the big misses that happened was the builders quote didnt include the sanitary ware or the tiling. Basically my in-laws walked in 1 day and asked wheres the toilet/shower and was told its not included. My in-laws had to go buy the bathroom ware themselves last minute. The architect didnt cop it in the initial quote either.

2 years on now and there have been no issues and they are happy with the outcome.

If the ask is to certify that it complied with building regulations. That’s all that’s relevant. Engineering can’t refuse to certify because it’s not planning compliant.

Depending on the nature of works. I’d be more inclined to get an architectural professional. Work involve is more architectural in nature than engineering scope.

I'm not sure what you mean by builders vat. If the entire extension is costing 55K along with the 30K grant then you claim the VAT on 55K. Not just your contribution of 25K. I was trying to claim the vat on the portion I paid and Revenue told me to claim it on the entire sum paid to the builder.

No. Housing adaptation grant.

It doesn't matter though. Any renovations which are aimed at making the house more accessible for a person with a disability can qualify for a vat refund.

We also sent in the Occupational therapists report as supporting documentation.

Go to you myaccount on revenue.ie.

Erepayments

Make a cliam

Tick the VAT box and hit continue

Form 61A

you then get an options to tick a box which says " Does this claim relate to building works"

Thanks. That is good info to have. Also covered below.

https://assets.gov.ie/119595/fb68af61-2429-414e-8f61-95ddc380f8ec.pdf

the grant covers up to 95% of the cost, and you claim back Vat at 13.5%, at first I thought it created an opportunity to pay 5% and claim back 13.5%. But at a closer look. It seems like the grant is ex-vat only. Which makes more sense.

If 52k I the total cost. 95% of the ex-vat is well over the 30k limited approved. So should get it all. And then can claim back the 6185 Vat. Out of pocket is <16k

You're asking a how long is a piece of string question. The answer from any one person including myself will vary based on factors such as type of house, detached, semi-d, terrace, townhouse and so on. The scope of any groundworks needed before extension cam start.

From beginning of grant application to finish and handover in our case began in late 2022. The grant application was quick with great Comms from the Westmeath CoCo. We engaged the services of an Arch Tech to design and spec the extension and take care of planning permission as the extension was to front and side, along with ensuring it met the disability requirements for access and shower/bathroom. Final handover was 2 months ago.

The house was livable during the entirety apart from week or so when the doorway connecting extension and main house were cut through. The in-laws went on holiday for that week.

That’s a very scaremongering view. An architect can’t add “nice thing like they are in a show” behinds the owners back. It’s the owners choice, they decide scope and approved of veto inclusion. I mean, I'm sure the OP knows what the grant is for and isn’t planning a new home cinema. 😁

Different councils may have different requirements, but unless they provide those as clear instructions, then following appropriate accessibility guidelines is a pretty good place to start. In fact, at the upper end, those guidelines are far better then the typical install.

and preferably not a wet room that will make the whole room a slip hazard if not done correctly.

A wet room design is far far superior to a a step up tray. A tray is a trip hazard, and would be non-compliant with building regulations for accessibility. A properly designed wet room is not a slip hazard. "If not correctly" is an irrelevant concern, anything is an issue if not done correctly. The solution is to designed and construct things correctly.