Flood support scheme

If your property was affected by flooding as a result of storms Ciara or Dennis in February 2020, and/or between 8 and 18 November, 2019, you may be eligible for financial support through one of the below Government schemes that we are adminstering 

How to apply

To apply for any of the schemes, please complete the Flood Support Scheme Application Form.

Please check the eligibility criteria listed further down the page for each scheme before applying.

Any information provided in the application form may be shared with Leicestershire County Council (LCC). As the Lead Local Flood Authority for North West Leicestershire area, it is LCC’s role to investigate and coordinate the management of flood risk.

To contact the Lead Local Flood Authority, email: flooding@leics.gov.uk 

If you have any queries about any of these schemes, please contact flooding@nwleicestershire.gov.uk

What grants are available and am I eligible?

_{Community Recovery Grant} 

The council will provide financial support to residents and businesses affected by recent flooding. The Community Flood Recovery Grant provides a hardship payment of up to £500 for residents whose homes have suffered internal property damage through flooding, or have become unliveable as a result of flooding. 

Eligibility

• Flood water entered into the inside living spaces of the property; or
• Flood water did not enter into the property, but the residence has been deemed “unliveable” for any period of time.
• Second homes will not be eligible.
• Empty homes will not be eligible. 

Instances where households could be considered “unliveable” are:

• Where access to the property is severely restricted (e.g. upper floor flats with no access);
• Key services such as sewerage, draining, and electricity are severely affected;
• The adverse weather has resulted in other significant damage to the property such that it would be or would have been advisable for residents to vacate the premises for any period of time, regardless of whether they do vacate or not;
• Flooded gardens or garages will not usually render a household eligible but there may be exceptions where it could be demonstrated that such instances mean effectively that the property is unliveable.

Council Tax Discount

The council is offering a 100% Council Tax discount for a minimum of three months to any household meeting the below criteria:

• A primary residence (second homes and empty homes are not eligible).
• Where floodwater has entered the property, or the property has been deemed “unliveable” by the local authority. (See above for instances where households could be considered “unliveable”).

 A 100% Council Tax discount is also available on any temporary accommodation for anyone unable to return to their home following internal flooding or “unliveable” conditions.

Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Recovery Support Scheme 

Following recent severe weather events, the Government announced that homes and businesses that were damaged as a result of flooding will be able to apply for the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Recovery Support Scheme to receive up to £5,000 to help protect the property from future water ingress.

The grant is to fund flood resilience measures which make the property less likely to flood in the future, or reduce the impact if flooding does occur. The cost of flood resilience works are additional to the costs of standard property reinstatement or repair works, which are normally covered by insurance.

The purpose of the scheme is to assist property owners to improve the flood resilience of their individual properties when they repair them after a flood. The outcome from this funding should be that if flooding were to reoccur, damage levels would be considerably lower and householders and businesses could return to their properties much more quickly. 

Eligibility

The Government have set out the following criteria for eligibility:

• Residential properties (including accommodation such as static caravans where this is the primary residence, defined as a location registered on electoral role), where internal living areas of the premise have been damaged by flooding in the relevant event.
• Properties must have been severely damaged by a flood event between 08 November and 18 November 2019 and/or between 07 February and 19 February 2020.
• The inside of the property must have been flooded and there must have been damage to the fabric of the building, necessitating drying out and/or repairs to the fabric of the building.
• Garages, outhouses and storage areas are not eligible for the scheme.
• Second homes are not eligible.
• Empty homes are not eligible.
• Basements or cellars not used as part of the habitable area of a property are not eligible for the scheme.

Funding is only available to the property owner, and grant funding will only be awarded once the work has been completed to appropriate quality standards. The final cost invoiced by the contractor should not exceed the quoted price. The funding will be awarded to the successful applicant who will then make arrangements for payment to the external contractors carrying out the PFR work. Alternatively applicants can request that the Council releases funding directly to the contractor(s) for the Property Flood Resilience work. 

What work will this grant cover?

The grant can be used to fund measures that make your property more resilient to flooding. Some examples of property flood measures include airbrick covers, self-closing airbricks, water resistant plaster, and rearranging the property to reduce the impact of flooding, for example by moving electrical sockets. A list of measures which may be appropriate depending on how the water entered your property can be found at http://www.floodguidance.co.uk/

It is important to note that only work identified by a suitable qualified surveyor as appropriate for your property can be paid for from this scheme, should your application be successful. 

How do I know what resilience measures are needed?

A Flood Resilience survey will tell you what resilience measures are appropriate for your property.

For eligible properties, up to £500 (including VAT) can be used from the grant to fund the cost of an independent Flood Resilience survey and inspection of the completed work by a suitably qualified surveyor. This will reduce the balance of the £5,000 (including VAT) that is available for works. The surveyor must be independent to the contractors who carry out the work.

If you haven’t already had a survey, the council can organise for the survey to be done for you. Up to £500 towards the survey cost can be covered by the grant. If the survey cost is higher, you will need to pay the difference.

If you choose to self-manage your application and appoint a suitably qualified surveyor, you need to be aware of their payment terms. The surveyor may be prepared to submit their invoice to the council for payment after the works have been signed off as complete, or they may require payment from you sooner. 

When can I start to buy and install the flood measures?

Please do not start any work before the approval of your application. You will receive formal notification of the application approval via either letter or email.

If you have already installed resilience and/or resistance measures before the grant scheme was available, a retrospective application can be made. You will need to demonstrate that value for money was achieved (this can be through obtaining multiple quotes, engaging an accredited surveyor and contractor, using high quality materials). Please note that payment of the grant for this retrospective work is dependent on an approved application.

If your application is not approved, you will be notified but you won’t be able to recover any costs incurred. The council is not liable for any expenditure prior to the approval of a grant application and receipt of a completed agreement that will be issued to the property owner to sign once the application has been approved. 

What if the work quoted is above £5,000?

When you get quotes for works from contractors, the council can check that the quote is within the acceptable price bands, and will not approve the grant if value for money is not demonstrated. If the works are above £5,000 the property owner will need to pay for any additional cost above the £5,000 grant limit. 

Does my insurance cover this?

The grant is intended to fund measures that will improve the property’s resilience and resistance to flooding, over and above repairs that would normally be covered by insurance.

Your insurance company can apply for the grant on your behalf with your permission, and you can use their surveyors and contractors if they are suitably qualified.