Home Essentials Fund

The Home Essentials Fund can provide a grant for an appliance or household item which is essential to the health of someone with CF.

Examples include:

• a fridge is broken or a new one is needed for medication
• a washing machine is broken beyond repair and you are unable to access a launderette
• you don’t have a safe, usable mattress or a bed.

Items you can apply for under this grant and the maximum amount for each item:

White goods

• Fridge £200 
• Freezer £250
• Fridge freezer £300 
• Washing machine £300 
• Tumble dryer £250  
• Washer dryer £400

Cooker

• Electric cooker £300
• Gas cooker £350

Mattress

• Single £230
• Double £300 

Bed

• Single - £200
• Double  £250 

We can only provide a Home Essentials Fund for beds/mattresses where the need is urgent and essential; this is usually when you don’t already have a usable bed/mattress.

We regularly check prices to make sure our set amounts are enough to provide a choice of items from various shops.

Before applying for a Home Essentials Grant to replace a household appliance, please make sure you have checked the broken appliance is not covered by a manufacturer warranty and have confirmed with a professional that the item is unable to be repaired or that a replacement would be cheaper than a repair.

• Download the application form.
• Fill in sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. They are all short.
• Send the application to a member of your CF team. Ask them to write a supporting statement in section 5 of the form.

Application form

• You or your CF team should email your application to [email protected].

CF teams can also email their supporting statement from their professional email account directly to our Helpline team.

Please remember that if you send us an application, that does not mean that you will definitely be given the grant. If we can’t give you a grant this time, you can still apply for our grants in the future.

The appliance/item is owned by you, the applicant (the applicant is the adult or child with cystic fibrosis). This means you should take the item with you if you move.  

We will contact you (or parent/carer if a child) after you receive the grant to request a copy of a receipt/proof of purchase, ask for feedback, or offer other support.

If you apply for an essential appliance more than twice in six months, we may need you to speak with our Welfare Team before we can consider any further grant applications for you/your household in the next 12 months. This is because we want to support you to make sure you’re receiving all of the help and support you are entitled to.

We can only help people who:

• receive specialist CF care in the UK, and
• are on means-tested benefits, or
• are in a financial crisis.

You can apply if you care for someone who fits the above, for example if you have a child with CF in your household. If you are not sure if you are eligible to apply, please call or email our Helpline team.

We will prioritise people who can’t get any other grant support. This means we might look at other ways of helping you when we read your application. We will let you know if we can help in another way.

Yes. A member of your CF team will need to write a supporting statement in section 5 of the form. They can also email it to us from their professional email account. It is important that you tell your CF team that you are in an emergency situation that might affect your health.

Once we receive your completed application and supporting statement we will review your request. We aim to get back to you within 10 working days of receiving your application.

If you need the grant more quickly, please contact the Helpline before you apply so that we can help you as quickly as possible.

Anyone who fits the criteria above can complete the form, as well as:

• people who care for them
• their partner
• any member of their CF team

The ‘applicant’ is always the person living with CF. If the applicant is over 18 and is not filing out the form themselves, they need to know that the application is being made for them.

Please make sure your contact details on the form are correct so we will contact you about anything to do with your application.

We fund items in full and do not recommend that you buy second-hand to make sure the appliance lasts as long as possible.

We cannot accept applications for items that have already been ordered or purchased.

If your application is successful you will not be able to apply for another grant for the same household item for three years. If you have already received a grant for this item in the past three years, please contact us before you apply as we may not be able to accept your application.

• Household Essential Grants are assessed on individual circumstances
• We will prioritise applications from people who have not recently received a grant for a household essential in the past 6-12 months.
• Please contact us before applying if you have received a grant for a household essential in the past six months.
• If you receive a grant for an item you will not be able to apply for another grant for the same item for three years.
• If you have received a grant from us towards the household item you are applying for between January 2019 until October 2022 please contact us before applying.

We will ask you to provide a receipt/proof of purchase within one month of receiving the grant. If you do not provide a receipt you may not be able to apply for future grants from us.

Yes. Please call our Helpline on 0300 373 1000 or email [email protected] if you have any questions about any of our grants. Our Helpline team can also help you fill in the grant application form and provide information about other sources of support including our welfare advice services.