Northern Irish Grants and Funding

This page gives a link to current flood grants available for home and business owners living in Northern Ireland, as well as a range of additional resources that may be useful. This page includes details of the following opportunities:

Homeowner Flood Grant

Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) funding

Additional resources

Emergency contact information

 


Homeowner Flood Grant

The Homeowner Flood Grant is a a government funded flood grant scheme which entitles the homeowners to get 90% funding of flood protection measures up to a value of £10,000. The additional 10% of the cost and any extra cost above £10,000 must be funded by the homeowner themselves. The grant is not means tested and all successful applicants will have to contribute 10% of the cost of the works.

Eligible properties will be flooded in the past or are located in a known flood area. Any properties that were initially granted planning approval from 1st January 2009 are to be exempt. In addition to this, any homes owned by a the Housing Executive any registered housing association or other third party will also be exempt from the flood grant. Finally, any properties that are likely to benefit from a government backed flood alleviation scheme in the next five years will also be exempt. It should also be mentioned that if a property is under co-ownership, it and meets the additional criteria, it will still be eligible for the flood grant. Tenants of rented properties may not apply for the loan as this is targeted at resident property owners. Landlord applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

In order to apply for this grant, you will need to contact the Department for Infrastructure, there will also be a £50 application fee for this grant. This is fully refundable if no protection measures can be recommended by the surveyor (as a result of location or design), or if measures are recommended, this £50 will be deducted from the 10% of the costs that will require payment by the property owner.  The fee will most likely not be refunded if you simply decide not to proceed with the work, unless you can show good cause for your change of mind. This leaflet gives a summary of the scheme.

The Rivers Agency will appoint a suitably qualified contractor to carry out the work and the grant payments will be made to this contractor.  The work won’t start until the homeowner has paid the 10% share to the contractor. After the work has been completed there will be testing to ensure the measures are installed correctly. Any grant funded measures installed on the property may not be removed if the house is sold.

If you would like any further information regarding this, please click here. An application pack for the grant can also be downloaded here.

Back to top ↑


Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI)

RABI are a UK based welfare charity aimed at improving the live of farmers and their families across the country. They can provide financial and guidance support for farmers who have been impacted by flooding in recent years. RABI’s help in a crisis page gives more details about ways they may be able to help. RABI paid out over £31,000 in a single month in grant funding to assist farmers following the devastation of winter flooding in 2015.

If you are a farmer and have been affected by flooding visit RABI’s website and see their ‘how to apply for help‘ page for further information.

Back to top ↑


Additional resources

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural affairs of Northern Ireland (DAERNI) website and the Housing Advice for Northern Ireland website are two key sources of information regarding flood and environmental grant guidance. Below is some information about specific grants and funding opportunities resulting from recent flooding events.

You may be entitled to additional funding from various independent charities. For more advice on this, please visit thee Turn2Us website. A link to this is available here.

If you are concerned about a lack of housing as a result of flooding, Housing Advice NI’s website may prove useful.

You can also always contact the Citizens Advice Bureau too for additional advice. The Northern Ireland section of the website may be able to confirm any additional details you are unsure about. You can access their website here.

The Red Cross Charity’s website also gives an array of information for support in an emergency.

Forage Aid may also be able to help if you are a farmer who has been flooded. You can contact them by clicking here.

Back to top ↑


Emergency contact information

Flooding problems in Northern Ireland can be reported by contacting the Floodline on 0300 2000 100.

For information available regarding grant funding, contact 0300 200 7848.

The DAERNI Flooding Incident Line can be accessed by calling 0300 2000 100 in an emergency (available 24/7), alternatively for other information on flood defence and drainage, call 0300 200 7845.

For all other enquiries, please contact the customer helpline on 0300 200 7852  or email  [email protected].

If you have further information regarding flood grant funding in Northern Ireland, please contact us at [email protected].

 


Image attributions

Featured image: The Union Flag ‘Union Jack’ 322 by Rian (Ree) Saunders | CC BY 2.0
Page image: Consumer Spending by 401(K) 2012 | CC BY-SA 2.0