Yes, equity release can pay for repairs, adaptations or building work. Check how the money is paid out, the lender's upkeep terms and any grant first.
Equity release for home improvements is one of the commonest uses: Aviva says home improvements top the list among its customers, and Legal & General's lifetime mortgage page and Just's lending criteria guide (JM 00341.21 05/2026) both name them as a purpose, Just for borrowers who will live in the property. The usual product is a lifetime mortgage, a long-term loan secured on your home and repaid with its interest, usually from the sale of the home. So the questions are how the money is paid out, what the lender expects of the house afterwards, and whether a grant or cheaper borrowing would cover the work first. To have the building plans weighed against the house and your finances by a qualified equity release adviser, add your name and number to this page's form; the call that follows is free. How a lifetime mortgage works from start to finish is in our equity release guide.
Paying for work that happens in stages
MoneyHelper describes three ways to take the money: a lump sum (most lenders, it says, want at least £10,000), smaller amounts drawn when needed, or a mix of the two. Building work rarely needs every pound on day one, and on a roll-up plan interest compounds on what you have taken (how the interest builds), so the payout shape matters. Legal & General says taking money in stages can reduce the overall loan and help keep interest down, but that drawdown is only offered on some products.
- Aviva's Lifestyle Flexible Advantage (brochure PF011273, November 2025) pays a one-off lump sum of £15,000 or more, or a first payment of at least £10,000 with at least £5,000 held in a cash reserve. No interest is charged on the reserve until money is taken, and each withdrawal is priced at "the interest rate valid on the day you ask to take the money", which may be higher or lower than the first rate.
- Legal & General sets a £1,000 minimum for each further drawdown on two of its plans; its Payment Term Lifetime Mortgage has no drawdown.
Terms for later withdrawals are in each lender's illustration. The drawdown guide explains reserves, and topping up a plan covers asking for more later.
What lenders expect of the house
The loan brings duties. Aviva's brochure says its terms "include keeping your property in good repair and condition", along with keeping it insured and paying the rent, service charges, utilities and taxes on it, and warns that failing to do so risks repossession. Pure Retirement calls this "a duty of property upkeep" that runs for the life of the plan, and says it matters both when the home is sold and if you later want to borrow more.
Condition counts at the start, too. Just's guide lists homes "in poor repair, needing major essential works, or significant renovation or alteration" among those it will not accept, so the state of the house can decide whether a lender will lend at all. The lender's survey is covered on the valuation page.
Big alterations are a separate question. MoneyHelper lists restrictions that may apply to a lifetime mortgage, among them not being able to "make large structural changes". Where a lender draws that line is set by its own terms, so an extension, a loft conversion or taking out walls is worth raising with the adviser and the lender before the loan is agreed and before a builder starts. An equity release adviser can put that question to lenders for you; asking for the call through our form costs nothing.
Value added against money owed
Work on a house does not always pay for itself. In its guide to paying for home improvements, Aviva notes that an improvement could raise the eventual sale price but "that uplift may not exceed the cost of the upgrade" (the warning sits in its section on remortgaging). On a lifetime mortgage the loan and the interest rolled up on it are repaid from the sale first, and what remains is the estate; the inheritance page shows how that shrinks over time.
The other trade-offs are the same whatever the money is for: possible early repayment charges (repaying early), set-up costs (the fees guide), the effect on means-tested benefits (benefits and equity release) and, if a mortgage is still running, what happens to it (equity release with a mortgage). On a Scottish home the lender's security is a standard security: section 9 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 allows a debt secured on land to be effected at law only in that form.
Grants come first on an adviser's list
The FCA's rules for advised equity release sales build this in. When a firm assesses whether a plan is appropriate, MCOB 8.5A.6R makes other ways of raising the money one of the factors it must consider, and the first it names in particular is "(where relevant) a local authority (or other) grant". The guidance at MCOB 8.5A.9E says the firm should establish whether your needs "appear to be within the general scope of a local authority (or other) grant (for example where the customer requires funds for essential repairs to his property)" and point you to an appropriate source, such as your local authority or Citizens Advice, to find out whether one is available.
For adaptations the main grant is the Disabled Facilities Grant. GOV.UK's guide (updated 13 October 2026) describes it as a council grant you could get if you are disabled and need changes to your home, age-related needs being one example given, for work such as a stairlift, a level-access shower or a downstairs bedroom extension. The amount usually depends on household income and household savings over £6,000, you may have to pay towards the work, and the grant does not affect benefits you already get. The most you can apply for:
| Nation | Disabled Facilities Grant |
|---|---|
| England | Up to £30,000 |
| Wales | Up to £36,000 |
| Northern Ireland | Up to £25,000 |
| Scotland | Not available; GOV.UK points to support for equipment and adaptations |
Some councils may give more. GOV.UK also warns: "You might not get any grant if you start work on your property before the council approves your application." The order matters the other way as well, because MoneyHelper says equity release could affect entitlement to means-tested benefits, Local Authority Grants or Council Tax reductions. Savings, other borrowing, downsizing and the home-improvement agencies in each nation are on the alternatives page.
Questions people ask
Is equity release a cheaper way to pay for building work than a loan?
Not necessarily. MoneyHelper says lifetime mortgages may have higher interest rates than ordinary mortgages, and Legal & General's own comparison table notes you may have cheaper ways to borrow. The cost of savings, a grant or other borrowing is worth setting beside any illustration.
Do I need the lender's agreement before altering the house?
The lender documents on this page set out upkeep duties, and MoneyHelper mentions limits on large structural changes, but they do not describe a consent process. Ask the adviser to check your plan's terms before work starts.
Can I pay some of it back once the work is finished?
Aviva says some lifetime mortgages let you make voluntary partial repayments, up to a set limit each year, without an early repayment charge. Repaying equity release early covers the limits and charges.
Next step
If you are weighing a lifetime mortgage against a grant, savings or leaving the work for now, one phone conversation with a qualified equity release adviser can set the house, the plans and your money side by side; a few details typed into this page's form are enough to request it. Independent legal advice from a solicitor, which the Equity Release Council's standards say every customer needs, comes before anything is signed.
Sources (read 20 October 2026 unless dated): MoneyHelper, What is equity release? (snapshot of 19 September 2026); Aviva, How to fund home improvements (updated 11 February 2026), What you can use equity release for (updated 2 October 2026) and lifetime mortgage brochure PF011273 (November 2025); Legal & General, Lifetime mortgages and How does equity release work?; Just, Lending Criteria Guide JM 00341.21 05/2026; Pure Retirement, Property condition and lifetime mortgages; Equity Release Council, Standards; FCA Handbook, MCOB 8.5A; GOV.UK, Disabled Facilities Grants (updated 13 October 2026); legislation.gov.uk, 1970 Act s. 9.