Housing Benefit Help for Mentally ill

pineapplesherbet

Hi, can anyone advise please? Is it ever possible to get housing benefit and council tax benefit for a mentally ill relative who has nowhere else to live? He needs his own room and only has Incapacity Benefit to live on. He is willing to contribute as much as possible from that to help towards bills but the relative will be losing much needed income from not being able to rent the room out privately. I find it hard to believe there is no help with rent available for someone who would otherwise have to be placed in an instituition. The relative offering to help is elderly and very short of money herself. Does anyone have any advice please? Thankyou

Jowo_2

If you are renting a home from a family member and they live in the same house, you won't be able to get housing benefit, even if you are paying them rent. A close relative is a:

• husband or wife
• civil partner
• partner
• parent or step-parent
• father-in-law or mother-in-law
• child or step-child
• son-in-law or daughter-in-law
• brother or sister
• brother-in-law or sister-in-law
• partner of any of the above.

If you live in a property owned by a family member and pay them rent, you may be entitled to housing benefit. However, this will not be the case if you (or your partner) are responsible for a child and are renting from the other parent of that child.
The council will also want to check:

• that you're paying rent on a commercial basis. In other words, that it's a proper tenancy, not just an informal arrangement between family.
• that the arrangement has not been set up in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system - this is called a 'contrived tenancy'.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/housing_benefit_if_renting_from_a_family_member

Contact Shelter to discuss the options available for housing someone with mental health issues who is facing homelessness. They have a good section on this on their website that covers how local council's are obliged to assist homeless people.

pineapplesherbet

Thanks very's much for your help. What a rubbish system.:rolleyes:

Jowo_2

I understand your frustration as its a scenario where there seems to be mutual benefit. However, the housing benefit system would break the finances of the country if every claimant living with a relative could get the state to pay for their accommodation. Consider all the NEETs and recent grads living with their parents, for example.

Get advise from Shelter or CAB about accommodation opportunities and from CAB or a local benefits advice centre whether there would be any entitlement to other benefits that could assist either or both, such as carers allowance or DLA. Or post your query in the Benefits forum on this site who can advise you of other strategies to deal with the problem and other allowances and benefits that could help matters.

But also consider that advice for landlords taking in lodgers routinely advises never to let pity form the basis of a decision to grant accommodation and that the best co-residents tend to be students and the employed and never relatives. I know that sounds harsh but kindness can end up backfiring and having a relative live with another whose tenancy turns sour can then cause family ructions.

Good luck, I hope it all gets sorted out soon.

Joyful

I think these people may be able to give you some advise on help available https://www.carersuk.org

poppysocks1

Hi
Just a quick email. I have family in the same situation and just wanted to say that I completely understand your frustrations. I have a mentally ill brother who has bipolar disorder (chronic depression) who also has cerebral palsy and my mum has had to be his carer with no help from anyone else at all, having brought us all up herself. The whole benefits system is a minefield and on top of caring for my brother has to navigate through the whole system of benefits for him, while trying to get him independent and moving into own flat. She doesnt actually get anything though apart from her pension, so its hard financially, esp when he was living at home and she cant work either due to him. I hope the above website is helpful for you and I just wanted to email you to say that there are others in similar situations. My mum actually goes to a support group, and having met friends through that in similar situations has found that it does help her a bit. I wish you all the best.

pineapplesherbet

Hi Poppysocks, thankyou so much for your email, it's a comfort. I must admit it gets tiring when people are so cynical about situations such as ours. They seem to think you are uneducated scroungers just because you want to care for your family. In many countries this is still the most natural and honourable thing to do, yet in England we are sometimes made to feel that unless we are out earning and keeping the economy running smoothly we are just wasters. I have friends in Ireland and the carer's benefits there are excellent. A friend who cares for 2 people as I do not only gets over £200 per week to live on but also £2800 every June as respite money for a holiday etc! Unbelievable isn't it? I'd go in a shot if it was practical to do so. I realise this is very generous and not feasible for every country but at the same time I think it should be a basic right to have enough to live on without a massive struggle each week. It's sometimes hard enough to get through a day without that extra worry. I wish you and yours all the best too. Keep your chin up. Now where was that Irish Ferry brochure ....;)

poppysocks1

I really do think that there are a lot of people in this situation that dont get the help and support they need. I really despair about it, and the hardest thing is that being a carer is constant, and so hard. I havent seen my mum properly for 7 months as she cant leave my brother, and his illness makes it impossible to visit for a length of time. Its hard dealing with someone who is depressed all the time and the carers need help too. I really hope you can sort something out. Could your husband rent a small flat near you and then get Housing Benefit or would that not be an option? That is what my brother is having to do, with care from my mum on a daily basis. I think contacting a support group is a good idea if you do get a chance to meet others in your situation. My mum has made some good friends through hers. I think it is called Rethink
http://www.rethink.org/

pineapplesherbet

Oh you poor things, how difficult. You must really miss your mum. We have been trying to find a flat nearby but they are nearly always more than housing benefit witll pay for. The main problem though, is that my husband can't stand being on his own and finds it very difficult to deal with other people. We would give it a go but realistically I think we'll end up muddling along as we are becuase it'd set him back so much. I really hope things get better for you all soon. I'll go and have a look at that site now, thankyou x;)

barnaby-bear

Joyful wrote: »

I think these people may be able to give you some advise on help available www.carersuk.org

http://www.mind.org.uk/Mind+in+your+area/
or mind....

cattie

If your husband is able to look after himself to a certain extent & doesn't need 24/7 care then he could speak to his cpn and/or psychiatrist about being considered for local authority housing as a vulnerable person. Getting rehoused in this way doesn't take too long. Or there is a possibilty he could be considered for supported housing set up especially for people with mental health needs, usually run by housing associations. Again, mental health team would help be a passport to this kind of housing.