ESA and mortgage help query

happymumto2

Have loads of questions at the moment, so thanks to anyone who can offer help or advice.

Have been on ESA (C) since October, also received half pay from employer which ends next Friday, had the mortgage forms to fill in which ESA said i was entitled to £x per week for my half of the mortgage (ex and i split up within weeks of moving here, joint mortgage which he has never paid). However i was not able to receive it because of my half pay, I managed to pay the mortgage or part of until November have made no payment last 2 months at all.
Spoke to ESA on Thursday as my pay ends next Friday, been told to ring them on 22nd to be put on ESA (IB), and from then will be entitled to full council tax benefit and my share of the mortgage interest. My question is will I still have to wait a further 13 weeks for the mortgage help, as the Halifax are beginning to get a little fed up. Or will I be able to claim the £x amount i was initially awarded but not in payment due to wages.
Thanks in advance.

Also going off on a tangent does anybody know what else i would be entitled to, have requested forms for free school meals, carers allowance (son is disabled), my DLA claim has gone to appeal, and I have my tax credits. Am also going to request a social work assessment for direct payment for my son (he attends childcare 12 hours per week), which i was subsidised for with tax credits but as of next Friday am no longer eligible to claim, however the childminder takes him to and from school, and due to my social phobia and panic attacks I am unable to do so, so am hoping that they will asssist with this.

Many thanks for any advice

DX2

I don't think you will be able to claim ESA and CA. If you are a single parent with a disabled child would it not be better to claim CA rather than ESA?

tr82

You shouldn't have to wait another 13 weeks, no. And if your ex is refusing to contribute to their share of the mortgage, DWP should consider paying you 100% of the mortgage interest not just 50% (you'll have to query this with them asap).

happymumto2

tr82 wrote: »

You shouldn't have to wait another 13 weeks, no. And if your ex is refusing to contribute to their share of the mortgage, DWP should consider paying you 100% of the mortgage interest not just 50% (you'll have to query this with them asap).

Thanks for that, I did speak to them when I initially claimed ESA in October, the lady was very helpful, I explained I had always paid the mortgage in full by myself. She said they would only pay the full interest if:-

a) He moved back into the property (he is on income based JSA), she said we could claim full interest and not be classed as a couple but 2 seperate people living under the same roof. However am not really convinced, I have 2 children the youngest is his son. I think it would open a huge can of worms into me claiming benefits as single person if he is under my roof, and I wouldn't be able to deal with the stress of it incase they said i was fraudulenty claiming as they could assume we were a couple! He currently lives with his parents so is not claiming any housing or council tax benefit. Also while we are civil to each other, too much happened in the past which I think would make living under the same roof unbearable! Would rather live with me ex-husband, I liked him :rotfl:

b) Get him to sign the house over to me, he will not do that. And the Halifax when I spoke to them said they would be very unlikely to agree as I am no longer in employment (as of next Friday anyway).

So the amount awarded is definitely just my half which leaves me having to find £500 a month to cover his half. If my DLA appeal is successful can put this money towards it and am going to start selling anything and everything of value from the house that I don't need to help with the rest.

happymumto2

DX2 wrote: »

I don't think you will be able to claim ESA and CA. If you are a single parent with a disabled child would it not be better to claim CA rather than ESA?

My ESA is £89 a week, I think CA is £53 a week, so would be better off on ESA I think. The benefits lady I spoke to in October told me to claim DLA for myself and CA for my son, as she said the CA would pay my NI contributions. Benefits are not easy to understand no wonder people don't claim sometimes.
When I rang this week I spoke to a different lady who said the only things I was entitled to was the mortgage help, council tax help and ESA, so maybe she was right, is so confusing.

To be honest am grateful for the assistance I am being given as hopefully it will give the kids stability and a roof over their head but they don't make it easy. I rang this week to say my pay stops next week, but they can't deal with it till the following week, I understand they have procedures they have to follow but it does make a stressful time even more stressful. CCCS wanted to ring me on 19th to sort out the financial analysis for the Halifax based on my benefits and entitlements but had to tell them no as I won't know what they are as I am not allowed to ring them until the 22nd, will then take another couple of weeks to get the paperwork through. Then I had to ring Halifax and say can you halt proceedings for another month as I can't get the financial analysis done yet (they weren't happy but did agree fortunately)

happymumto2

Have found this on the web

If you already receive one of the following benefits (of the same amount as Carer's Allowance or more) you will not be able to get Carer's Allowance:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Contributory Employment and Support Allowance
• State Retirement Pension
• widow's and bereavements benefits
• Maternity Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Contribution-based Job Seeker's Allowance

If you get one of these benefits, it may still be worth applying for Carer's Allowance as you may qualify for Carer Premium.



I will be going onto Income Based ESA after next Friday, so maybe thats why I was advised to apply.

Oldernotwiser

happymumto2 wrote: »

The benefits lady I spoke to in October told me to claim DLA for myself and CA for my son, as she said the CA would pay my NI contributions.

So she recommended the same thing as DX2?

Depending on the age of your child you can claim IS to top up CA. If you've been working until recently you may find it difficult to claim ESA and certainly more hassle.

500 pounds is an enormous amount amount to find every month out of benefits;are you going to sell the house?

happymumto2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

So she recommended the same thing as DX2?

Depending on the age of your child you can claim IS to top up CA. If you've been working until recently you may find it difficult to claim ESA and certainly more hassle.

500 pounds is an enormous amount amount to find every month out of benefits;are you going to sell the house?

Hi Oldernotwiser, no not the same as DX2, am already on ESA (contribution), main phase, have had medical etc. As of next Friday I go on to ESA (income based), and was advised to claim CA as well for my son. Have not worked since March 09 due to to mental health issues my employer paid me full for 6 months and half for 6 months which ends next Friday. My contract will soon after be terminated.

No I will not be selling the house, was bought during the boom and am now around 30k in negative equity, plus joint owner will not sign for sale (I did try when we split up as the morgage was 1k a month and crippling me, but I did manage to pay it for 3 1/2 years). So it will be a case of scraping the money together or repossession.

tr82

happymumto2 wrote: »

She said they would only pay the full interest if:-

a) He moved back into the property (he is on income based JSA), she said we could claim full interest and not be classed as a couple but 2 seperate people living under the same roof. However am not really convinced, I have 2 children the youngest is his son. I think it would open a huge can of worms into me claiming benefits as single person if he is under my roof, and I wouldn't be able to deal with the stress of it incase they said i was fraudulenty claiming as they could assume we were a couple! He currently lives with his parents so is not claiming any housing or council tax benefit. Also while we are civil to each other, too much happened in the past which I think would make living under the same roof unbearable! Would rather live with me ex-husband, I liked him :rotfl:

b) Get him to sign the house over to me, he will not do that. And the Halifax when I spoke to them said they would be very unlikely to agree as I am no longer in employment (as of next Friday anyway).

The lady might have been nice but she was wrong. If he's not paying his share of the mortgage then you're entitled to help with 100% of the interest, not just 50%. The following is a quote from the Decision Maker's Guide, the reference book they use to make decisions.

"Liability for housing costs
23423 A person is liable to meet housing costs where the
1. liability falls on them, their partner, or in the case of joint-claim couples, the other member of that couple, except where the liability is to another member of the same household or
2. person liable for those costs is not meeting them and
2.1 the claimant has to meet the costs to keep on living in the home and
2.2 it is reasonable in all the circumstances to treat the claimant as liable for the costs"

So you should get help with 100% interest under 23423 (2.2).

Phone them tomorrow, ask them to look at your assessment again and request that any help they've already given you be paid at 100% instead and that future payments are adjusted accordingly.

happymumto2

tr82 wrote: »

The lady might have been nice but she was wrong. If he's not paying his share of the mortgage then you're entitled to help with 100% of the interest, not just 50%. The following is a quote from the Decision Maker's Guide, the reference book they use to make decisions.

"Liability for housing costs
23423 A person is liable to meet housing costs where the
1. liability falls on them, their partner, or in the case of joint-claim couples, the other member of that couple, except where the liability is to another member of the same household or
2. person liable for those costs is not meeting them and
2.1 the claimant has to meet the costs to keep on living in the home and
2.2 it is reasonable in all the circumstances to treat the claimant as liable for the costs"

So you should get help with 100% interest under 23423 (2.2).

Phone them tomorrow, ask them to look at your assessment again and request that any help they've already given you be paid at 100% instead and that future payments are adjusted accordingly.

A huge thank you for taking the time to find that for me, will definitely ring them in the morning, as that will be a huge weight off my shoulders if they agree to it. Will post back with their response.

Oldernotwiser

happymumto2 wrote: »

So it will be a case of scraping the money together or repossession.

Don't rule out repossession as a possibility.

With a disabled child and on ESA yourself you might well be eligible for social housing; even if not you would be able to claim LHA for the cost of renting privately. 500 a month will take nearly half of your income, possibly for years to come,with no end in sight.

Living on benefits is tough enough, without having to manage with such a reduced amount.