Incapacity Benefit, Housing Benefit & Living with my bipolar daughter

[Deleted User]

Hi there,

Please could some of you take the time to read this: it explains what my position is and why I'm so worried for my daughter.

My daughter has bipolar disorder and lives in our rented house with me. She receives Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, alongside Incapacity Benefit. She is not fit for work and really struggles with her condition. She is 35.

I am 65 and my profession is a teacher, but owing to my age, I won't be able to teach in the state sector after my contract with my current school ends in August. I do have a very modest teaching pension, alongside my state pension.

I have just bought a house that we will be moving to in August, for which I will be renting rooms out to lodgers in order for me to get out of renting at exorbitant rates that I will no longer be able to afford in the area I live in. I will have a mortgage on the house of approximately 100K.

My daughter has just been told that because she will be living with me in my own home, she will not be paid Housing Benefit. I cannot support her financially and she is unfit for work.

She does get enough Incapacity benefit to contribute something to the running of the house each month, but this would leave her with no money to live on or have any independence from me at all.

I feel that my daughter is given very little support as a mentally ill person anyway: if she were a stranger, she would qualify for Housing Benefit as long as I'm running the house as a business!

I know that this is one of the reasons why mentally ill people become homeless: less than caring families kick them out because they can't support them financially, then they end up in hospital / on the street / in social housing - all of which cost the tax payer anyway. I'm never going to do this, but I do feel that I am being pushed into a theoretical position where I can't afford to keep her with me. She is so terribly vulnerable: moving away from me would almost certainly cause her to have the most awful breakdown. She been homeless twice now and is terrified of hospital. I don't know what to do. She can't be the only mentally ill person in this position! Can anyone advise me?

J

concerned43

Is she receiving DLA?

dmg24

The information you have been given is correct, she is not entitled to LHA whilst living with you in a property that you own. Surely you do not expect her to pay towards your mortgage?

Jowo_2

As you've noted, housing benefit is not payable where the tenant and landlord are close relatives and live together in the same property. My understanding is that this is a strict policy without any exceptions.

Though you feel the stress because of your financial position (unwisely taking on a 100k mortgage when you are about to retire) added your daughter's vulnerability, this is generally largely a very sound policy, though I can see why you feel as you do in your particular circumstances.

Without this restriction, the LHA bill, currently heading towards £20 billion per year, would probably double or treble overnight as parents of hundreds of thousands unemployed adult children would then bill their lodging costs to the public purse. It would again take out of personal responsibility and put onto the state the type of support and expense that historically is the role of family members to undertake.

I recommend that you contact Mind and Shelter for advice, such as the potential for independent living for your daughter, DLA, support and treatment.

Prinzessilein

I have ASD and would find it hard to live independently unsupported.

Does your daughter get DLA (Disabled Living Allowance) it sounds as if she might be entitled to it. Getting this has meant that I can get some gadgets that help me to live independently and to do things like pay to be taken shopping.

My wonderful mum cared for me for years (and still does) I would be lost without her. However, she has worked with my social worker to make sure that everything possible is done to ensure that I can live on my own. Does your daughter have a social worker with whom you could talk? If not, perhaps you need to see about geting her attached to one. (My psychiatrist arranged it for me.....I was reluctant at first!)

It will be a wrench for both you and your daughter for her to move into her own place, but I think it would be the right move. My social worker put us in touch with various housing groupls locally so that we could see what the options are...your daughter does not have to be 100% independent immediately (or ever!).Equally she does not necessarily need to go into a home. There are warden controlled flats which might be an idea. Or shared housing. Or a community home (where people with similar mental health issues can live in a supported environment).

Good luck to the two of you. I hope you find the right solution.

nannytone_2

why would your daughter not receiving LHA make a big difference?
your mortgage would cost the same regardless of whether she is living with you, so have you overstratched yourself finacially assuming she would still get LHA?
she'd still be entitled to her other benefits and as youre seeking to rent rooms out, you wouldnt be paying full CT anyway.