Benefits help please.

Vader123

Given that they are family friends and seem in dire straights, can you not get them to inform the benefits people of their situation and not worry about the effect on your benefits for now?

If there is a shortfall or "affect" on your benefits, they can make it up to you from theirs while they are with you surely?

Vader

McKneff

Why didnt they just stay where they were when the other property fell through. They would have at least a roof over their heads.
It would have taken a court order to get them out and the council would probably have helped straightaway.

There priority should be housing (obviously after food) but they should be down to the council looiking to see if they can help them

UnderPressure

What was their original plan? Say for instance this rented house they were supposed to move into had not been sold how were they to survive?

This is a terrible situation for anyone to be in, they need to get themselves of to the CAB and get some professional help to get them back on their feet, they need to also go to the local council offices and register as homeless, the council has a responsibility to find them accomodation, dependant upon the area this will either be a council property or temporary accomodation until one is available, sadly staying at your house will not do them any favours, if you live in an area where council properties are few and far between in order to get one they really need to be in the "system" so to speak in temporary accomodation, this may be a B&B it may be a short term emergency property the only ones that can help is the local council.

They need to speak to tax credits, if none of them are working they need to inform them so the working tax credit can be stopped, when this happens the child tax credit should increase a little, the one with the health problems needs to get to the doctors and try and get a sick note so they can apply for ESA which is basically the new Incapacity Benefit, the healthy one need to go to the job centre and register for job seekers allowance as well as try their hardest to find work, with Christmas on the way there are lots of seasonal jobs around at the moment anything is better than nothing.................

These are all very important and they need to be onto these things first thing Monday morning the sooner they get the ball rolling the better, make sure they only use your address as a care of address, this should not complicate things too much for you, you would also be wise to write a letter to the local council that they can take to the homeless section basically saying they are sleeping on your living room floor as an emergency solution and they cannot stay too long as the whole situation is not great for them or your family, if you allow the homeless people any reason to think they are OK where theya re they will not pull all the stops out to find them accomodation, and again make sure they only use your address as a care of address.

If your house is a council home you may be wise to give the council a call to let them know they are sleeping in your living room as they have nowhere else to go, you need to protect your own situation as much as you can as well the last thing you need is any of this effecting you benefits etc.

Where has the deposit gone from the house they were supposed to be moving into? If they still have it could they not find another private let?

It is great you have stepped in to help them out just make sure you get them positive about solving this situation as soon as possible, if all goes well this time next week they could have it all sorted out and maybe even a council home, a word of warning though, most councils housing stock is in very very short supply, they need to be of the mindset of taking virtually anything they are offered, it might not be in the area they want and it might not be ideal in other ways but at the end of the day it is a roof over their heads and a bit of security till they can get back on their feet.

Make sure they are onto this 8am Monday morning, by the end of the day they should have been to see the homeless people, registered as homeless, been to the jobcentre re the JSA and the other should try their hardest to get in to see the doctor for that sick note, also dont forget tax credits.

That is about all I can think of at the minute, keep this thread updated it would be good to see how they get on and how long it takes to get this all sorted out for them, they must be really down in the dumps at the moment what a nightmare position to find yourself in there but for the grace of god............................

I really hope that helps

UnderPressure

Almost forgot if they have no money at all for food etc they can apply for a crisis loan from DWP there is a number they need to ring the local job centre will be able to give it to them, this is for things like food etc etc.

AsknAnswer2

They don't need to have a fixed abode to make a claim to benefit. They can use the Jobcentre as a correspondance address and if they have no account in which to pay benefit, they can collect a girocheque from the Jobcentre.

stef240377

They went to the council prior to coming here and were told there were no available places for them and that social services would need to be contacted and the children placed into care, this is why as a last resort they came to me.

UnderPressure

stef240377 wrote: »

They went to the council prior to coming here and were told there were no available places for them and that social services would need to be contacted and the children placed into care, this is why as a last resort they came to me.

WHAT!!!!! UTTER RUBBISH!

Tell them to get down to the CAB first thing Monday I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!! I hope they got the name of the complete numpty that advised them of this, if thats the case then there are thousands of families all around the UK that should have their children taken into care.

Are you sure you are not having your leg pulled here? That really does not sound right and I could never imagine any council worker saying such a thing?

What does everyone else think?

EDIT:

Just wanted to add I am no expert I can only offer advice from my own experience that is why I have pointed you towards CAB but something about this whole situation does not add up??

nannytone_2

from my experience., people that are vulnerable or have children are at the least put in B & B accomodation until something more permenant can be found.

Oldernotwiser

stef240377 wrote: »

Does anyone know if they would be able to claim jobseekers, child tax credits and any other relevant benefits while searching for a new property and would it affect any of the money i get coming in?

Were they not receiving all these before the situation arose?

I feel that you may not have been told the whole story because most of this just doesn't add up..

Kimitatsu

UnderPressure wrote: »

WHAT!!!!! UTTER RUBBISH!

Tell them to get down to the CAB first thing Monday I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!! I hope they got the name of the complete numpty that advised them of this, if thats the case then there are thousands of families all around the UK that should have their children taken into care.

Are you sure you are not having your leg pulled here? That really does not sound right and I could never imagine any council worker saying such a thing?

What does everyone else think?

EDIT:

Just wanted to add I am no expert I can only offer advice from my own experience that is why I have pointed you towards CAB but something about this whole situation does not add up??

UP- I am absoultely with you here! If they have handed in their tenancy in good faith and the new tenancy has fallen through then they are not intentionally homeless and the council has a duty of care to house them. At the very least they have to house them on reeceipt of a homelessness application whilst they investigate the issue. Go back to the council Monday morning and check that they have put in a homeless persons application - councils are notorious for doing a housing options interview to get out of the rules. If everything they have said is correct and the council still refuses to house them (they have to say that they cannot stay with you and you need them out ASAP) then they need to contact their local shelter office who has access to a barrister and they will find themselves in court in the blink of an eye.

In the event the council has delegated its responsibility for the housing list to a social landlord such as a housing association they need to go back to the council and make a complaint as soon as they have seen the social landlord. Responsibility STILL LIES with the council and it is them who has to ensure they are housed. The Barrister would take the council (not the social landlord) to court and it would be up to them to house the family.

The only event that would necessitate the children being taken into care is if the parents made themselves intentionally homeless and could not provide for a roof over the childrens heads. A tenancy falling through does not constitue this.

The parents need to claim JSA on Monday. They do not need a fixed address to do so as they can if necessary sign on every day to show that they are still in the area. They can make a claim for housing benefit at the same time if they have found somewhere to live and have a tenancy that will prove when they are going to move in, WTC need to be stopped but CTC can go on an accomodation address so a family relative etc. There is no reason from what you have said that they should not be housed and they should not be able to claim benefits immediately.