Is she entitled to any other benefits?

adamt

I have a sister who is 26 and is disabled - MS

She recently applied and was accepted for Disability Living Allowance (higher rate mobility) and Employment and Support Allowance (income related - work related group)


However i was wondering due to her disability if she was entitled to any other form of benefit?

as she wants to move out of the family home but having less than £5000 in savings this is unrealistic,

thanks

- i have emailed Department for Work&Pensions but am still awaiting a reply

tomitma

By having savings of less than £5,00 she is better off, as if her savings were more than 6,000, she would lose the right to claim the full housing benefit, and council tax, there will be a few other benefits that she can claim too.

Every 250 pounds over 6,000 you lose £1.00 benefit.

MrsManda

I think she'd be entitled to benefits which are available to people on a low income: Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance, Council Tax Benefit,
On A Low Income - direct.gov.uk

Get her to fill out the benefits calculator HERE on turn2us.org or HERE on direct.gov.uk to see what she may be entitled to.

MrsManda

tomitma wrote: »

By having savings of less than £5,00 she is better off, as if her savings were more than 6,000, she would lose the right to claim housing benefit, and council tax there, will be a few other benefits that she can claim too.

Thought it was £16,000 not £6,000

You can't usually get Housing Benefit if:

• you have savings of over £16,000, unless you are getting the 'guarantee credit' of Pension Credit

tomitma

MrsManda wrote: »

Thought it was £16,000 not £6,000

She isnt over the age of 65.

adamt

thanks for the replies,
i checked out the benefiot calculator and it seems she actually needs to renting in a property before she can claim funding, is that right?
if thats the case dopes anyone know how long it normally takes from when you apply for housing benefit to receiving the money?

as she is in receipt of DLA (high rate) and ESA (income related), would there be any more assessments for her to be entitled to housing benefit?

so besides DSA, ESA, and housing benefit, would someone in her condition (chronic neurological illness be entitled to any other benefits?
shes been suffering for years but has only now been comfortable with claiming, so i feel she should make the most of it.

- by the way her savings are in the region of £2000-3000

tomitma

Yes she does need to be in a property before she can start claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax, as she is 25 she will be allowed to claim for a one bedroom apartment until October 2011, then I am sorry but anyone under the age of 35 is only entitled to claim for a studio flat or a room share,

These are the new rules, the amount of housing benefit your sister may get is dependent on the Local Housing Authority, you will have to check on your local council site under housing benefits allowance to see how much she will be entitled too, in most cased these days if your sister is renting from a council, or housing authority she will get all her rent paid, until October 2011, then the rules change. As the social housing rents are sopposed to be rising to 80% of the private rental market. I am not sure yet if that means that the housing benefit will still cover it.

Renting privately, is expensive, and she may end up paying a large sum out of her savings or benefits towards the rent.

She may be entitled to Income support, but until you fill out the forms who knows.

Recieving Housing Benefit once you start a claim, varies from council to council, some councils may be as quick as two /three weeks others can take months before the claim starts coming througn. If she has a support worker, they cxan sometimes get these claims through a lot quicker, they will know what she is entitled too.

Oldernotwiser

MrsManda wrote: »

Thought it was £16,000 not £6,000

Over £16,000 no means tested benefits, between £6,000 and £16,000 a sliding scale, under £6,000, no effect.

Oldernotwiser

tomitma wrote: »

Yes she does need to be in a property before she can start claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax, as she is 25 she will be allowed to claim for a one bedroom apartment until October 2011, then I am sorry but anyone under the age of 35 is only entitled to claim for a studio flat or a room share,

At present, disabled people under the age of 25 can claim the 1 bed rate so the assumption is that they will still be able to do so when the age limit is raised.

RazWaz

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

At present, disabled people under the age of 25 can claim the 1 bed rate so the assumption is that they will still be able to do so when the age limit is raised.

Disabled 20 year old getting one bed rate here, no idea if I'm going to be affected by the 35 cap either but I don't think I will.