Crisis Loan my only option?

925dancer

I've applied for JSA and HB on 06/03 but as I withdrew from a full-time college course I have had to provide further evidence. They today phoned me asking for yet another piece of paper (which sent me round in circles with 10 phone calls to get but that's another matter!). It will now take up to 7 working days to receive this then I have to send it off to be processed.

In the meantime I still have no income. My rent is due on the 5th and I'm not optimistic about that coming through in time but I'm thinking I'll just have to wait that one out?

Is a crisis loan my only option at this point? I'm very reluctant as the repayments will come out of my JSA and living on my own my JSA isn't going to go far.

Fingers crossed someone will give me a job very shortly!

dreamylittledream

A crisis loan won't pay your rent - its an excluded item. They will consider living costs only (food and power if you have prepayment meters only) and only if you have no other means to prevent a risk to your health or safety.

How are you funding yourself at the moment?

925dancer

I know they won't pay my rent (well, they do in some circumstances but not mine).

I'm living off what little store cupboard items I have and a £20 crisis loan I got last week that was to last until today (when in theory I would be getting a payment but obviously that's not happened).

dreamylittledream

Actually no they won't pay rent full stop end of story.

They will pay rent in advance to secure a new property and board and lodgings in certain circumstances but a straight forward monthly payment to a private landlord/housing association/local authority is excluded.

You only pay back one loan to the social fund at a time so if you need another crisis loan they won't take anymore money a week from your JSA (well not if its only your second one anyway) they will just take it for longer.

The acid test with a crisis loan is simple - if the result of you not getting one would be you starving then you should apply for one. If its not then you wouldn't be entitled to one anyway.

EDIT - to answer your original question you can request JSA to make an emergency payment to you if you are now overdue (i.e its past your first signing date) but they will normally refuse this if there is any question over your entitilement to the benefit (which as there are end of FTE issues there are in this case) but otherwise no there isn't anywhere else in the benefit system to turn to. This is what crisis loans are there for (it probably also should be noted that once in payment your JSA would be backdated to your claim or eligibility date so you could pay back the crisis loans in one lump sum if you desired from your first JSA payment which will be the amount you are due from claiming to your last signing when issued).

925dancer

And those would be the circumstances I was referring to!

My question was is a crisis loan my only option for immediate living costs while my claim is processed. I know how they work and what they're for.

dreamylittledream

Neither of those is rent though now is it?

Apologies if we detoured here but the OP did strongly imply you were after a payment for your rent.

I answered your question in the edit to the last post.