Can my Mother Claim Disability?

doolahrock

sunnyone wrote: »

Dont be so silly, that his inheritance, thats why he bought the house but wont give his mum a decent heating system.

Er....OK. The house was bought with some money my father left me when he passed away. I don't usually have the means to buy property at the drop of a hat. Jeez.

The situation has recently changed as we have had the house on the market for almost three years. Originally my mum just wanted a change really and she had a pretty unpleasant neighbour which didn't help matters. There is a pretty big garden that she can't really cope with and I've been getting a chap to cut it recently. However, this neighbour has since left and we had a good chat about the house situation and came to the decision to for her to stay in the house and go about trying to upgrade. Now the house is off the market we can move forward with the plans. The estate agent kept advising not to bother upgrading anything when the house was on the market.

Now we have arrived at that decision, releasing money from the house is certainly an option. What might be the best options in this respect. Obviously there is equity release but you just hear so many bad reports but perhaps things have changed now?

I'm certainly looking into getting something home delivered in terms of shopping. I think even getting in the basics for her would make quite a difference to her finances.

I've been in touch with the Energy Saving Trust and have someone coming round to to advise on better insulation. Unfortunately, due to the construction of the house it looks as though cavity wall insulation will not be possible. They have also requested a benefits check from the pension people.

I don't think my mum would be keen on the idea of new storage heaters as she dislikes the current ones so much. I'm sure new ones would be a heck of a lot better than the current ones though.

I think she may qualify as fuel poor which would mean that at least the supply would be set up at no cost if we were to go ahead with gas central heating.

I'll need to double check her pension status as I'm not really clear on what it consists of.

doolahrock

dmg24 wrote: »

Not all disabilities are visible.

Indeed. Sorry for that flippant comment.

Mojisola

Have a chat with the people at Age UK. They'll know about all the possibilities.

There's a scheme in our area called Staying Put run by the Anchor Trust which helps older people stay at home by doing renovations - heating, double-glazing, roof repairs, etc.

pinklady21

Have a look at the Energy Saving Trust website. There is a list of qualifying benefits on there. You need to check what your mother currently receives. eg is it Pension Credit? Council Tax benefit etc etc
There will probably be help with at least insulation, either free or subsidised. There are also some schemes to help pay for central heating if you do not have any and have been it the property for over a year. Grants available vary depending on where you are in the country.
Agree with other posters, check with AgeUK and/or CAB to see what other benefits she may be entitled to. Could be Attendance Allowance if she has care needs. Not sure if she would be eligible for DLA due to age - other posters may know more.

Best of luck!
Kind regards