Warm front grant help

shaysdad

Hi guys dont know if i am posting in right place , we are a couple on income support and have 1 child on dla , we live in private accomadation can we get a grant towards a new boiler under warm front as ours keep breaking down , any help greatly appreciated

nannytone_2

i know the citeria has been changed to people on means tested benefit. it used to be that only the tenant and their spouse qualified, but it may have changed when everything else changed.

Anubis_2

If you are living in private rented accommodation, you need to get permission off the Landlord. If you are in your own acommodation then you obviously don't need permisiion but check the rules.

We had no central heating but our LL helped sort a warmfront grant and he had central heating installed. At the time, only 5 radiators were allowed and they had to go in specific rooms. The boiler was replaced during this installation.

We were also meant to get the windows and doors done, but the workmen refused to do the doors and windows because they are old, crumbling and too many gaps, so be aware that some work may not be carried out, depending.

Take a look at the appropriate website http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/moneytaxandbenefits/benefitstaxcreditsandothersupport/on_a_low_income/dg_10018661

shaysdad

we have heating occasuionally it just doesnt work that good , we have landlord permission as he cant afford to replace at this time

merlin68

It is a landlords responsibility to provide heating. they are breaking the law if they don't. Wether he can afford it or not is here or there.

Anubis_2

merlin68 wrote: »

It is a landlords responsibility to provide heating. they are breaking the law if they don't. Wether he can afford it or not is here or there.

Has my landlord broke the law? I am genuinely interested to know. If he has, why do warmfront contact the landlord and request LL permission?

shaysdad

merlin68 wrote: »

It is a landlords responsibility to provide heating. they are breaking the law if they don't. Wether he can afford it or not is here or there.

show me a viable link to this law please

Jscott

shaysdad wrote: »

show me a viable link to this law please

Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 the LL is responsible for the upkeep of the central heating unless he has obtained a court order to change the responsibility into the hands of the tenants.
I remember reading somewhere that this automatically changes to the tenants responsibility after 7 years of continuous tenancy- but don't quote me on that :think:

I cant add links as I'm a newbie but just type 'Landlord and Tenant Act 1985' into google and that should bring up sites with greater detail.

Jscott

Anubis wrote: »

Has my landlord broke the law? I am genuinely interested to know. If he has, why do warmfront contact the landlord and request LL permission?

Warmfront have to contact the LL to get written consent to carry out work on his behalf – They cant take the tenants word alone that the LL will be fine with it. The LL permission is also needed as once the boiler is installed and the 2 year warranty expires the boiler is gifted to the property. They need the landlord permission slip to relinquish themselves of responsibility and to act as proof that the LL is then responsible.

You probably have a good argument under the landlord and tenant act 1985 to try and force the LL's hand into arranging a repair. If this fails you can always approach your local council. The council have authority to carry out an assessment – The housing, health and safety rating system (HHSRS) Under part 1 of the housing act 2004. The assessment is used to identify if repair work needs done, if it does the council can then serve the LL notice for works to be carried out.

The only issue with dealing with the LL in this manner is that odds are they wont take to kindly to it - Possibly meaning that they wont look to continue the tenancy after the contract expires. I've also found that some LL's will find a way around increasing the rent using any excuse they can find to use the rent to cover the repairs. :undecided

Jscott

shaysdad wrote: »

Hi guys dont know if i am posting in right place , we are a couple on income support and have 1 child on dla , we live in private accomadation can we get a grant towards a new boiler under warm front as ours keep breaking down , any help greatly appreciated

IS wont qualify you on its own. If your child is under 5 then you will qualify on the basis of your childs age alone. If your child is 5 or over then you will need to recv child tax credit which also includes an element for a disabled, or severely disabled child or young person. If your getting CTC then your award letter will identify if you are recv the disabled element.

Even if you do qualify before warmfront can go ahead with any work they also need to carry out a SAP rating (Standard assessment procedure) This identifies the overall energy efficiency rating of the property. They need to identify that the overall energy efficiency of the property is below 55. The things that come into play when identifying this is things like loft insulation etc. As a general rule however if the boiler is not functioning then this will take the rating below 55 regardless of insulation.

Warmfront assessors will need to identify that the boiler has been breaking down repeatedly. unfortunately they need proof of this, so if you've had numerous repairs done you will need the paperwork at hand to prove that the boiler is behaving intermittently. If you don't and the boiler is working at the time of assessment then they cannot put you forward for a boiler replacement.

StevieJ

Just had a guy who knocked on my door and said he was checking if I had used my Warmfront grant, he said they could insulate my house for what was quite a small amount, BTW I do not meet any of the qualifying criteria for Warmfront. Was this a con or do Warmfront do other work apart from the full grant work and claim grants off the local authority? I am clueless on this but wouldn't mind getting it done for a reasonable cost.