Moving out - help with incapacity benefit

cre5po

Hey all my first post but could do with some advice!

I'm planning on moving out with my girlfriend and our daughter who is now 12 weeks old.

I'm 21 years old and have been on incapacity benefit for 3 years and she is 19 having not worked and recently left college (due to the timing of the little one)

We intend to move out asap due to the fact my household has 4 other siblings and my mum as well in a 3 bedroom house - her household is just 2 bedroom with her mum / dad.

My question or worry is about what I'll have to pay due to my benefit, for example council tax.

We're already looking at £700 a month for rent which of course would be paid for us (Up to £600) but aside from that I'm unsure if I'll have to pay for council tax as well as other bills. Between us we make £800 a month (if that) so it's crucial we try find out what we can or cannot claim for.

I have not worked and have not participated in any form of education since I first came onto Incapacity Benefit in 2008. Who should I refer to when it comes to what I can and can't go for, we don't want the nasty shock of moving out and finding we can't pay for everything!

Any advice is welcome. I'm fully aware of other such costs such as electricity, gas, water, broadband etc and we can deal with that financially, not sure how much more we could possibly take though if we mounted more on top.

I appreciate your time

KxMx

Go onto your local authority website, they should have a benefit calculator or a number you can phone for advice.

IB is not a means tested benefit so any entitlement will be based on your total income.

mrmca

If your on IB you usually get most to all of the rent paid for and most to all of the council tax. Its only guaranteed to pay it all if your girlfriend has some kind of income support coming in.
I would be more concerned with the fact of if you move your more likely to be pushed to the front of the queue to be tested for ESA, which is harder to get accepted onto than IB.
i was on IB and my review date wasnt for another 2 years ( which is when they usually put you up to transfer you) but as i moved they asked is it a permanent address, to which you reply yes, i was then highlighted to the system and had the forms through within 2 months of moving for transfer to ESA, and in for the medical within 4 months.
if you fail the medical, you can appeal, and you will receive £65 a week until the appeal is heard, the appeal can take up to 1 year to be heard. if you fail the appeal you will immediately be put onto job seekers.
if you do get accepted onto esa, they will put you onto contribution based ( which is better for people who have savings or a partner who works) if neither apply to you then you need to ask them to put you on Income related ( you need to ask as they wont offer!) if you are on IR, they will pay full rent, council tax, and you get things like free prescriptions, which you dont get on IB.

Hope this helps

cre5po

Thank you very much for the advice KxMx and mrmca

In response to you mrmca my girlfriend is indeed on income support and as of yet I've had no date on my incapacity evaluation (typical), the last time I called up to enquire if they were still assessing me in late 2011 they said they were unable to find out due to the changes made recently I suppose in regard to not accepting new applications for the benefit and introducing ESA.

If I were to fail IB and be put onto ESA will the dent in money per week / month be so significant in your opinion that we wont be able to keep up where we are living? I know that's an incredibly loose question based upon the fact you don't specifically know how much we'd spend but as of now taking into account all benefits would it change entitlement to a degree that everyday living is affected? (I notice you mentioned them paying full rent / council tax)

Also while under ESA I assume there are different boundaries for those able to work with the right help and those that simply cannot - if I failed the medical would I then potentially be put right through onto Job Seekers? I have literally no idea what help I'd get / not get if I was on that against costs of living with a partner and a child.

I'll be honest the whole ordeal puts me off moving entirely.

---

We had a look around a place today which would be £700 a month, my other half loved it and we'd have to pay the extra £100 a month due to us being given £600 from the council

Just as we were about to leave I asked about the admin fee which would set up back about £320 - right.

mrmca

Hi, my advice would be go to your local CAB, they will give you the best advice. im not a 100% sure but its my understanding as long as 1 of you is recieving income support then you will get full rent and concil tax paid for, especially if you have a child. her income support is affected by your money as its means tested, for instance there will be a cap on how much you as a couple with a child can have coming in a week, it could be £100, £200, £300, so on, i dont know the figure, for instance, if they said you can have £200, and you got £85 for IB then your partner would be allowed £115.

If your on IB, ESA, or JSA, this figure is going to stay the same, for you as a family unit, so i doubt it would affect you on what ever benefit you are on as long as your girlfriend is on income support. they will be classing you as a joint claim even though you are on seperate awards?

ESA contribution based is what they move you onto if you have been on IB, you are allowed it for 1 year and then moved onto Income related, contribution based if you are in the wrag group is about £95 a week, it allows you to have savings and for your partner to work and you still recieve £95 a week, but is only limited for 1 year. but if your partner is on income support i dont think it makes a difference if your on income related esa or cont esa, as all income related means is that its the equivilant to income support for someone on esa. the only difference would be that you would get free persciptions which you dont get on contribution based.

when i moved i was told i had been highlighted to be assesed for transfer ( i presume because i had moved, it moved me up the list) when i got the form it said i had to return it within 2 months, so i waited just short of 2 months, returned it recorded delivery, then i had my medical within a month of that, and i decision within 2 weeks. I had read on the net, if you fail the medical, you have 2 options, 1 move straight onto job seekers, which i believe is £65 or appeal, it could take 6 months to 12 months for the appeal to be heard, in this time you will recieve £65 a week, if you win Your money goes up to £95 and you get back dated money, if you fail, you go straight onto JSA.

If you go onto ESA, its either support group where you are left alone, or wrag group where you have to see an adviser at the job centre, they discuss what help you can get to feel better, what jobs would suite you, how financialy you will be if you get a job, the linking rule where you can go to work and if you fall ill again within a time bracket you can go back onto esa without having to re apply.

I hope this is helping some? As i said before money wise, because your girlfriend is on income support it doesnt really matter if you are on IB, ESA or JSA as you will have a joint allowance and because of IS you should get rent and tax

As for the rent side, you will usually have to find a bond, then you will have to find your first months rent up front, i think the rent which is paid is always a month behind, Also make sure you apply for the rent before you move in or on the day you move in as they dont back date unless you have a really good reason, i think you also need to go to a council office with the forms and paper work now instead of them doing it all through the post? could be wrong on that one.

oh i forgot, when you move, as you are on IB all you do is ring them up on the day you move to tell them , and your money will just stay the same, but i think if you are on IS you have to reapply which has to be done just before you move? and there could be a little delay in recieving the money when they are processing it? but you will get it back dated?
dont know if this will help.

McKneff

Do you have your name down on the list for social housing, maybe worth a try, under the circumstances.

Oldernotwiser

You could look at the possibility of your girlfriend getting a job whilst you look after the baby.

welshmoneylover

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You could look at the possibility of your girlfriend getting a job whilst you look after the baby.

Ooer, that is indeed very good advice :j

AnxiousMum

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Ooer, that is indeed very good advice :j

Yes, a fantastic idea!

Would the girlfriend actually be entitled to continue receiving IS? In fact, the relationship as it is now, is she really entitled to receive IS as she is in a relationship with the father of the child, therefore, not REALLY a single mum?

OP you might want to look into what exactly, your girlfriend would be entitled to. IS is for single parents I thought?

BigAunty

You can identity the maximum LHA for a 2 bedroom property in your local area on the Direct Gov website. It is unwise to rent a property that far exceeds this as it means topping it up from your other benefits and can make the household struggle to pay other bills. Most claimants transferred from IB to ESA are found fit for work and I'm not double guessing the outcome of your medical one jot, just that if you are ever transferred onto JSA or find employment, you've this future financial adjustment to deal with. So don't overstretch yourself with the property, stick as close to the LHA rate as you can.

You can identify the benefits you will receive on the Turn2us online benefit calculator which will span everything - IB, child benefit, tax credits, LHA, council tax.

Download the MSE budget planner and work out your budget. Members of the house renting forum will be happy to advise you of average running costs for a 2 bed property.

Realistically, you need the equivalent of 2 months rent, plus admin fees, before you get a key to the property (one month rent in advance, one month's deposit). Some councils run rent guarantee deposit schemes for those on low incomes. Many landlords will not accept LHA claimants. Some who do will insist on a guarantor, someone who will pay the rent if the tenant defaults. I know you are disgusted with the admin fees but unless you find a landlord who doesn't use an agent, this is just something you have to bear, though you can shop round to see if there are other agents with cheaper fees, but generally tenants have little latitude, they are over the barrel.

cre5po

Thank you all for the replies and in such quick time as well!


mrmca I appreciate the great deal of detail you put into your post, it was really well written out and it's given me a more rounded view of what is what. I'll contact my local CAB shortly and I'm unaware of what time they'll do my re-assessment, the only quotes I've had thus far as everyone else have I assume is before 2014.


After a long chat this evening it'll be within our best interests to go for something more within our budget, even if it's £25 a month cheaper it all makes up. My girlfriend is considering going into full time work but as of right now it'd be difficult to do as I can't have my daughter here all day there simply isn't the space and she lives a fair few miles out of town (neither of us drive) so yeah we're looking at all options, there was also a chance of her finishing up college before re-considering the open university.


We have a guarantor and rent upfront would have been no problem as I've said over the years I've been on IB - not in a seperate account or anything just my balance isn't too bad for it aside from the admin fee which is extortionate in my opinion


To be honest I hope they re-assess me asap so that I know where I stand long term with the benefits, somebody above mentioned as she's with me they didn't give out IS I really have no idea, it's all totally new to me so again thanks a lot it's probably best I go down the advice centre and find out


I'll be sure to post any updates, I've been surprised by the great feedback here so for that I thank you all