grant for carpets?

dollop

i have a friend whos on income support shes a single parent and just moved into a new property,she is really broke and cant afford any carpets,would she be able to get a grant for carpets?

Zara33

Nope carpets are not a necessity, she could apply for a crisis loan must be paid back but they may not grant it especially for carpets.

demonicangel

If she didnt apply for the community care grant, she may be able to get that, however you have to fulfill their criteria and it can be hard to get.

Failing that, if she has been claiming Income Support for at least 26 weeks, she can get a budgeting loan.

Bargain_Rzl

I know this reply isn't directly related to benefits, but perhaps your friend could apply for some carpets on Freecycle (www.freecycle.org)

Bettyboop

Is your friend a member of a Church? If she is then the community will come together and help her out. Even if she isn't a phonecall to the Church Office will be a good idea as they will be able to point her in the right direction.

Cheers

Edit: Forgot to add that a Church I used to attend did house clearances and people from the Church donated all there unwanted household goods (practically new I would say), they have hired a small warehouse and people on low incomes and asylum seekers etc can go along and take atleast 4 items for free. They literally have bedroom carpets, baby items, food, clothes, toys and so much more.

Where does your friend live?

Morglin

If she's on Income Support, she would almost certainly be entitled to a Budgeting Loan for essential household items.

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_008440.xml.html

Lin

thesaint

Like Zara said, I also do not believe that the DWP will lend or give money for carpets. They are simply not on their essential list.

newcook

is the property via council or housing assoc? I only ask as my neighbour was housed by the housing association and they gave her a carpet grant

seven-day-weekend

If she can't get carpets, floorboards look good stained or painted with a few rugs.

I personally don't like carpets and have none downstairs in my UK house and none anywhere in my Spanish house.

They are not essential.

shellsuit

Carpets are essential if you have concrete floors downstairs surely? Especially if you have little ones?

If your friend applies for a budgeting loan, she can just tick the category, 'home improvements' as carpets will come under that

suelees1

Hi, there's no hard and fast rule about whether a CCG can be awarded for carpets. It will depend on individual circumstances. CCGs are in themselves usually awarded for very specific groups of claimants with the most general being for those experiencing exceptional pressure. Lots of things can add up to exceptional pressue and I'd always advise people to seek specialist advice (and by that I don't mean the DWP). If there is no-one in your area have a look in the local library to see if they have the CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group) book on benefits. it gives very comprehensive information and is written in layman's (or woman's!) terms. I'm an experienced benefits advisor but still use it daily but can't for the life of me remember the actual name of it.

Sue