Income support stopped......

cmhbyandco

Hi everyone,

My 28 year old Son has been on Income support for 7 years because of long term acute anxiety disorder & depression. He did not have enough contributions to receive incapacity benefit. He has always lived at home but with much support he has now moved in with his long term girlfriend. She works full time & they have applied for housing benefit after using the benefits calculator on the government website.
Today they have had a letter saying that because my Son is not now living at home, they have stopped his income support & he will have to rely on his girlfriends income. This has been a big surprise & it has obviously caused many problems with his anxiety disorder.
He continues to be unfit to work & is a long way from being able to.
Is there anything he can do regarding his income?

Any advice is warmly welcome.

BigAunty

It is the case that for means tested benefits (including IS) that for a couple, the income of the household is taken into account, therefore her wages are a factor in the calculation. Means tested benefits have been premised since inception on the principle that a couple support and assist each other.

He can double check any entitlements on the Turn2us online benefit calculator.

If he's not well enough to work, look at the Direct Gov website for information about Employment Support Allowance (ESA). If he has care/mobility issues, look at the info there about Disability Living Allowance.

LLouiseR

Are they claiming Working Tax Credits?
It may be worth going to the CAB to have a benefit check. Sometimes applying for one benefit can have an affect on another. They can also discuss entitlement to DLA as BigAunty has said

BigAunty

How much does the girlfriend earn?

rogerblack

If he applies for ESA - then the ESA will not be paid for the same reasons IS is not.
Namely that the income of the partner is too high.
They will in principle be entitled to NI credits, but this doesn't help pay the bills now.
DLA, as mentioned above, is the only likely other benefit.
Housing, or council tax benefit may be applicable if the household income is low.

cmhbyandco

BigAunty wrote: »

How much does the girlfriend earn?

She only earns £837 a month & the rent is £550.

The whole situation has set my son back with hgis illness so much & we thought the move may help him.

They are going to the CAB asap to see what help they can get,

BigAunty

What is their entitlement to housing benefit? You mentioned on your original post that they were applying for this and HB is calculated according to household income.

BTW, the rent that she pays is largely irrelevant to the rate of housing benefit (local housing allowance for private tenants) - a couple without dependents are entitled to a 1 bedroom rate which will have a maximum cap, whatever the size or cost of the property, and this maximum rate will get reduced (or sometimes ruled out) by the income the household receives.

What is the age of the girlfriend? Those over the age of 25 can receive working tax credits if their income is low enough.

cmhbyandco

They were told by the local housing office to go on line & check their entitlement to housing benefit & it said they were entitled to housing benefit because my Son is on IS. The office said that they use the same calcualtor but obviously the advice they received was wrong. They only took the flat because they would get some help. We paid the deposit, fees & 1st month rent for them. They did not expect for him to loose his benefit.
A visit to the CAB is a must now but if things stay as they are, I can see him moving back home because the stress will be too much for him.
His girlfriend is 25 in 3 weeks time. I will tell her about working tax credits. Thank you

Caz3121

cmhbyandco wrote: »

She only earns £837 a month & the rent is £550.

how was she paying the rent before he moved in or did they move into this place together?

crossposted with your post above
They need to find the one-bedroom rate for your area, they may still be entitled to some housing benefit
WTC if the girlfriend works over 30 hours per week will also bring in additional income.
If they have signed a lease then they will still be liable for the rent even if he moves home. As a single person under 35 the LHA rate would be for shared accommodation so the girlfriend would not get any help

cmhbyandco

Caz3121 wrote: »

how was she paying the rent before he moved in or did they move into this place together?

crossposted with your post above
They need to find the one-bedroom rate for your area, they may still be entitled to some housing benefit
WTC if the girlfriend works over 30 hours per week will also bring in additional income.
If they have signed a lease then they will still be liable for the rent even if he moves home. As a single person under 35 the LHA rate would be for shared accommodation so the girlfriend would not get any help

They both lived at home & she works 37 hours a week.

I realise that the tennancy is legal & it has all become a bit of a minefield but they will have to sort it out.
Wrong advice intially has made the situation worse & today she has had four different pieces of advice from the benefits agency.

Thank you for your replies

Anubis_2

That law states a couple need £111.45 pw to live on - as her wage is more than this, it is unlikely they will be entitled to any income related benefits at this very moment.

As they are only entitled to the one bedroom rate of Local Housing Allowance for their area, they may not be entitled to help with rent, as one bedroom rates can be low, but it depends on the area.

You can find the LHA ONE BEDROOM rate for their local council here. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/diol1/doitonline/dg_196239

However, it's not all bleak, as soon as she hits 25, she will be entitled to WTC. What I would do is key her details in the calculator with her wages currently, and her partner without income, and see what it shows for WTC.