severe disability premium and living alone

cowsnhope

Hello
I am going to need to take in a lodger and am considering asking a friend who is living in a flat alone. My friend is in recipt of ESA and receives the severe disability premium; I'm trying to understand if he would lose this if he became a lodger. Prior to my friend living in his flat he was renting a room as a lodger and was getting the premium then but everything I read seems to say he shouldn't be entitled because he would be living with a non-dependent adult. I'm confused as even if my friend did live with me I would not be providing him any support and I thought that was what the permium was for - although I've not actually been able to find out what the payment is for.
Any information to shed light on this would be welcome.
Thank you

pmlindyloo

Have tried to research this and basically you are right and you need to live alone to receive the severe disability premium.

However, there are exceptions to this. Ultimately a decision maker would decide.

I believe that if you could prove that the non dependent had no input into the care of the person receiving the premium then they might be allowed to retain it.


Have you asked your friend how they managed to retain it last time they were a lodger? It may be a simple case of having a lodger agreement drawn up to prove this was just a financial arrangement.

I would imagine the fact that you are a 'friend' might be a bit of a stumbling block. However, since you are not receiving Carer's Allowance for them may also help.

Let us know how you get on as it's always useful for other people.

Sorry, I can't help any further.

cowsnhope

Thank you for trying pmlindyloo
My friend got the premium when he was a lodger as the jobcentre just started giving it to him - he did not apply for it and had never lived alone in the sense of not sharing a kitchen/ bathroom / living room with a landlady so I am mystified as to why he was given it. It does seem a bit odd that just by sharing a facilities with other people that a disabled person should be seen as needing less money; it would make sense if he was being cared for or living with family but this would not be the case.
I could get different lodgers and my friend does not need to move so I'm just trying to find an answer to this so that my friend can make an informed decision rather than possibly moving and then find out he's lost quite a lot of money. Also I know that my friend is considering moving to share with different friends anyway so even if its not me he ends up lodging with it would be useful to know where he would stand.
Thank you

pmlindyloo

cowsnhope wrote: »

Thank you for trying pmlindyloo
My friend got the premium when he was a lodger as the jobcentre just started giving it to him - he did not apply for it and had never lived alone in the sense of not sharing a kitchen/ bathroom / living room with a landlady so I am mystified as to why he was given it. It does seem a bit odd that just by sharing a facilities with other people that a disabled person should be seen as needing less money; it would make sense if he was being cared for or living with family but this would not be the case.
I could get different lodgers and my friend does not need to move so I'm just trying to find an answer to this so that my friend can make an informed decision rather than possibly moving and then find out he's lost quite a lot of money. Also I know that my friend is considering moving to share with different friends anyway so even if its not me he ends up lodging with it would be useful to know where he would stand.
Thank you

You're welcome.

It might be sensible to telephone Job Cebtre Plus and find out what the exceptions are to continue to receive the premium if your friend is going to find somewhere to lodge anyway.

Just a thought. If your friend already has a one bed flat it may be worth thinking about his/her reason for moving. Would the reason be connected with the diability. eg. feels isolated, needs support? Just trying to give a 'heads up' as to how Job Centre Plus might view the whole situation.

cowsnhope

Yes - he has a lot of anxiety / panic related issues and finds living alone hard, its more that he needs people around him than that he needs support - he would feel safer.
Thank you for your help.

cowsnhope

I think I might have answered my own question so I thought I'd share.

I found this on the DWP website (http://dwp.gov.uk/publications/speci...cable-amounts/)

Other people living in your household

For the purposes of severe disability premium your HB/CTB is not affected if other people living with you are:

-children
-or aged 16-17
-or a person who is registered blind (if a person regains their sight, they are treated as blind for a period of 28 weeks after they cease to be registered blind)
-or receiving the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at the highest or middle rate, or Attendance Allowance (AA)
-or people caring for you who are employed by a charity that makes a charge for this service
-or landlords/ladies and their partners
-or co-owners or co-tenants with you or your partner.

So I think this should mean that if my friend rents a room in someones house then the landlady is not part of his household and he would still be seen as living alone -which makes sense - think I was just thrown by the living alone criteria.

cowsnhope

I've just had a second thought - my quote above was about eligability for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit and I'm assuming the same criteria would be used for seeing if someone is entitled to the premium in the first place but now I'm questioning this.

epitome

It is my understanding that lodgers who live with the SDP claimant are not counted as "people living with you" but any rent you recieve can affect your benefits.

The logical conclusion of this must be that the reverse is also true. An SDP claimant who is a lodger to someone else will still be classed as living alone. However you will have to persuade the decision maker that you are not living together as a couple, which might not be an easy task and s/he might have to appeal.

cowsnhope

Thank you epitome- it does seem logical to me now but I'm cautious of just trying to find the logical answer when benefits are concerned. There's no worries that I'll be seen as my friends partner as I'm married. Also I'm not claiming benefits so I'm ok there too.
Thank you for your help (and for covering everything).