Can you claim HB when on Incapacity Benefit?

megan050903

Hoping someone can answer this for me.

My mum has COPD and has been on IB since January of this year. Since the end of last year she has been living with a friend as she had to give up her previous tenancy (landlord wanted to sell the flat), anyway the situation is not working and she wants to move out. The only way she can do this is to rent privately, she is on the housing register but even after medical evidence she hasn;t been offered anything.

Can she find somewhere to rent privately and will she be able to claim HB, I can't find anything to confirm she can.

Thanks for any help.

Elle00

Yes she can.

I fell short for IB but am presently on sickness IS and I receive full HB and CT relief.

She can either be evicted by her friend and allocated a hostel place which will get her permanently housed quicker or she can ask to use the council's deposit guarantee scheme to secure a private rental.

BTW I was medically assessed to have moderate medical needs - and got THREE points for it. So I still will never be housed (no really, never).

megan050903

Thanks for replying.

Are you saying that if she voluntarily leaves where she is at the moment then it will be a problem with the council? Or can she find somewhere and then claim HB.

Just want to make sure that she can do this, as I don't want her to move in and then the council say they won't pay.

real1314

She can find anywhere and claim HB, the issue with being evicted only affects the chance of getting council housing as a priority.

However HB may not meet the full rent in Private Rented situations. For council and most (almost all) Housing Assoc properties full rent would be paid subject to a menas test, but for privately rented properties the first concern is that the maximum rent payable will be assesed.

As an example where I live a 2 bed terraced is about £100-£110 a week but the maximum rent for HB is about £85, maybe £90 per week.

Elle00

You can't just make yourself homeless because you don't like where you're living I'm afraid!

There are ways to work the system so to speak. For example teenage Mums who don't want to stay at home after the baby is born get "evicted" by their parents in order to get council accommodation.

To get a hostel she has to be completely homeless; ie her friend must throw her out or write a letter of eviction giving her notice to leave.

To rent a private flat and claim housing benefit she has to be able to pay the rent for a month or two, maybe you could help, then claim housing benefit citing she thought you were able to help long term but now your circumstances have changed and she cannot pay her rent.

See for a private rental, they will step in if you are already living somewhere but not offer you any assistance in starting a new tenancy if you shouldn't have left where you were previously living if your previous place would have cost them less which a shared house would have done.

Oh and how come I lost my "thanks" 'cos I edited a typo?!

Chrysalis

You can claim HB but you would likely get a deduction on the means testing.

I think something like this.

for lower rate IB anything above JSA level is considered excess income and will cause a reduction of HB.

for higher rate IB a disability premium is added to the calculation allowing less of your IB to count as excess income.

if IB is the only income I would expect you will get near full HB with something like £30 a month removed as excess income. This is assuming the property is not deemed too large or too expensive.

Morglin

This site will tell you what amount of HB you could claim:

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/

Lin