Temp housing benefit for owner occuppier

carnig1

Three weeks ago my wife and I took in a 77 year old frail but alert friend, who has been a compulsive hoarder for years. Her house has become uninhabitable, she was literally living in the hall as all rooms are 6 feet deep in detritus and unopened boxes of purchases from shopping channels, (they must have been stacked by the delivery men). When her only remaining toilet became blocked she asked for help and we saw inside the house for the first time. We have found sheltered accommodation for her where she can decide whether to sell or repair her own home but her income is only OAP, pension credit and a teachers pension of £175 pm. She cant afford the rent with associated costs of £525pm. Housing Benefit say they cant help as she is an owner occupier. If she was in residential care or hospital it would cost us all a lot more, any one know of here she could get an advance perhaps to be repaid on sale of the currently diplapidated property in the future?
Thanks.

lld01

carnig1 wrote: »

Three weeks ago my wife and I took in a 77 year old frail but alert friend, who has been a compulsive hoarder for years. Her house has become uninhabitable, she was literally living in the hall as all rooms are 6 feet deep in detritus and unopened boxes of purchases from shopping channels, (they must have been stacked by the delivery men). When her only remaining toilet became blocked she asked for help and we saw inside the house for the first time. We have found sheltered accommodation for her where she can decide whether to sell or repair her own home but her income is only OAP, pension credit and a teachers pension of £175 pm. She cant afford the rent with associated costs of £525pm. Housing Benefit say they cant help as she is an owner occupier. If she was in residential care or hospital it would cost us all a lot more, any one know of here she could get an advance perhaps to be repaid on sale of the currently diplapidated property in the future?
Thanks.

Does she recieve Guarantee Pension Credit (GPC) and did you make Housing Benefit aware of this fact?

If she does receive GPC then it is likely she has an Assessed Income Period (AIP) under that - which in this case would mean owning a second property would not affect her GPC claim.. if she gets GPC this should automatically means she would get housing benefit depsite the second property.

enabledebra

If the house is uninhabitable she doesn't own her 'home' as it is not home now and won't be again unless the repairs are carried out. She is certainly not an owner occupier as she isn't living in it.

She can't claim housing benefit whilst living in a home she owns (owner occupier- this seems to be where they have become confused) but she can claim housing benefit if she moves into a rented property.

The issue then for housing benefit is 'what is the property she owns worth' which they would then class as capital and it is this which could affect how much HB she could get. BUT they will ignore the capital for 26 weeks (sometimes longer) if she is trying to sell the house or is carrying out essential repairs or alterations so she can live in it. Show them p1.200 on page 18 of this document if they don't accept this http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/hbgm-bp1-assessment-of-capital.pdf


I would caution against her signing a tenancy until she has the HB department's agreement in principle that she can claim though.

nimbo

have you contacted adult social services, they may be able to offer assistance in this situation...

I hope you, (and she) manage to get it sorted. xx

Housing_Benefit_Officer

I would question if she has a liability to pay rent to you.

Did she move in on the understanding you would be charging her rent and she has been paying you rent?

You offered your friend somewhere to stay but now you want to get some cash form Housing Benefit?

Has she paid you anything yet? Or are you after making a quick buck from a vulnerable adult?

And yes Social Services must get involved. Has she been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer's? Social Services must intervene so she has the proper care and support to return to her home.

marybelle01

nimbo wrote: »

have you contacted adult social services, they may be able to offer assistance in this situation...

I hope you, (and she) manage to get it sorted. xx

^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

I am a qualified social worker and she may be frail, she may be alert, but there is something, well, not quite right! Living in the halls, 6 feet of detritus and a compulsion for shopping channels isn't being a hoarder - it is mental illness. I am a hoarder - I have the spare buttons in case I need then from items that I can't any longer recall buying! That's hoarding. Living in these conditions and being prey to compulsions she cannot control to the extent that she is endangering herself and her health by her living conditions is not normal living, no matter how old you are. Adult Services need to do an assessment of her and her needs - preferably with access to her home to assess her living conditions. There may be a variety of options available - sheltered housing is one, but assistance to return to and live normally in her own home may be another. There are others too. It depends what they find when they assess her. But it sounds like she needs some positive options and help to manage them.

marybelle01

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

I would question if she has a liability to pay rent to you.

Did she move in on the understanding you would be charging her rent and she has been paying you rent?

You offered your friend somewhere to stay but now you want to get some cash form Housing Benefit?

Has she paid you anything yet? Or are you after making a quick buck from a vulnerable adult?

And yes Social Services must get involved. Has she been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer's? Social Services must intervene so she has the proper care and support to return to her home.

Ermm - no! The OP was asking about help with rent for a sheltered housing scheme - not for them to charge rent!

Housing_Benefit_Officer

marybelle01 wrote: »

Ermm - no! The OP was asking about help with rent for a sheltered housing scheme - not for them to charge rent!

Just re read

Confuseddot

not sure what you are getting at but I think the key may be in the fact that they have found her shelter accomodation

" We have found sheltered accommodation for her where she can decide whether to sell or repair her own home but her income is only OAP, pension credit and a teachers pension of £175 pm"

xylophone

Does she have a next of kin or are you her only source of help and support?

If so, have you tried Age Concern for advice? http://www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/local-partners/

duchy

Hmmm if your user name has any relation to your job your response of reacting before reading the facts properly might explain some of the shortcomings of certain councils in the way they administer HB.
I'd have thought basic reading and comprehension skills about be a given in such a role.....but perhaps not
Nice of you to admit your error and apologize to the OP though........

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

I would question if she has a liability to pay rent to you.

Did she move in on the understanding you would be charging her rent and she has been paying you rent?

You offered your friend somewhere to stay but now you want to get some cash form Housing Benefit?

Has she paid you anything yet? Or are you after making a quick buck from a vulnerable adult?

And yes Social Services must get involved. Has she been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer's? Social Services must intervene so she has the proper care and support to return to her home.