Please help - advice needed for my Dad

hot.chick

My dad has had a bit of a time of it and it looking to come back to the UK.

He is a british citizen and moved abroad about 10 yrs ago.

He's will be 60 in March.

He has nothing - no where to live (apart from with family)

What can I do to help him and get him something to live on while and help him get set up.

I have no ideas about how benefits work or how to go about claiming? I did the calculator on this site - and it suggested he may be entitled for £71 a week?

He has had a heart condition from earlier this year and I@m not sure how this effects his ability to work?

Please help - this is all so daunting - and very sad to see him so down on his luck at stage in his life.

Thanks in advance

When_the_going_gets_tough

In order to claim any benefits your father will need to establish habitual residence - worth googling it to get some ideas, and in the meantime make sure he has opened a bank account, registered with a doctor etc - in other words established himself in this country. Once he passes the habitual residence test he can claim JSA at £71 per week if he is fit enough to work. He can also then claim Housing Benefit - he would be entitled to the local housing allowance rate for a 1 bedroom property - again look at your local council site for the rate that applies in the area he wishes to settle. There will be help for him but it may take a bit of time to access. If he runs into problems with this the CAB may be able to provide some advice or look on adviceguide - its their public website

seven-day-weekend

As above, he will first of all have to pass the Habitual Residency Test to show that he has come back to the UK to live and not just as a 'Health Tourist' or to claim Benefits. Once he has satisfied these requirements he will be entitled to apply for the Benefits detailed above.

More on the Habitual Residency Test here:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_coming_from_abroad_and_claiming_benefits_hrt/benefits_the_habitual_residence_test_introduction/what_is_the_habitual_residence_test.htm

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_coming_from_abroad_and_claiming_benefits_hrt/benefits_eea_nationals_and_the_habitual_residence_test/eea_nationals_jobseekers_and_the_hrt.htm

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_coming_from_abroad_and_claiming_benefits_hrt/benefits_eea_nationals_and_the_habitual_residence_test/eea_nationals_former_workers_and_the_hrt.htm

BigAunty

If he is too ill to work, you need to investigate ESA. For any care/mobility needs, look into PIP. See the Direct Gov website for information on the criteria and application process.

hot.chick

Thank you all for your swift replies.

I suspected it wouldn't be straight forward.

What about housing? Would we have to 'put him up' or could he get something for housing?

I don't want to seem mean spirited - but having him with us is the last thing we want.

Would our wages be taken into account of his benefits?

When_the_going_gets_tough

He has to get over the habitual residence hurdle before he could claim housing benefit. The problem is it's not that clear how much of a hurdle it is, so it may take some time or very little. In any event he will need the first months rent and a deposit upfront to obtain privately rented accommodation and unless he is vulnerable he would probably have little chance of obtaining social housing, although it is always worth an enquiry. He cannot claim HB whilst living with you, he could only claim JSA or ESA but your income would not be taken into account.

BigAunty

hot.chick wrote: »

...

Would our wages be taken into account of his benefits?

If he lived with relatives, his benefits would not be affected by their income as he would be classed as a non-dependent.

If they were on benefits, his income (employment and/or benefits) may affect their benefits as the tenant could experience a modest deduction from their Housing Benefit and council tax discount. It is expected that the non-dependent pays towards their keep. This depends on what types of benefit the tenant and your father are on, there are many exemptions from non-dependent deductions. To understand how this operates, find the non-dependent deductions table on your local council website or enter the household details on the Turn2us online benefit calculator.

As the previous poster has reported, a tenant cannot claim housing benefit when they live in the same property with a close relative who is their landlord. See the Shelter or CAB or local council websites to understand how HB works.

To understand if the council has any obligation to help him as a homeless person, see the Homelessness section on the Shelter website which details the application process and criteria. Also, again, read the local council website section on homelessness. I do not know if the council will have any obligation to help as they may regard him as having made himself homeless by leaving a property when he did not have to but I don't know or perhaps he needs to have a local connection to be eligible - they assess on a case by case basis.

Councils are notorious for gatekeeping - doing their best to frustrate a homelessness application and not following the statutory guidelines so this is why the Shelter website is invaluable - it says what they should do.

If a relative puts up your dad, then he will probably not be seen as having a housing need (unless they serve notice to evict him or the household is deemed to be overcrowded). However, social housing applicants can get extra points due to medical conditions.

Like the previous posters say, you need to do research into Habitual residency and understand why it may be tricky for him to get benefits and housing until this matter has been settled.

hot.chick

Thank you all so very much - the information you have given me is invaluable.

I can't thank you all enough you are wonderful people

:A