Adult Dependants Grant - HELP!! 5 August 2017 at 2:59PM in Student MoneySaving 10 replies 2K views

HannahLouise97

Hi there,

I am an independant student who has a friend living with me, he is disabled and wouldn't be able to look after himself if he lived independantly, he is also in financial crisis so this is why he does live with me.

I applied for an adult dependants grant in the academic year 16/17 in July, however I got a letter back saying it is too late to apply unless there is a good reason why you didn't apply earlier.

I am just wondering if anybody has had a similar experience and what sort of reasons will classify as a good reason? I want to get this sorted ASAP but I don't think that saying that he has moved in about 2 months ago and we are extreme financial crisis' will be good enough?

Thanks

BorisThomson

It would be unusual to claim for a friend.

Is he not eligible for any benefits?

HannahLouise97

He does get benefits but he only qualifies for a small amount, he is trying to get his PIP sorted at the minute.
It states that the dependant needs to earn less than £3700 approximately to qualify, the only problem is the applying to late thing!

BorisThomson

Why does he only qualify for a small amount, does he not get ESA? That would be more than the applicable amount. Has he applied for housing benefit?

HannahLouise97

He doesn't get ESA no, he does get JSA.

He used to get housing benefit, but now that he lives with us they have considered our student finance maintenance loans and they have said we earn too much, both me and my partner live here but we are stumped for money!

[Deleted User]

HannahLouise97 wrote: »

He doesn't get ESA no, he does get JSA.

He used to get housing benefit, but now that he lives with us they have considered our student finance maintenance loans and they have said we earn too much, both me and my partner live here but we are stumped for money!

A friend with their own income is not a dependent!

PasturesNew

A dependent is somebody who is dependent upon you because of relationship ... not choice.

He is an independent adult, living in your home with you.

You don't make his decisions; you are not "responsible" for him and his life - you're just kind enough to help him with stuff.

You're confusing various bits and bobs and making assumptions about what words mean - which is why you're hitting brick walls.

sheramber

your friend is living with you and your partner? You do not appear to be eligible for the grant

3. Eligibility

Usually the adult dependant will be:

your husband, wife, partner or civil partner
a relative, such as a parent or grandparent

If you’re under 25, the adult dependant can’t be your partner unless you’re married or in a civil partnership.

You’re not eligible if the adult dependant is:

your child
a relative who earns more than £3,796 a year
getting student finance




https://www.gov.uk/adult-dependants-grant

HannahLouise97

Hi everyone, we are definitely eligible, they know he is a friend and they have the evidence to prove where his income does come from.

They are only concerned with the fact we had applied late, and so they need a reason why we applied late, if it is good enough they will grant us with the grant.

Thanks!

agrinnall

HannahLouise97 wrote: »

Hi everyone, we are definitely eligible, they know he is a friend and they have the evidence to prove where his income does come from.

They are only concerned with the fact we had applied late, and so they need a reason why we applied late, if it is good enough they will grant us with the grant.

Thanks!

Well, I don't see what the problem is then. You must have a reason for applying late, tell them that reason and they will either accept it or they won't, end of story. Trying to come up with a more acceptable reason would simply be a lie and we couldn't condone that.

HannahLouise97

Ok thanks,
I don't want to lie to them, I just wanted to see if anybody else had a reason and whether that was accepted/not accepted to see if it was similar to our situation.

Thanks