PIP and Housing Benefit - living at home

Aldea2015

Back in 2016 I became suddenly very unwell and have been unable to work since. I have had to live with my parents due to my illhealth and lack of income to support financial independence. I am housebound and can only really get out with help - I have some friends and a sister who have been great.

It's been a tough couple of years. My mum doesn't want me to be here and I am frequently subjected to emotional and verbal bullying and bizarre restrictions - she has mental health issues which are a part of the problem. I'm in my late 30s and I am told when to go to bed, just to give one example of the sort of behaviour I am faced with. I have frequently ended up on my sister's sofa for safety reasons. I have since developed severe chronic stomach issues which I think are a result of the longterm stress and distress of living here. My Cortisol is also dangerously high.
Anyway, you get the picture. The last two years have been as miserable as hell and contributed to worsening health issues.
Last autumn I finally had the strength, with the help of a friend, to apply for PIP and was awarded higher mobility and also placed in the ESA support group. I also received a backdated payment for ESA (which is enough to cover a rent deposit and fees).

Living at home has affected both my mental and physical health and destroyed my confidence and I am desperate to get away at almost any cost. I finally feel with the PIP/ESA payments that it might be financially possible to live some sort of life of my own. I have friends and a sister who would be able to provide any support I needed. I have been advised by a number of people to apply for housing benefit for my own place. From what I have seen, I should be entitled. My concern is that will currently living at home with my parents make this difficult?

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you proceed?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

pmlindyloo

Your difficulty may be in getting a place to rent because you are on benefits.

Have you actually found a place to live? If not then it might be worth speaking to your local council to see if they can help. You could apply to go o the housing register. Otherwise you can try local lettings agents but they are usually quite stringent and may require a guarantor or 6 months rent in advance. But you may be lucky.

If you have difficulty with letting agents then look in your local newspaper/shop windows for places to rent. Don't forget to ask friends/sister if they know anyone.

If you can find somewhere there is absolutely no reason for you not to be entitled to housing benefit and council tax reduction. For privately rented accommodation you would be eligible for the one bed local housing allowance rate. (I am presuming you are over 35?) It is worth looking on your local council website to see what this is. You should base your search on rents around this figure as this is the maximum they would pay for housing benefit.

You would need a tenancy agreement to show the council to be eligible for HB.

Have you been awarded the daily living part of PIP?

It sounds a horrible situation to be in so I wish you luck. Please ask any other questions you may have and we will try and help.

PS. I am presuming that you are receiving/entitled to income based ESA - i.e you have savings less than £16000.

pmlindyloo

Whoops, forgot about Universal Credit.

Put your postcode into this link and see if you are in a full service area.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/Check-if-youre-eligible-for-Universal-Credit/

If you are then you will need to apply for Universal Credit as you will be making a new claim for HB.

Aldea2015

@pmlindyloo
Thank you for replying.

Yes, I have heard that this could be a huge obstacle. Somebody suggested approaching landlords and explaining my circumstances and that they might realise I am not the housing benefit cliche they fear. But I have also heard that some landlords cannot take housing benefit claimants as their insurance doesn't cover it so no matter how reliable, honest clean and quiet I am they simply wouldn't be able to accept me as a tenant. I haven't started applying so I don't know exactly how bad or difficult this situation is.
I have not found a place to live, I wasn't sure of the order - do I need to find a place before I apply for housing benefit? And how could I apply with no current means ie HB to pay the rent? It seems like a catch 22 situation because I'm at home trying to get out.

I'm 36. I believe the housing benefit is £480 in my area - although I haven't seen a single studio or one bedroom flat for less than £550 in the area (I've been looking on Rightmove to see what is available) - many also state no 'DSS'. It's going to be a struggle, I know.

I was awarded standard daily care PIP.

Would I be right in thinking the best thing for me to do would be to apply for council housing, rather than trying to go privately?

The site says I'm in a 'live service' area.

Aldea2015

Penitent wrote: »

You'd probably be better off in Council or Housing Association housing (both in terms of cost and security). Unfortunately, unless you can show they you're a priority, you'd be in for a very long wait (potentially years).

Would shared housing be a possibility?

Due to my health issues I would rather not be in shared housing. My privacy at the moment is quite important to me and I need, for example, constant access to a toilet. I would also need frequent visits from friends and my sister to help me with various things.

I assume that the process for shared accommodation is the same as a single flat - needing to find a landlord willing to take on a housing benefit tenant?

pmlindyloo

Aldea2015 wrote: »

@pmlindyloo
Thank you for replying.

Yes, I have heard that this could be a huge obstacle. Somebody suggested approaching landlords and explaining my circumstances and that they might realise I am not the housing benefit cliche they fear. But I have also heard that some landlords cannot take housing benefit claimants as their insurance doesn't cover it so no matter how reliable, honest clean and quiet I am they simply wouldn't be able to accept me as a tenant. I haven't started applying so I don't know exactly how bad or difficult this situation is.
I have not found a place to live, I wasn't sure of the order - do I need to find a place before I apply for housing benefit? And how could I apply with no current means ie HB to pay the rent? It seems like a catch 22 situation because I'm at home trying to get out.

I'm 36. I believe the housing benefit is £480 in my area - although I haven't seen a single studio or one bedroom flat for less than £550 in the area (I've been looking on Rightmove to see what is available) - many also state no 'DSS'. It's going to be a struggle, I know.

I was awarded standard daily care PIP.

Would I be right in thinking the best thing for me to do would be to apply for council housing, rather than trying to go privately?

The site says I'm in a 'live service' area.

I believe that new claims are not possible in live service areas at the moment. Only in full service area.

Telephone your local CAB in the morning and ask them if you made a new HB claim whether you would have to claim UC. Also ask them when your area goes to a full service area (if it already isn't)

This is important because if you are receiving the standard/higher daily living rate of PIP and no one receives Carer's Allowance for you then when you move into your lovely flat you would be entitled to the Severe Disability Premium with your ESA (you are on income based ESA aren't you?). This is an extra £60 ish a week. Very useful extra money.

The SDP is not paid with Universal Credit.

So, dependent on what CAB say there may be a time frame that you need to be aware of, particularly if your area moves to a full service area in the next few months.

Yes, you need a tenancy agreement before you apply for HB and Council Tax Reduction.

So, telephone to CAB first, then trip to the council, (you never know they may have a list of landlords who take people on benefits) then start looking. (Avoid Rightmove - letting agents as, from experience, these letting agents/landlords are not going to be flexible.)

Aldea2015

pmlindyloo wrote: »

[/B]

I believe that new claims are not possible in live service areas at the moment. Only in full service area.

Telephone your local CAB in the morning and ask them if you made a new HB claim whether you would have to claim UC. Also ask them when your area goes to a full service area (if it already isn't)

This is important because if you are receiving the standard/higher daily living rate of PIP and no one receives Carer's Allowance for you then when you move into your lovely flat you would be entitled to the Severe Disability Premium with your ESA (you are on income based ESA aren't you?). This is an extra £60 ish a week. Very useful extra money.

The SDP is not paid with Universal Credit.

So, dependent on what CAB say there may be a time frame that you need to be aware of, particularly if your area moves to a full service area in the next few months.

Yes, you need a tenancy agreement before you apply for HB and Council Tax Reduction.

So, telephone to CAB first, then trip to the council, (you never know they may have a list of landlords who take people on benefits) then start looking. (Avoid Rightmove - letting agents as, from experience, these letting agents/landlords are not going to be flexible.)

Thank you, it's difficult to know what to do in these circumstances when you are operating at significantly reduced brain and physical capacity.
I'll call CAB and arrange a friend to help me visit the council. I don't know much about UC - only the various horror stories that are around about people have delayed and also drastically-reduced benefits.
Time is of the essence as we speak, I need to get away from these stress sources for my poor stomach for one.
Regarding ESA, I was on contribution-based for the first year (it took 15 months from applying for me to have my assessment). I currently get a little extra on the standard £109 rate for support group. I didn't know about SDP which could be a lifesaver for me if eligible - thank you.

weavedribbon

You've been given brilliant advice already but just wanted to add your local gumtree site can also be a good place to look for flats to rent. I'm on housing benefit and have pets and have found accommodation from there more easily from elsewhere. Also when the advert says no DSS it's sometimes worth asking if you really like the property. Some landlords are more flexible than others. Good luck with your search!

Starrystarrynight1

On top of all the great advice here, I'd just like to wish you the best of luck, OP. Hope you get sorted very soon.

Nullboris

Expect to wait a long time with the Councils, even with Health Issues . I waited nearly 5 years . Its ok now tho, Housing wise.

Aldea2015

Aldea2015 wrote: »

Thank you, it's difficult to know what to do in these circumstances when you are operating at significantly reduced brain and physical capacity.
I'll call CAB and arrange a friend to help me visit the council. I don't know much about UC - only the various horror stories that are around about people have delayed and also drastically-reduced benefits.
Time is of the essence as we speak, I need to get away from these stress sources for my poor stomach for one.
Regarding ESA, I was on contribution-based for the first year (it took 15 months from applying for me to have my assessment). I currently get a little extra on the standard £109 rate for support group. I didn't know about SDP which could be a lifesaver for me if eligible - thank you.

Following on from this, I finally managed to speak to somebody at CAB (they're very busy!) and was informed that if I did open a claim for housing benefit, I would be transferred to Universal Credit. I'm panicking slightly as the I'm on the support group with a disability premium and the UC equivalent equates to an £180 month loss of benefit - and it was tight as it was.

I know I still have to get out but the loss of income will be a massive blow to me. Talk about kicking people who are down.