Severe Disability premium

Falkner

Hello.

This is to help my mother. She is an older woman who has mental and physical problems.
She currently gets ESA Support Group, higher PIP mobility rate and higher PIP daily living component.
It is my understanding that she should be applicable for the Severe Disability Premium(SDP). No one gets carers allowance for her.

The complication here is her living situation. SDP requires a person to live alone, unless the other person also receives a qualifying benefit. My mother lives in a house with another person, her ex-partner. They haven't been together for five or more years as partners. The only reason she is still there is because her mental health problems include agoraphobia and very severe social phobia, she literally had nowhere else to go and as yet the local council housing lot haven't even put her on the housing list in the lowest banding (despite letters from her ex-partner saying he wants to kick her out). She pays board, and would pay towards rent too if it is necessary (although that would make me concerned the housing body would have another reason to declare her "adequately housed"). The feller in question has wanted her out of the house for years and she lives there under sufferance, a seperate bedroom, buys her own food and pays towards bills.

So my question is, does this count as having non-dependants over the age 18 living with her, even in the situation I have described?

Update: She gets the full support group IR ESA amount + enhanced disability premium, as with a single person claim. I think she would technically be a lodger, she has a room of her own, use of the house and facilities and she pays money to the ex-partner for living there. I think she should be applicable for the SDP too, so that will be pursued.

The difficulty getting onto the housing list wasn't the intended subject, but as it got some focus I thought I'd update/clarify here. She isn't on the tenancy. There isn't a written agreement, but there is a verbal one. I did a little research and she comes under the category "excluded occupier". It turns out the issue is that the council require people to go, in person, to the council office and declare their homelessness. My mother has unfortunately been a shut in for over 20 years, and will not leave the house and go to the council office. The support worker has been trying to find a way around that rule for a while.

Thank you for pointing me in the right directions.

pmlindyloo

First of all you need to look at your mother's ESA award letter and tell us how it has been assessed.

Could you write out how her award has been broken down?

This would tell us whether they have assessed your mum as having a partner - i.e taken her ex's income/savings into account - or whether they have treated it as a single claim.

This would give us a starting point as to how her current living arrangements have been assessed.

If it has been treated as a single claim and she meets the criteria for income related ESA (i.e savings under £16000) then she should have had an Enhanced Disability Premium added to her ESA amount because she is in the support group.

poppy12345

Falkner wrote: »

Hello.

This is to help my mother. She is an older woman who has mental and physical problems.
She currently gets ESA Support Group, higher PIP mobility rate and higher PIP daily living component.
It is my understanding that she should be applicable for the Severe Disability Premium(SDP). No one gets carers allowance for her.

The complication here is her living situation. SDP requires a person to live alone, unless the other person also receives a qualifying benefit. My mother lives in a house with another person, her ex-partner. They haven't been together for five or more years as partners. The only reason she is still there is because her mental health problems include agoraphobia and very severe social phobia, she literally had nowhere else to go and as yet the local council housing lot haven't even put her on the housing list in the lowest banding (despite letters from her ex-partner saying he wants to kick her out). She pays board, and would pay towards rent too if it is necessary (although that would make me concerned the housing body would have another reason to declare her "adequately housed"). The feller in question has wanted her out of the house for years and she lives there under sufferance, a seperate bedroom, buys her own food and pays towards bills.

So my question is, does this count as having non-dependants over the age 18 living with her, even in the situation I have described?

If your mother is named on the tenancy agreement and she pays her share of the rent to the landlord then i believe she would be entitled to the SDP. I'm assuming as you state she "pays board and would also pay towards the rent too if necessary", then she's not entitled to SDP.
It's also not the councils responsibility to add her name to the housing list, it's her responsibility.

Falkner

poppy12345 wrote: »

It's also not the councils responsibility to add her name to the housing list, it's her responsibility.

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear on this. It isn't that she hasn't applied to the council list, she has. My mother and her support workers have been trying to have the council add her to the list for two years, they refuse to add her to the list at all.

pmlindyloo

Ignoring the SDP problem for a moment and addressing the housing problem.

Yout mother should present herself as homeless to her local authority. If her ex partner has written a letter saying she must leave the house within the next 4 weeks (whatever) then she is going to be homeless. This is presuming she is not named on the tenancy agreement. If she isn't then she is , in fact, a lodger and can be asked to leave with reasonable notice.

Is this the case?

I do not understand why the council are refusing to accept a homeless application. Has this been tried?

Alternatively, have you investigated private renting? Could you act as guarantor? Would your mum cope living on her own? Do you live near enough to help her with all of this?

cattie

You mention your mother is an older woman & if she is over 55 she should be able to go on the council waiting list for sheltered accommodation solely available to the over 55's. These lists are far, far shorter than the general waiting lists & I'm sure her support workers would be able to help her get registered.

Falkner

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Ignoring the SDP problem for a moment and addressing the housing problem.

Yout mother should present herself as homeless to her local authority. If her ex partner has written a letter saying she must leave the house within the next 4 weeks (whatever) then she is going to be homeless. This is presuming she is not named on the tenancy agreement. If she isn't then she is , in fact, a lodger and can be asked to leave with reasonable notice.

Is this the case?

I do not understand why the council are refusing to accept a homeless application. Has this been tried?

Alternatively, have you investigated private renting? Could you act as guarantor? Would your mum cope living on her own? Do you live near enough to help her with all of this?

Yep, i don't understand it either. I suspect it must partially be her support worker, maybe didn't know what she was doing?

She has presented herself to the council, via a support worker, with a letter of eviction notice and as living "under sufferance" where she is not welcome. The guy is a good man, he can't physically put her out on the street, but he wrote the necessary letter, and is ever ready to write more saying that he will kick her out.

I don't have the capacity to be a guarantor. I live in another city too, currently, but I'm trying to help with advice and I have been getting involved a few times directly, when things are not going well. There are plans for support that can be provided on many levels once she has a place of her own, I've made sure she's getting money, that she has support workers and I'll be helping her to access all the support required along with the support team she has right now. Unfortunately in this area where she lives, few landlords take DSS and those that do require guarantors. Then there is my mothers problems, she can't go out, she has trouble getting around, she has problems interacting with people, a private landlord could be intrusive, her accommodation could be lost in a way a council property couldn't be. With her problems and at her age, I think it would be much better if she could have a place securely for a long time, where modifications can be made for mobility needs and where she can feel in someway safe and secure.

She's not on any tenancy agreement. The guy wants her out, she has disabilities, I have no idea why the council hasn't added her to the list. My mother claims not to know why it hasn't been working, and it's in the hands of a support worker. It's a real headache, but it looks like I'll be getting stuck into the whole range of issues, starting with making sure she is getting the right money.

TELLIT01

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I do not understand why the council are refusing to accept a homeless application. Has this been tried?

From watching various programmes on TV it seems that many councils won't do anything until the person is actually homeless. Even if they can tell the council the precise date it will happen they simply don't want to know.

pmlindyloo

TELLIT01 wrote: »

From watching various programmes on TV it seems that many councils won't do anything until the person is actually homeless. Even if they can tell the council the precise date it will happen they simply don't want to know.

New legislation means that this should have changed.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/homelessness/applying-for-homeless-help/check-if-you-can-apply-for-homeless-help/

I am wondering how long ago the council was last contacted. Might be worth starting the process again to see if the council have put the now legally required policy into practice.

Your mum's ex must write a letter which indicates that she needs to leave by such and such a date. I know he probably doesn't want to do this but it is necessary because the council will do everything they can to avoid their responsibilities mainly because of the lack of appropriate housing.

It may be also worthwhile doing some googling to see if there is any appropriate private supported living accommodation in her area.

As regards the SDP just ring ESA and ask about it. Your mum will have to complete a form and the decision, in this case, would probably be made by a decision maker who will require evidence of her living arrangements. If she is not on the tenancy agreement she will be a lodger. Her ex would probably have to write saying that she is a lodger and pays so much rent. In theory she should then be eligible for the SDP. Having a lodgers agreement would make no difference to a homeless application as reasonable notice to leave only has to be given. In fact, if she is entitled to income related ESA she could also claim housing benefit as a lodger.