Denied warm home discount

Spoonie_Turtle

Mikebella said:

I presume she meets the low income criteria otherwise she wouldn't be pursuing it. OVO energy, I don't think they have specific criteria this time around as DWP has contracted a private company to judge who is eligible for the discount. This seems to be part of the problem as they have come across as incompetent and have no knowledge of what is actually going on.

No they haven't.   BEIS, a goverment department, ran the property calculations.  DWP then use benefit claimant information to match up high cost properties with people claiming a qualifying means-tested benefit.
(Source: Ofgem guidance for suppliers.)

The property calculation is based on age,  type and size.  At 58m² her property would have to be a detached house, bungalow or flat built before 1919 to qualify.

More info here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/warm-home-discount-eligibility-statement-england-and-wales

And the property calculation here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115362/whd-eligibility-statement-2022-england-wales-annex-1.xlsx

Edit: actually if she lives in anything except a flat, the relevant floor area would be 66m², 14% more than the EPC says.  This would mean the property could also qualify if it were a detached house built between 1919-1944, or a pre-1919 end terrace or semi-detached.
If she lives in a flat it would still have to be pre-1919.

Also many people have met the income criteria in previous years but this year it has been tightened, so it is possible she assumes she meets the income criteria but doesn't - info on that is in the eligibility statement linked too.  But without knowing why she qualified in previous years it's impossible to comment on the likelihood of that.

NeilJ66

Where is the 58 m2 figure coming from? If it's from an EPC it could well be incorrect, they're not usually the most accurate things. My EPC states my place is 98 m2 and yet my next door neighbour with a larger property is 86 m2. Worth checking that 58 m2 figure if 66 m2 is what's needed to get WHD.

Spoonie_Turtle

NeilJ66 said:

Where is the 58 m2 figure coming from? If it's from an EPC it could well be incorrect, they're not usually the most accurate things. My EPC states my place is 98 m2 and yet my next door neighbour with a larger property is 86 m2. Worth checking that 58 m2 figure if 66 m2 is what's needed to get WHD.

The different figure I used is because the WHD eligibility statement states a house's EPC floor area will be increased by 14% to match VOA data.  (A flat's will be decreased by 23%.)

The cutoff for different age and property types can be seen from the calculation table.