Dilapidated property advice

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Hi

My Brother is an alcoholic & self-neglects.  I have tried my best over the  years to help him as best I can. I have LPOA for finances & ensure his bills are paid. 

He does not like anyone going into his flat which he owns (no mortgage) he is 2 years from state pension age.
He receives enhanced PIP daily living & a company pension of approximately £750 p/m

He is currently in hospital as he has lost mobility which appears to be as a result of him not eating for quite some time & becoming very frail having lost tremendous amount of weight very quickly.
I have managed to gain access to his flat & couldn't believe the state of it. The place is quite literally falling down. All plaster has come away from the walls & is lying on the floor. All floor boards are rotten, there is no working toilet, no kitchen facilities, the food in the fridge was months out of date.
The flat is so damp, the electrics are dangerous,  there is rubbish everywhere with 1000's of empty beer cans. He is also a heavy smoker.
I have spent all weekend trying to clear up what I can.
He doesn't seem to care about his appalling living conditions.  He has no savings. The flat is not mortgageable. 
Ideally, I would like to try & get it to auction just to get rid. 
My question is, would he be able to claim any sort of benefit to rent a flat that actually has a kitchen/bathroom? Would the council visit to see the condition of his property if I asked?
He seems to fall through the gap as he owns his property, even though it's not fit for purpose. 
Any advice would be appreciated 

Rubyroobs

Do you mean can he claim any help to rent somewhere whilst the flat is being sold ? He may possibly be able to claim Universal credit and his home be disregarded for a period of time as long as steps are being taken to sell it asap. I may be wrong on this though. I think he would have to explain the situation, that he needed to move for safety/ health reasons. If once it was sold he has more than 16k then he would no longer be eligible for Universal credit. It sounds like he really needs to be referred to adult social care. There may be grants etc available to him to get essential repairs done.
If he does not currently have PIP mobility then you can report a change of circumstances to see if he meets the criteria for that. I believe they will look at the whole award though so there is an element of risk and it would be best to send in good medical evidence to show his poor mobility. Of course the risk with more benefit money is that once you help people to get this, there is the risk that the money will not be spent on it's intended purpose. . I am just basing this on my own experience as an advisor dealing with clients in a similar situation.  Hopefully as POA you may be able to have some control over his benefits? I'm sorry there are no easy solutions.
Hopefully he will have a thorough assessment of his home circumstances prior to discharge from hospital. I doubt they would be able to discharge him home in this situation so alternative care/ accommodation will need to be found.

gwynlas

Dependent on local housing situation he might be able to get into a supported living scheme for over 55s particularly as he's got mobility issues.
His current flat could then be sold at auction as you suggest. 

rosewalk

Are Social Services involved with your brother? If not it may be worth contacting them as they may be able to assist on working with the council on finding suitable accommodation for him.  

SnowWhiterThanWhite

Thanks all. Yes, social services are involved but not had a review for years. He has a community support worker an hour a week but he won't allow them into his flat so they weren't aware of the condition of it.
I haven't claimed UC for him as there is no way he would keep to any appointments. 
I will consider applying for mobility element although concerned over the risk that he could lose the whole benefit.

I'm going to speak to the local Supported Living service later today but I'm pretty sure there is a waiting list.

My worry is that he will be discharged without a thorough discharge plan (this has happened previously) & he will be in exactly the same position again. 

I will speak to Social services later & ask for some support. The main issue is that he refuses help as he doesn't believe he has any problems & doesn't comprehend the fact that he is slowly killing himself by living the way he does.

TELLIT01

Social Services should be the first step.  A near neighbour of ours collapsed in his doorway and a neighbour called the ambulance.  When the ambulance crew saw the state of the house (he wouldn't have people inside either) they contacted SS and he was not allowed to move back in.  I have no idea what the process is to get that sort of thing in place.

KxMx

If he did go into supported living or sheltered housing, where "care, support or supervision" is provided, Housing Benefit is a possibility to pay his rent in the interim. If awarded it would need to be recalculated once the house is sold. 


I'd recommend taking photos of his home and showing them to Hospital staff, ask to speak to the ward social worker etc, if it's truly horrendous then that should prevent an unsafe discharge in terms of living conditions.


To a point if he has capacity he is free to live in a way of his choosing, even if to the rest of us that is a shocking & unsafe way to live. 

I've had to deal with self neglect/agoraphobic parent there is only so much you can do for someone who doesn't want to change and can't see any need for change. 

The same issues cycle on a merry go round, but it's parents life to live that way not mine. 

I'm now much less involved with my parent than I was for the sake of my own physical and mental health. It's broken me too many times and I have my own life to live. 
It doesn't stop the heartbreak no matter how I try to harden my heart. 

I understand your position I truly do.

SnowWhiterThanWhite

KxMx said:

If he did go into supported living or sheltered housing, where "care, support or supervision" is provided, Housing Benefit is a possibility to pay his rent in the interim. If awarded it would need to be recalculated once the house is sold. 


I'd recommend taking photos of his home and showing them to Hospital staff, ask to speak to the ward social worker etc, if it's truly horrendous then that should prevent an unsafe discharge in terms of living conditions.


To a point if he has capacity he is free to live in a way of his choosing, even if to the rest of us that is a shocking & unsafe way to live. 

I've had to deal with self neglect/agoraphobic parent there is only so much you can do for someone who doesn't want to change and can't see any need for change. 

The same issues cycle on a merry go round, but it's parents life to live that way not mine. 

I'm now much less involved with my parent than I was for the sake of my own physical and mental health. It's broken me too many times and I have my own life to live. 
It doesn't stop the heartbreak no matter how I try to harden my heart. 

I understand your position I truly do.

Thankyou, exactly this. I would like to take a step back however,  our mum is 90 & obvs distressed over the situation, so I'm trying my best for her sake too whilst also working full time & having my own family dynamics to deal with. 
I have taken photos & video of his flat & did show them to the Doc who initially assessed him in A&E. 
I've repeatedly requested a MCA so fingers crossed someone will finally listen to me & do that. In the meantime, I'll start making some calls.

KxMx

If your best is flagging things to various professionals, taking a step back and leaving them to come up with a plan, then that's absolutely good enough 😊

It's okay to put yourself first after doing as much as you can (might be a little, might be a lot), not just with your brother but your mum too. 

SnowWhiterThanWhite

KxMx said:

If your best is flagging things to various professionals, taking a step back and leaving them to come up with a plan, then that's absolutely good enough 😊

It's okay to put yourself first after doing as much as you can, not just with your brother but your mum too. 

Thank you, much appreciated 

itsthelittlethings

There might be a person called a discharge social worker at the hospital. They could be a good person to speak to about all this.