Housing Benefit and Council Tax

Pixie39

Good afternoon. My brother (58) suffered a haemorrhagic stroke last November. He was paid Statutory Sick Pay for 28 weeks. It is unlikely he will work again and is now in receipt of full PIP and UC. Should he have been entitled to housing and council tax benefit during this time? He is waiting to be rehoused in sheltered accommodation, but up to now, the landlord is still charging for both full rent and council tax. Thankyou for reading my post.

Caz3121

Universal Credit includes an element for housing, does his UC breakdown show this? (did he provide his lease details when he made his claim) Council Tax reduction he will need to make an application for

8dayweek

Housing Element, which is part of UC replaces Housing Benefit now for the vast majority of working age people. 

When making the UC claim, he would have been asked whether he has housing costs - if he answered Yes, then he would have either been prompted to upload proof (if renting from a private landlord) or it would have been electronically verified with the housing provider (if renting from a social landlord). 

It’s correct he’s still being charged rent - unemployment / incapacity do not remove your rental liability, it just means that if you claim an income replacement benefit (i.e. UC) then you can get support with housing costs. 

I would check his UC statement to see if there’s an amount included listed as “Housing” - as this would be towards the Rent. 

With regards to Council Tax reduction, your brother would need to instigate a claim for this directly with his local Council. Each local Council has their own CTR scheme, so the amount of support can vary from area to area.  

Pixie39

The landlord (a relative) acted as appointee when he had his stroke and was responsible for benefit applications etc. She said my brother had been granted UC which included the housing element. I don't know whether she declared his housing costs and asking might risk causing him unnecessary stress. It's my first time on here and I apologise if the information is scant. 

Thankyou for the prompt responses, you have helped me to understand a little more of how this works. Naturally, I feel protective towards him in his current predicament.

peteuk

Pixie39 said:

Good afternoon. My brother (58) suffered a haemorrhagic stroke last November. He was paid Statutory Sick Pay for 28 weeks. It is unlikely he will work again and is now in receipt of full PIP and UC. Should he have been entitled to housing and council tax benefit during this time? He is waiting to be rehoused in sheltered accommodation, but up to now, the landlord is still charging for both full rent and council tax. Thankyou for reading my post.

As others have said UC should cover some/all the rent however I would ask if your brother is renting a full property or a room/part property.  (I know this makes them a lodger not tenant) 

If a tenant then why are they paying the CT direct to the council and not the landlord.  CT is based on occupancy of two people, so if brother is living alone he would have been able to qualify for a single person discount prior to the stroke, 

Pixie39

Thankyou, all, for your advice. I shall explore the matter further, I hope it isn't too late to apply for housing and council tax support. 

Caz3121

the housing element is part of the Universal Credit claim. I guess you will need to confirm what answers the appointee gave to the housing question. 
Does he have a written tenancy agreement with the relative landlord? 
note. I own a property that my daughter lives in and when she lost her job she was refused help with the rental element despite having a tenancy agreement and able to evidence previously paying rent, as I had purchased the property when her marriage broke down for her and her children to live in....if I had had previous tenants in the house then she would have been.