My partner wants her sister to become her carer and for them to move in together

PIPnewbie

Hello again, Scope!

It has been a while since I posted and as ever I am grateful for people to be here to help.

As some may or may not know, my partner with Crohn's and fibromyalgia, has lived with her grandparents all her adult life, and currently she receives her PIP payment 4-weekly, in addition to Universal Credit monthly, wherein she receives £325 housing benefit to pay to her grandparents, £317.82 standard allowance, and £336.20 LCWRA.

As her grandparents are truly in their later years now and due to this recent Covid-19 pandemic, she has realised she won't be able to live with them forever and they can't really look after her, so her little sister having turned 18 last year is now stepping up to the challenge.

Currently her sister lives with her mother, but both of them are liking the idea of renting a two bedroom terraced or similar together, and her sister receiving carer's allowance to look after her.

We are confused about how to put all this information into the online calculators.  I have had a go for them, but it was for her sister in the hypothetical scenario that she becomes her carer, gets that component on Universal Credit, as well as housing benefit, but I can't be sure if the result was accurate or what it might take away from my partner's current income.

Clearly my partner would lose the £325 to pay to her grandparents and get a different amount of housing benefit based on her new home, but would her standard allowance, LCWRA, or PIP be affected?

And if she did continue to receive standard allowance, LCWRA, and PIP, what would her sister be entitled to in addition to the carer's component?  Would she get her own standard allowance, too?  Is the result for housing benefit the calculator gives just her sister's entitlement, or does it count for both?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is confusing.

The vital details needed to make the calculation if anyone wants to have a go:

Partner = 28, receives PIP standard daily living, PIP enhanced mobility, UC LCWRA, and UC standard allowance.

Sister = 18, recently unemployed but receives no benefits, would live with my partner as full time carer (35 hours+ a week), and claim whatever she would be entitled to.

They also live in the TQ3 area code for Devon, in case that is needed to see LHA rate.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and offer any help.

poppy123456

Hi,

Their finances would be separate not combined. Your partner would receive her UC standard allowance, LCWRA and the new housing element, what ever that will be. if renting privately she would receive the 1 bedroom rate of LHA. Her PIP won't be be affected.

Her sister providing she doesn't have any capatial/savings of more than £16,000 will receive the standard allowance for under 25 plus the carers element.

Carers allowance doesn't have to be claimed but if it does then it will be deducted £1 for £1 for her UC entitlement (sister, not your GF) There's no financial gain when claiming carers allowance, the only benefit will be that UC pays class 3 NI and Carers allowance pays class 1. The other advantage is that carers allowance can be paid weekly, whereas UC is paid monthly. Her sister will also be able to claim the housing element but because she's under 35 then she would be entitled to the shared LHA rate for the area that she lives.

They would be able to claim for council tax reduction in addition to the above.

The only problem they may find is trying to find a landlord that accepts those claiming benefits because that won't be easy.

PIPnewbie

Hello again Poppy.  Hope you are doing okay in these troubling times.

As ever you are a beacon of hope around these parts   thank you for the reply 

Just clear up something, when you refer to standard allowance + carer’s element with carer’s element being deducted from standard allowance, does this mean her sister will get £317.82 in total for the month, excluding housing benefit?

And for her age and area, this housing element will be “Shared Accommodation” so £63.50 per week, and this is just for her sister, not my partner correct?

Also, yes it is difficult to find a rented property from what I understand.  I don’t know why landlords have this issue with tenants on benefits.

As it happens, their uncle (mother’s brother) owns two rental properties.  If one were to ever become available, would he be allowed to rent it to them or would this be a conflict of interest in the DWP’s eyes?

poppy123456

You're welcome, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Hope you're well too.

You have misunderstood what i said. Your GF's sister will claim the standard allowance + the carers element and the Carers allowance will be deducted from the total amount. If she claims the carers allowance.

Also with the Covid19 the Government will be increasing the standard allowance of UC by £20 per week for 1 year from 6th April.

The shared rate will be for her sister. Your girlfriend will be entitled to the bedroom rate.

Claiming the housing element when renting from family members will depend whether their tenancy is a commercial one rather than an informal family arrangement. A tenancy agreement will be needed and the question here will be, will their Uncle evict them if they didn't pay their rent. See link.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/housing_benefit_renting_from_family

PIPnewbie

Thank you again Poppy.  Oh with their uncle it would be an eviction because they’re his business and he takes them very seriously.

The calculator (Entitled To), said shared rate for my partner as well.  I guess it was wrong.  The one bedroom is higher isn’t it?

poppy123456

Benefit calculators are only as good as the information you put into them. Your partner claims PIP so they would be entitled to 1 bedroom rate of LHA.

Kev2020

Hey guys just to echo what Poppy has said .. Also remember that PIP is not counted as income.. Nothing really more to add Poppy seems the best  for info ?