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uchelpme
Community member Posts: 2 Listener
Can anyone clarify what would happen in my situation? Was on housing benefit with SDP until April 2018 when I moved in with a family member rent free. I am now going back into rental and having to claim UC. I am disabled and will be 300pm worse off. Will I be given any extra under new rules to cover this?
Comments
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Hello @uchelpme, are you currently claiming any benefits?Community Manager
Scope -
Hiya @Adrian_Scope I get PIP daily living component and working tax credit currently. Used to get housing benefit until a year ago
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All depends on your age, I'm 34 and only getting £198 with my rent, I've been told when I reach 35 I'll get more help, does not make sense at all!
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Scope
Senior online community officer -
@BenefitsTrainingCo can you help?
Scope
Senior online community officer -
uchelpme,
I don't think there is any way round your situation. This is because you are not currently (and were not immediately before you moved into the accommodation) getting a legacy benefit which included a severe disability premium. You can't claim housing benefit (unless it is supported accommodation) as you don't meet the SDP provisions - you weren't recently getting a legacy benefit which included the SDP. Most recently, you lived with a family member, so you didn't meet the SDP conditions because of that, and also because you weren't claiming any legacy benefits which could include an SDP anyway.
The new rules only help people who've been getting the SDP very recently (within the last month) and continue to meet the conditions. I can't see any option for you but to claim UC, I'm afraid, and as you know, that doesn't include a severe disability premium, so you are likely to be worse off compared to your circumstances when you were last renting. Your working tax credit will stop. I don't think you will get any compensation for this because the new rules do not cover you.
I would think about doing two things:
- write to your MP
- get in touch with a local agency who might be prepared to help you with a judicial review (this is a legal challenge where you can't appeal a decision - in this case appealing wouldn't help because the rules say you can claim UC and can't claim Housing Benefit (HB)).
Your argument could include the fact that if you hadn't been working and you were getting income-related ESA when you lived with your family member, you could have got the SDP added to that as soon as you lived alone again (assuming no one gets carer's allowance for you) and then you could have claimed HB. So you have lost out partly because of your situation as a working disabled person.
Be careful if you are in supported housing (any housing involving an element of care, supervision or support). Most supported housing can't be covered by UC at all, in which case you need to claim HB, not UC, and your Working Tax Credit would be unaffected.
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