Help! Housing Benefit or Universal Credit?

[exWifebeginsat40]

so. i moved into a new flat last weekend and have applied for Housing Benefit.

i am in receipt of Contributions based ESA in the Support Group. I also get Enhanced Daily Living and Standard Mobility PIP.

my partner was getting Carer’s Allowance for me. I think this is where things may have gone astray - I included this on my Housing Benefit application as i did it online before I moved and just ticked the box. i have now obviously informed the DWP and stopped this claim as we no longer live together

i have received a letter saying i am not entitled to HB and should claim Universal Credit.

this has thrown me into a blind panic.

i am not trying to claim benefits i’m not entitled to. i’ve had the ESA and PIP since 2012. (my partner was hoping the Carer’s Allowance would somehow continue but this is obviously not going to happen, and i have informed the DWP accordingly with a stop date of last weekend, when i moved out of his house).

so, my questions are:

do my ESA and PIP count as Legacy benefits for a new HB claim, and can i now make a new claim for Housing Benefit as the DWP have been informed and stopped the Carer’s Allowance?

if I have to claim Universal Credit, how on earth do i do this in order to get my rent paid in time for the middle of September? is there a Housing element to it that is the same as Housing Benefit? will i be out on my ear with all the things i have just found spaces for in here?

please, be gentle with me. i have various mental health diagnoses, and also have arthritis. i have left my partner to start again and find myself in a bedsit with no clue about how to manage life alone. i am very sad, feel very lost and am panicking that i have now fucked up trying to get my rent paid and will be evicted*

• my anxiety makes me catastrophise and i am very, very stressed.’

if anyone can help me navigate these new waters, i would be eternally grateful. there is a Disability Advice service in town, but that still gives me until it re-opens on Tuesday to talk myself into a panic. downsizing to a bedsit has been stressful, but i love it here a bit now. i can’t work; my health just won’t permit it. i’m only in my mid-forties and feel i’ve achieved nothing - my life still fitted in the back of a transit van when i moved.

all and any advice will be gratefully received.

thank you...

Your boyfriend does not need to live with you to claim carers for you and receive the benefit himself if he meets carers criteria.

Be very, very careful around your benefits and UC. In my onion you need face to face advice from someone (not DWP) who knows what they're doing.

Sorry I misread your initial post. I can see he's your ex boyfriend and you rightly stopped the benefit.

Don't panic. It will come right in the end but you need face to face advice.

No advice but I really hope someone will
come along with some wise words soon enough.

It must seem very overwhelming and scary at the moment but hopefully everything will work out. I hope everything settles down and you can start to enjoy your new found freedom. It doesn't matter if you don't achieve anything amazing during your life. Most of us don't. 😅
Best of luck with getting this sorted 💐💐

Be very, very careful around your benefits and UC. In my opinion you need face to face advice from someone (not DWP) who knows what they're doing

I think that’s unnecessarily scare mongering. You may have had a bad experience, but to suggest that the whole of DWP doesn’t understand its own benefit is ridiculous.
OP, first of all I’m sorry things are so worrying for you. You have several options..CAB or there’s a wealth of Welfare Rights organisations if you are worried about contacting the DWP. Also try online calculators like EnitltedTo.

I know it’s scary but you must act ASAP on Tuesday as if you do need to claim UC there is a five week initial assessment period although you can apply for an advance . Hope all goes well

Where you the lead claimant on a housing benefit claim prior to moving? If so you should be still entitled to Housing Benefit as a change in address does not migrate you to Universal Credit.

If you were not and you made a new claim for Housing Benefit you would not be entitled to claim as your legacy benefits do not make you entitled to Housing Benefit only being a pensioner or being in receipt of Severe Disability Premium within ESA or Housing Benefit does.

Sorry meant to say yes UC replaces HB but as you are in receipt of contact based ESA and other benefits I’m not sure how this works. Just get onto it first thing Tues and then at least you will be dealing with some facts.

If you needed someone to care for you when you lived with your ex then surely you are entitled to a carers allowance to pay someone for the same care now you are living alone. I can see why it wouldn't be paid to your ex but wouldn't you be entitled to claim for it to pay a carer?

As you ended the claim and tried to start a new one, yes it will be UC instead. Had you just informed them of the address changed you could have stayed on HB but all new claims must be UC. You will get the same amount but do it asap due to the wait.

sorry - to clarify i wasn’t claiming Housing Benefit prior to moving. i did the online calculator for my council and it said i was entitled to HB. i’ll go in first thing on Tuesday. i’m fairly sure that my conts based ESA has a severe disablement element, but i’ll ask face-to-face on Tuesday morning.

i’ve downsized considerably to a studio flat on the ground floor; this in itself makes my life hugely less stressful as i don’t have to try and keep a huge house clean with a partner who doesn’t care about the effort involved.

i won’t be starting a new Carer’s Allowance claim - he’s grumbling more about losing the income than losing me.

it’s good to know though that if i need to claim UC i can ask for an advance to cover rent. if this is the case i’ll inform the landlord straight away. i have a good Guarantor in place but wasn’t planning on needing them in the first month of living here.

thanks to all for the responses. makes me feel a little less alone.

onwards and upwards! well, maybe sideways but it’s all good.

I’m glad you are feeling a little calmer. Hope it goes well on Tuesday.

Try not to worry, universal credit isn't always the ball ache it's made out to be and i claimed successfully without a problem. As soon as you have had your ID check appointment you can get an advance (same day if necessary or 2 days later at latest). Apply as soon as possible and hopefully you will get an ID appointment towards the end of the week, it was fairly quick for me anyway. Someone might know different but as everyone is going to be moved to universal credit it's probably best to bite the bullet now and move over instead of having to stress again a few months down the line. Good luck, I hope all goes well for you

@StinkinDrink so i have to take all my ID etc to a Job Centre? and then i can apply for an advance to cover rent? it’s due on 16 September.

As i’m in the Support Group for Conts Based ESA there won’t start to be medicals etc again? like i said, i also get Enhanced daily living and Standard mobility PIP and i’m not clear on how these are replaced by UC and i get my rent paid...

I’m not an expert but I do know that PIP isn’t affected by UC. It’s a separate payment so you should still receive it without interruption.

Don’t just turn up at the job centre tomorrow though...you need an appointment and you need to make your online claim first

Your PIP is non means tested and therefore won't be affected by any changes in ESA/UC. So that's something you won't have to worry about, at least

So glad to hear your life is less stressful now you've downsized - I hope you'll be very happy in your new home

Hi OP.

Have you checked to see if you are entitled to the Severe Disability Premium (SDP), a means-tested top-up to your ESA, now that you ex is no longer receiving Carer's Allowance? If you live alone (or are considered to be living alone), receive PIP Daily Living, and have savings of less than £16,000, you will be able to claim it. People in receipt of the SDP cannot be forced onto UC BUT the SDP is not payable with UC. It is around £65 a week that you will be losing out on if you apply for UC so please look into your potential entitlement before going anywhere near UC. If you are awarded the SDP you will be applying for HB as you expected.

Oh, I see that someone has already mentioned the SDP and you replied saying you think you get it The SDP is never contribution-based, though, so do your letters say that you are receiving both types? As I implied, the SDP is not payable when someone is receiving Carer's Allowance to look after the person receiving ESA, so has your money gone up since your ex stopping claiming? If it hasn't you should contact the DWP about your ESA claim before applying for UC. This might make the process a little longer, but the extra money is worth it if you can survive in the meantime.

I think Suebnm is right. Get the face to face advice.
UC is a minefield, it's worth finding out whether you need to claim it, or whether you can still make a claim for HB.

You will need to prove ID at the job centre, yes. But you won't get an appointment until you apply for it then you can apply for your advance. Pretty sure if you apply soon you will have your advance for rent day but I would get the ball rolling ASAP! Have you sought any advice today?

yep, i went and sorted it today. i can claim HB once the Carer’s Allowance people ping the ESA people to reinstate my Severe Disability Premium (Premium! like the Executive Lounge at Heathrow or a glittering prize at the end of a game show!).

According to the CA people this can take up to 5 working days. as the claim was stopped over the weekend, this means that by Monday my Housing Benefit claim goes in, and then my Council Tax reduction and then Discretionary Housing Payments as our Local Housing Allowance doesn’t even cover the rent in a shared house, let alone anything so fancy as a studio.

i feel like a proper grown-up today. there is still more stuff than storage, but once i’m properly online next week imma Kondo the shit out of everything and reduce the Stuff. i’m still putting things around from a house move i made in 2006.

thank you for all the responses - they all helped me feel a bit more in control, and a little less lonely.

putting? lugging.

So pleased it's all getting sorted for you.

I need to kondo the shit out of this house so I wish you luck!

Well done for getting things sorted. 💪🏻💪🏻