To think I won't survive on £48 pcm !

[Thegardenismine]

Long story short I've just become single 😀I've many a thread on here under a couple of user names over the last few years and you've helped me get through a really bad period with H. Thank you.

I was actually preparing to leave as the control and EA was getting so much worse. I need to do the Freedom Program. My plan was to attend the council as homeless.

But !!! He left on Sunday saying he was fed up went depression and I was an embarrassment. He's moved in with his Plan B.

So I applied for universal credit etc and met with a really helpful person at the job centre. It seems I'm entitled to £848 a month. But that includes my rent . Great except my rent is £800 pcm.

What do I do ? If I can't pay my rent I'll be intentionally homeless I expect so they won't help me ?

What are my options. My GP has said I'm unfit for work. Thanks to the H I've no family support. I'm not sure which way to turn. £48 won't cover the water gas electric etc.

I was so relieved when he left but now it's a hot mess !!

claire
Also see Getting money when you're off work sick (EWS) § If you’re not getting the sick pay you’re entitled to
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/sick-pay/getting-money-when-youre-off-work-sick/#h-if-you-re-not-getting-the-sick-pay-you-re-entitled-to

@cyclingmad nope no savings, that's what being in a controlled relationship is all about. I had squirrelled away over £100 in cash in preparation for leaving but I paid that into my bank and showed the job centre guy and explained where that had come from.

OP - I work in social housing & more than happy to help you navigate options if thats any use.

Hi

Please contact your council and ask about Discretionary Housing Payments. As a PP has said these are designed to top up the difference between local housing allowance and actual rent. Lots of people don't know about them and the LA I work for is very keen for people to apply for them as otherwise the allocation which comes from central government goes unused.

It won't last for ever but should give you breathing space to sort out your situation.

Best of luck.

Limited Capacity for work element has been scrapped for new claimants of UC. You many be awarded the Limited capacity for work related activity but that would take a minimum of 13 weeks for an assessment.
Try and claim pip but you are looking at 9 months plus for that process to be completed.
Hopefully council will give you discretionary housing payments.

@TheForgetfulCat @myrtleWilson

Many thanks to you both.

I'm going to the council Monday and hopefully if I'm not too much of a wreck will get some help and answers.

"Limited Capacity for work element has been scrapped for new claimants of UC."

WRONG

More nonsense. Complete bullshit on this thread.

OP, could you do some freelancing work? Have a look at the website UpWork, and see if any of the work there is something that you could bid for. It's free to register and you get a certain number of bidding points for free. It can't hurt to try.

Also, there is an 'earn £10 a day' thread on here somewhere that I keep seeing with lots of ideas on how to earn money from home. Worth a look.

*Limited capability for work elements

An award of Universal Credit can include an additional amount if you have limited capability for work due to a health condition or disability.

The limited capability for work 'LCW' element is awarded when you are thought to be capable, with support, of preparing for work at some point in the future. The extra amount associated with the LCW element was stopped for new claims from 3 April 2017 onwards and for existing UC claimants whose circumstances change after 3 April 2017 so that they are determined as having limited capability for work.*

@AnotherEmma You can get the element and not be required to work but as the thread is about the op financial situation I was highlighting the fact that she won’t receive any more money.

limited capability for work element (LCW) £126.11 per month (From 3 April 2017 the limited capability for work element will not be available to claimants who claim UC on or after this date, unless they were in receipt of a work related activity component in ESA immediately before they claimed UC); or
limited capability for work related activity element (LCWRA) £336.20 per month
And again from turn to us.
Your bullshit radar is very out of date @AnotherEmma , may I suggest updating it before commenting again.

There's a lot of confusing advice on this thread. I wish you well with the council on Monday OP and I would second going to CAB as they should have the most up-to-date information on what you can do or expect with benefits.

It would not surprise me if your mental health sees an improvement now you are no longer abused, controlled or isolated. Good luck with mending bridges to your family.

I know you can't work, but you will be able to get out and have a lot more choice over your activities and social life. That alone will be worth this short-term financial headache.

@TheABC I appreciate your kind words

Someone said that you will get council tax paid. This isn't usually the case we're still on ESA and have to pay a fair chunk of ours, as did my son in a different council area when he was unemployed

MyDC

Sorry you are right in that the extra payment for people in the LCW group (WRAG under ESA) goes not exist for new claimants. But this is not a new thing under UC, it was introduced 2 years ago for new ESA claimants as well.

"she won’t receive any more money."

That's not necessarily true. It depends whether she is assessed as having "limited capability for work" (WRAG under ESA) or "limited capability for work-related activity" (support group under ESA). If OP is put in the LCW group she won't get any extra but if she's put in the LCWRA group she will.

In any case it's not relevant immediately as she will be in the assessment phase until she has her WCA.

Look up your housing allowance : lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

It varies depending on the area so no point in any of us guessing. You will need to cover anything over in rent out of other money.

UC should give you around £300 on top of the housing allowance.

You will get Council tax Support - again depends on area - but you can get a figure here: www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction but you should expect to pay £2-3 a week in Council tax even with the support.

You need to look at PIP or ESA This is why they want to see your sick note. PIP could get you £23 up to £148 a week - though you wont get £148 as functioning individual - more likely the £23/58 level but that will make a massive difference.

ABC what a lovely and sensible post. I agree, go to CAB and the council OP. I can only imagine the stress you’re under, and I think a lot of the conflicting advice on here may be too much, the CAB will be able to give you advice.
Can you mend family relationships now you are away from your abuser? I really hope they are understanding and welcoming.
Good luck, here’s to a happier, safer future, I hope you get the money side sorted smoothly with CAB and council advice and can enjoy your freedom.

As I’ve just spent the last 18months battling the Universal Credit system, I can attempt to summarise:

• universal credit which includes the old housing & unemployment benefits etc. I think that’s what you’ve been given now, & that’s the basic rate that people are excepted to miserably subsist on and get back into work ASAP to end the penury.

BUT, as you’re ill you can try for two other sources of money to boost that amount:

• Limited capacity to work - this is a premium on top of the basic universal credit amount, awarded if they assess you as being incapable of working. The Universal Credit people have to refer you to be assessed and it can take up to 45 days to give you an assessment, so you need to get this going ASAP... then start researching the criteria and gathering evidence such as a really good and detailed GP letter for a start.

• PiP - this is non means tested and awarded to people who are disabled or who have a significant chronic illness that effects their daily life. Until recently people with mental illness really struggled to get this benefit but they have now acknowledged this problem and are supposed to be attempting to make is more equal. It’s hard to get but worth attempting, and really going for it properly, as this benefit is also regarded as a gateway / proof that you are ‘properly disabled’. It’s one of the things asked for as proof (like a blue badge is) to get things like free bus rides or discounted disabled rail cards etc.

And then there’s all the housing stuff that you’re getting good advice about here.

The reason I’m trying to clarify it for you here is that I found the UC people and job coaches gave me a lot of wrong information about the Limited Capacity to Work benefit premium, and it was really difficult to claim because I kept being told it didn’t even exist! I was also told I couldn’t claim it as it was the same as PiP, or that I should claim Pip instead as I was ‘only on DLA’ (utter nonsense!) and basically, it was an utter chaotic nightmare. Most of which was well meaning ignorance, but I’m afraid one of the people did deliberately do this, and admitted she had been told to stop as many people as possible getting referred on to the Capacity to work assessment - which is shocking as you have a legal right to be assessed!

Anyway, going in with knowledge is vital, and hopefully you won’t meet anyone like I did! I think that particular issue was quite rare - and there was a happy ending, as in the end I got that benefit, with the help of my GP who was amazing, and got me a back payment as well, due to the way I’d been stopped from being assessed.

You need to let them know that you are unfit for work, that will change the award and you won’t be expected then to find employment. In theory, that is - it’s still a process to go through. Re the rent, if you physically cannot pay, then you’re not making yourself intentionally homeless! There is a set amount that the law says you need in order to live. They can’t expect you to provide for a family on £48. Ask your loca council housing officer about your options and explain the situation.

"the UC people and job coaches gave me a lot of wrong information about the Limited Capacity to Work benefit premium, and it was really difficult to claim because I kept being told it didn’t even exist!"

Strictly speaking it doesn't (as MyDC pointed out) but there is an extra payment for "limited capability for work-related activity" (used to be the support group under ESA). Unfortunately the terminology can be extremely confusing and as you have discovered, just telling someone there is no extra money for LCW is very misleading.

Apologies, my post loaded hours after I actually wrote it. At the time I was the first poster! Sorry just looked at your updates.

If the landlord lets the other room it turns into a multiple occupancy situation.

OP, you can't sublet cause it will lower your UC payments.You obviously can't move yet as you have no money for moving costs.

OP, as PP suggested above, speak to your local council about getting a top up from the discretionary housing fund. Give them a breakdown of all your living costs (rent, utilities, etc) and benefit entitlements.

If you have a longterm illness, apply for PIP. Go to CAB for advice.

There is a lot of confusing and incorrect advice on this thread.

In order to get advice which covers all your issues - housing, benefits etc please go to citizens advice. They will check your UC claim, do a full benefit check to see what else you could claim and help you with any housing issue. A DHP application could help until the end of your tenancy.

Op
Your local age UK will help you with this. They can do a full benefit check to ensure you get every penny you are entitled to and will do the applications for you.
They can also help you to apply for social housing.
Please go and speak to your local age uk