Enitlement to benefits

[Forestnan]

Someone I know is in a long term relationship which is abusive and violent. She is working, but does not earn enough to get a mortgage. She has savings (in her own name) which are a gift from a family member. If she manages to leave and finds a house to rent would she qualify for housing benefit, or would her savings mean that she would not be eligible for help?

Are the savings more than £16 000?

Yes, although not much more. Is there a limit on what is allowable?

Over 16 000 and you can't claim benefits usually.

If you have savings over 6k but under 16k This will affect how much Universal Credit you can get. For each £250 (or any part of £250) you have over £6,000, your Universal Credit will reduce by £4.35 in each assessment period.

If you have over 16k then if she is below pension age, and/or is not disabled - then she will have to pay her own rent until the savings reduce to 16k. Then claim.

Thanks for all that info. This person also has a lifelong and incurable condition that means she will eventually be in a wheelchair. I assume this would count as a disability. There is lots of medical evidence to support this. Would that make a difference?

She'd need to be claiming PIP and receiving the enhanced rate for care or mobility to fit the criteria for being disabled.

If she doesn't meet the criteria now, but will do in the future, she will almost certainly have to wait until she is actually disabled by her condition.