Service charge more than rent!

[ImagineRainbows]

My adult child is about to move into supported housing as he has disabilities, as such renting in the open market isn’t possible for him.

These are the costs we have been quoted for a 1 bedroom flat.

Rent - £107 a week (payable to the LA)
Service charge - £130 a week (payable to the supported living company)
Care fees - Just shy of £2000 a week - paid by adult social care

The service charge covers gas, electric, water, repairs and maintenance to shared areas. It DOES NOT include any care fees as these are covered separately.

How is it acceptable that the service charge is more than the rent! More than I pay in utilities in a 4 bed house and more than anyone would pay on the open market but because it’s supported living it seems the can charge what they like and it’s vulnerable people being absolutely bankrupted with these insane fees!

Going to have to turn it down as it’s unaffordable which means he misses out on a place where he can be independent and have the care he needs. And we wonder why so many vulnerable people fall off the radar!

Hi op

so for instance if the charges are £120 per week and this is broken down as £20 for gas, £10 for water etc then these exact figures for the utilities would not be covered by the housing benefit

however other charges may be classed as ‘eligible charges’ if they are a condition of tenancy/occupancy and are part of providing the occupation
for example £30 for maintenance and repair of communal areas would be covered

No they won’t unfortunately, only three months after the first sick note was submitted.

It’s not residential, it’s supported living. It’s his own individual flat but staff on site 9-5 every day to manage his needs. As I work 9-5 and can manage his needs outside those hours it was the better option as residential meant he would be moved a significant distance from home and be isolated from his family.

Would definitely try and speak to the Housing Benefit team re this as supported living is not paid by UC but by the local authorities housing benefit team.

honestly we almost dismissed the perfect place until realising how much would be covered for the person who went to live there

I will, thank you!

Yes he moved over at 16, but he turned 16 during lockdown and so rather than assess him as they would normally they just moved him over onto the same rate PIP as he had been getting on DLA.

That's really frustrating. PIP is based on what would be reasonably expected of an adult(ish). So while an under 16 needing an adult on hand (but asleep) overnight is perfectly ordinary and so doesn't contribute to any assessment of additional needs. But at 16+ it is an additional need because the vast majority of 16yo safely sleep overnight alone.

It makes me so mad that parents and carers have to been geniuses (and/or ranting on MN) to get the advice they need.

OP this sounds like such a fantastic opportunity, is there now at it can work? If your DH has not been working as he has been caring full-time, does that mean if your son moves out he can work full time and some of that additional income can supplement your son?

My daughter's service charge s covered by UC. Although it's not that amount.

Good Luck @ImagineRainbows with getting everything your son is entitled to.

It sounds like he should qualify for a lot more financial help so hope that gets sorted soon.

That is alot. If he moves out will his u.c increase? You might find it covers it. Do an online benefits calculator, it will give you an estimate based on living away from home.

Yes, but you would have to add in utilities, bills and care on that. £1000 isn't that awful at all considering.

I doubt they will. It's bizarre that they just switched him to PIP without an assessment ( maybe just did a paper based assessment? ) especially given that the PIP criteria are quite different to DLA and he would likely have scored much higher on PIP.

Op's husband shouldn't be working to supplement his son ! The son should be getting adequate benefits to cover what needs to be paid for and the extra costs of him being severely disabled. At the moment he clearly isn't getting this.

If its a house previously split into two flats, where does the on site staff spend their time if the only shared space is a communal staircase?

YesThere is potentially additional 80 a week if living on his own... call dwp

If you are talking about the severe disability premium this does not exist on Universal credit. Once op's son moves out his UC will only increase by the rent element or that may be covered by housing benefit instead.

How will he manage at night? Is he being left alone overnight? If he lacks capacity how can be be alone overnight even if he sleeps? Is the care package 24 7? What does DOLS assessment say?

Housing benefit also covers some service charges too, so he can get HB towards communal heat, communal light, fire safety, maintenance etc.

That is a pain if it it is not available on uc.... my ds has not transferred yet

If she's currently on ESA with sdp then she will get transitional protection when migrating to UC so won't initially be worse off but it sounds like op's son has only ever been on UC so he won't be getting sdp.

@Miley1967 of course he shouldn't have to. But the OP is looking for solutions. Surely this is one? It's certainly what I'd do in this situation and then explore adequate funding in the meantime

The care bill is separate and not included in the service charge.

It does sound like a massive con, OP, but I get that you don't have many options. I hope your son gets all he's entitled to and you manage to make it work.

Definitely do a full benefits check. Dsd lives in supported housing and has far more benefit income despite similar rent and service charges, hers is a room in a larger shared house. She does get severe disability premiums but shouldn't be that different

When I said all in I meant utilities included in that price.

There is a total of 3 houses, split into 9 flats. Each pair of upstairs flats share a staircase and 1 ground floor flat per house. 8 flats rented out and 9th ground floor flat is office space for the carers.