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Housing Element and PIP

cat6873

Before I make a fool of myself at the jobcentre I thought I’d ask here for advice.

I get Universal Credit with LCWRA and I’ve got PIP back in 2018 (enhanced daily living and standard mobility) and my advisor said she’d put it in the system and I didn't ask why because, at the time, I thought nothing of it.

Forward to today, after I lived in this flat for 6 years and a half and religiously made up the rent shortfall (£75 per month), I read that my housing element should have gone up from the date they’ve received confirmation of my PIP entitlement.

Should I get in touch with them or am I wrong in thinking that? Confused...

Thank you for a reply!

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Comments

poppy123456

Whether your housing element will increase will depend on your circumstances. If you're privately renting, Living alone and you're under 35 then you'll be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate of local housing allowance, (LHA) instead of the shared rate. This is because you're claiming daily living PIP.

If you're living with a non dependant (not a partner) then because of your PIP there will be no non dependant deductions.

If you have a spare bedroom and you need regular overnight care you could claim for an extra bedroom.

If none of those apply then your PIP award will make no difference to your housing element.

cat6873

@poppy123456 thanks for that, nearly all of that applies to me but I wish I was under 35 again

poppy123456

Are you living with a none dependant? or you have a spare bedroom?

cat6873

I live alone, rent privately and no spare bedroom

poppy123456

Oh ok, you said nearly all of that applies. This means you should be receiving the correct amount. Are you privately renting? If so you can check the LHA rate here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/ it will be the weekly rate shown so you will need to work out the monthly rate. Times it by 52 and then divide by 12.

cat6873

I've done that but since the rates are still frozen nothing I can do about it and my landlord has increased the rent by £100 per month so I have to fork out the extra £75. The Mayor said he was going to do something about it but, somehow, I don't see it coming. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply @poppy123456 you're a gem!

poppy123456

No problem. I think the LHA rates not being increase for quite sometime is disgraceful. There's so many people now that have an even bigger shortfall of rent. Yet another reason for LL's not to want to rent to DSS tenants.

If you're experiencing financial difficulty you can apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP) you'll need to apply to your local Authority. It's not guarateed and if awarded it's only usually for a short period of time. You may also want to get some help filling out the forms because they are quite complex. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments