Help with severe disability premium!

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wanipuk

Hi so I have income related ESA with support group since 2013 and enhanced for both on pip. I have just found out that I can claim severe disability premium. ( Should have been automatically applied at the start!) I rang dwp they said yes I can and the back pay would be from Feb 2018 from start of  my pip. The women filled a form with me over the phone then As I said I share a house with somebody ( not a partner) they sent me a form in the post asking about my home situation and who i live with and asked me to send a copy of my tenancy agreement as it's a private rented house and we both pay half for everything bill wise and rent etc. the women on the phone said this was ok as both pay rent. So as I get enhanced pip and one of the terms for the payment say u can claim it if u still live with somebody as long as you both pay rent each . I took my tenancy agreement and the little form about the home situation to my job center and they scanned and sent it to dwp for me as it's quicker apparently. So my question is the back pay is around £23k so can the DWP backpay such a high amount and is there a timescale for hearing the decision letter etc? I'm just worried that when they review my home situation form they see I share a house and then backtrack and say I don't qualify for it although the women on the phone from DWP 2 weeks ago did say I qualify.

poppy123456

SDP isn't automatically awarded because of the eligibility criteria. It will not be paid from 2013 unless you were either claiming a qualifying benefit such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care or you were registered blind. 

woodbine said:

@wanipuk hi and welcome to scope, my understanding has always been that if you live with another adult who doesn't get PIP you don't qualify but not sure in your situation and the tenancy etc so you might have to wait for a decision.

In some situations like this when living with other non dependents if you each have liability to pay rent to the landlord, it can be awarded. Though it is more complicated. 

See link an scroll to 44131 and 44139 which maybe more appropriate here. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/657b0e780467eb000d55f844/dmgch44.pdf

@wanipuk If the person you spoke to on the phone was someone from ESA call centre then please be aware that this person will have very little understanding of benefits, other than to read from a screen. Your claim will be sent to a decision maker to decide whether there's entitlement. 

If there is entitlement because it's from 2018 then it make take several weeks to make a decision. Once it's made you will be sent a decision letter.