DWP vs Council

Llywelyn

Is is correct that the DWP award an extra room tax exemption if the recipient receives Universal Credit and PIP? My friend claims PIP and Housing benefit and has been denied by the council despite a letter from his GP defending his need for overnight care often.

Is switching to Universal credit therefore the solution?

Kimmy87

Possibly, under UC Housing Element he would apply again for an extra bedroom in his HE award. There is no guarantee it'll be a different decision though.

Migration means he will get a letter to change before the end of the year anyway, with a few months to apply once the letter arrives.

poppy123456

An extra bedroom for a carer applies to housing benefit and housing element of UC. You said that overnight care is needed often but how much is often. It needs to be regular overnight care and the PIP must include the daily living part.

Is there a shortfall in the rent?

Switching to UC may not be the answer here because if they are claiming another benefit that includes the Severe disability Premium then they will be worse off if they claim UC. In this case they would need to wait until they receive the letter for managed migration.

Llywelyn

Thanks for replying.As I understand it the law doesn't define regular so unsure whether twice a week would qualify,The council have used the word consistent and I attend at least once every week and then when required.The daily living part is included and there is no shortfall in the rent.

poppy123456

You can’t claim more housing benefit than what your liability is to pay rent. As there’s no shortfall in housing benefit, there’s nothing more to claim for. For this reason i can see why they were refused. What makes you think that they can claim extra money?

The same rules apply for housing element of UC.