Hello everyone,
I'm hoping someone with experience of a similar situation might be able to offer some advice.
My partner currently receives Universal Credit (including LCWRA) and PIP at the highest rates due to her disabilities and being unable to work. Her father is currently her officially appointed appointee for both benefits and manages them on her behalf.
We were originally hoping to get a council property, but unfortunately the council wasn't very supportive of her wheelchair accessibility needs and the property offered wasn't suitable. They weren't willing to offer an alternative, so we started looking at private rentals instead.
After doing some research and speaking with Citizens Advice, we found a benefits calculator that helped us work out how much housing support we could potentially receive towards private rent. As I work part-time, we've calculated that, although finances would be tight, we should just about be able to manage.
We've now found a property that we're viewing tomorrow, and we're seriously considering taking it.
I was aware that moving in together would mean we need to make a joint Universal Credit claim, but I've since become concerned about whether this could cause complications with her existing benefits, particularly her LCWRA entitlement and her father's role as her appointee.
Ideally, we'd both prefer her father to remain her appointee for the time being. He currently manages her benefit payments, and our preference would be for the money to continue going into the account he manages, with him transferring it to us. Once we're more settled, I would be happy to look into taking over this responsibility if necessary.
My questions are:
- Would moving in together and creating a joint Universal Credit claim affect her father's ability to remain her appointee, even though he would be living at a different address?
- Would her existing LCWRA entitlement carry over to the joint claim, or could this trigger a reassessment?
- Would her father still be able to manage her side of the joint claim and deal with the DWP on her behalf?
- Would we be able to receive our first joint UC payment, including the housing element, on her usual payment date, or could linking our claims cause delays or interruptions?
We're just trying to understand what to expect before committing to a tenancy. Any advice from people who have been through something similar, particularly involving an existing appointee, would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
