New member nannasgirls16 asking about bedroom tax

nannasgirls16

Hi,I'm currently receiving ESA and DLA I also receive housing benefit I live in a two bedroom house and my granddaughters stay with me 4- 6 days a week to look after me I'm 61 and in receipt of enhanced rate DLA and support group ESA I am currently paying the bedroom tax of £14 per week and have been paying this for the past two and a half years,my daughter has said I shouldn't be paying this money can you give me any advice on what to do about this please? Thank you for your time 

Sam_Alumni

Hi nannasgirls, welcome to the community.  You might find it useful to post in the Benefits and Finances forum  or the Ask a benefits advisor forum.

Our community is filled with people with tons of experience who may be able to share their thoughts, so jump in, search around and get involved.

Sam

Sam_Alumni

@nannasgirls16 I moved your query so more people should see it and hopefully be able to help you out.

Sam 

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nannasgirls16

I thought they might know with me being disabled I don't know much about how the council work I will phone them now and let you know what they say thank you 

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BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi nannasgirls16

You say that your granddaughters stay with you 4-6 days a week to look after you and what I wanted to know was do they take turns or do they both stay at the same time? Also I'm assuming that they live elsewhere and don't actually live with you but rather stay on occasion to provide care for you, is that right?

The reason I'm asking these questions is that you might be getting extra money included as part of your ESA if you live alone and no one claims carers allowance in respect of care they provide for you. It's called the severe disability premium and entitlement might be affected if you are deemed not to be living alone.

With regard to the bedroom tax you are allowed a bedroom for a non-resident carer who regularly provides overnight care for a disabled claimant. From what you describe this could apply to you but the council must be satisfied that you reasonably require overnight care. It is not enough to require a carer only during the day, a carer must stay overnight regularly and 4-6 nights would certainly fit in with that requirement.

So the questions you need to answer are how often do your granddaughters stay? why do your granddaughters stay? what help/care do they provide for you which means they have to stay over? what would happen if you didn't have this help? If you are confident in your answers then you should contact the office responsible for your housing benefit and ask them to reassess your entitlement based on your need for an extra bedroom for a non-resident carer who regularly provides overnight care for you. Also don't forget to mention when this need started. 

If you're not sure about anything I've mentioned then please post back on here and we will do our best to talk you through it.

Best wishes

Paul

Sam_Alumni

Hi @nannasgirls16 was this useful for you? How are you getting on?