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Mandatory reconsideration. Suspended housing benefit

emmy04

Hi my partner recently applied for esa. He did not get enough point as the health care professional incorrectly stated a lot of things on the report. he has an appointment with a disability advisor tomorrow to help with a mandatory reconsideration. He lives with his mum who receives housing benefit but she has had a letter saying her housing benefit has been suspended (I assume dwp informed the council of my partners esa stopping) the letter does not state the reason for the suspension but asks for his mum to inform them if my partner is on any benefit or working and to provide proof. I'm unsure on what is going to happen as he cannot really claim anything whilst going through mandatory reconsideration as universal credit is live in our area so he would have to claim that but obviously would not be able to go back to esa. we feel we should go ahead with the mandatory reconsideration rather than universal credit just because of the fact the healthcare professional's report is wrong and i would assume he would not be found to have limited capability for work if he did apply for universal credit because of the recent assessment he had. But I'm unsure what to do about the council suspending my partners mums housing benefit? We cannot prove he does not have a job or any income? Except bank statements but is that enough as it's possible to have more than one bank? And I'm worried they won't take in to account his circumstance and just expect him to claim universal credit? Any advice would be appreciated.

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debsidoo

Hi emmy04
Your partners mum needs to contact the council as quickly as possible otherwise any housing benefit suspended by mistake may be too late to reclaim.They will ask her for all the relevant documents to sort out the issue.Anything she needs as confirmation the DWP should provide.Please tell her not to delay as she could lose out.
Debsidoo.x

emmy04

Hi Debsidoo, thank you for your advice! I have suggested she should go to the council office to talk to someone in person as I'm assuming that is the fastest way to get it sorted? When she has phoned in the past they just told her to write to them or use the online form, so she informed them of a change in circumstance using the online form but had to chase it up months later as they hadn't processed it! Typical when the circumstance is that you are paying them more than you should be. Which method of contact would you suggest? In person? Would they sort it there and then? Or phone first and explain the situation and gather the evidence to send/take in? Im just worried about how long it will take for them to process it. Also do you know if they will actually take into account that my partner has zero income or will they still reduce her housing benefit because he is living there?
Thanks again, emm x

Pippa_Alumni

So sorry to hear about your situation, @emmy04, particularly that you're having to chase things up yourself. It could be beneficial to seek face to face advice from your local Citizens Advice too- you can find your local CAB on their website. Really hope things get sorted ASAP!

emmy04

Pippa_Scope said:

So sorry to hear about your situation, @emmy04, particularly that you're having to chase things up yourself. It could be beneficial to seek face to face advice from your local Citizens Advice too- you can find your local CAB on their website. Really hope things get sorted ASAP!

Hi thanks a lot I appreciate the advice! I will tell my partners mum and hopefully it will get sorted out as it's very stressful!

debsidoo

Hi emmy04
I would arrange to see them in person as quickly as you are able.Take the paperwork with you and they will photocopy anything they need for their files.
Good luck Debsidoo.x

emmy04

Thank you @debsidoo I really appreciate it xx

Chloe_Alumni

Very best of luck with this @emmy04

emmy04

Thank you @Chloe_Scope , the support on here is amazing!

Chloe_Alumni

Glad to hear it @emmy04

[Deleted User]

Hi emmy04

JSYK, housing benefit, although it is administered by local councils, is a national scheme whose rules are mainly determined by DWP regulation. A non-dependant deduction, as it's called, is taken from most people other than the tenant, who live in the household, but not, for example, from anyone under 25 who gets a means-tested benefit.

So the sooner your partner can get back onto means-tested benefits, the better (this might be at the stage when he has appealed and starts to be paid again pending he appeal hearing. Whilst doing a mandatory reconsideration, he won't get any benefit at all, so I suppose that the non-dependant deduction is likely to apply).

If your partner's mother has a disability benefit though, there's no rush, because the rules say that she won't have non-dependant deductions from her benefit.

Lots of different rules, local face-to-face advice to check which one applies might be best.

Best wishes

Gill_Scope

emmy04

Hi @Gill_Scope thank you!

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