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New Flat - New Claim for UC & HB + can i also get a grant for furniture

richydee2019

Hi everybody, i have moved into a new flat , and to get the rent paid iv had to change over to Universal Credit .

Iv completed the online form and i now have an appointment set for Monday to Verify myself and ask for the advance to cover the rent and my living expenses while i swap over to UC.

My question is regarding the housing benefit and A possible Furniture grant or Discretionary Grant.

Iv been told that Once i swap over to Universal Credit they will allow me the Housing Payments thru the Universal Credit application.

But the advance i get will be for living expenses and rent to cover the following month ect - or to replace what i paid for this month in rent( not sure how i should think of the payment) should i be using it to replace the months rent i have already paid and wait until i get my 1st payment of UC to pay the rent (which could be in 5 weeks) well after rent is due

Or should i use the rent payment (advance ) i get to cover the following months rent (so 2 months are covered while i swap over to UC) this is what i am expecting to be the correct option (pay the 2nd months rent with the advance i get)

So all being well when i get my advance i can pay the 2nd months rent and be covered for 2 months until i get my 1st payment of UC where i will pay month 3

That will leave me with whatever is left to live on for 5-6 weeks

So as i have just moved into a new home and have no fridge freezer , bed or cupboards / wardrobe ect - settee chair table - tv and curtains ect

Can i apply for any Grants or Discretionary Funds to help with the Decorating and Furniture.

I have heard that there is a discretionary housing payment, but that is more suited for Rent arrears ect.

So im unsure as to what grant / fund i can apply for.

I hope there isa an available option as otherwise im going to struggle to get up and running in this flat and its going to take a while to get myself furniture and most importantly a decent Bed (lol)

If not , i guess i will have to goto the local Food bank where they can help with a few bits and bobs.

But if there is any help available , please advise me so i can apply for this.

And if i am eligible to apply considering i am making a new claim for Universal Credit

I am or was on ESA (work capability) and Before that Support group and before that incapacity Benefits. So i am told that because my claim was before 2017 that i will continue to receive the ESA contribution.. Which is good as my illness really does put my out of work and action for many reasons and i find it difficult to look after myself financially at the best of times.

So im hoping that because of my long history on Benefits that i may be eligible for a grant of some sort.

Obviously there was available the Budgeting loan , but now iv switched over to Universal Credit i guess i cannot just apply for that.

And its been a while since i last had one of those, Not sure if im paying one back yet or not.

But anyway. If i was paying back a Budgeting loan, would that effect my eligibility of getting a Grant for furniture ect.

(wow what a mouth full)

Sorry if iv taken anybody's time to read through all this, but i really do need advise and help, and this website has been a godsend in helping me switch over to Universal Credit. Without this forums help i would of gotten myself into a right mess.

So thank you for all your help.

And in advance for any advise you may give me now regarding the above.

Thank you everyone.

Richard.

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Comments

poppy123456

HI,

As previously advised on another thread you rent will be paid as part of your UC payment each month and won't be a separate payment.

Your current ESA claim will stop and you will be paid through UC in 5 weeks time. As you were in the WRAG for ESA then this will be honoured for UC but you most likely won't receive the extra £126 straight away because this very rarely happens. This means that you will be paid that much less until your award is transferred across.

When you ask for an advance on your UC then i'd advise you to keep your rent from this to pay your next months rent because otherwise you will be late paying that. Then keep your rent each month when you receive your UC payments.

When you receive your payments you will have a deduction for the advance payment so you will need to make sure you account for this too.

Unfortunately because you've already receive a budgeting loan through ESA very recently then you won't be able to ask for a budgeting advance with UC until this is paid back.

Discretionary housing payments are not for this purpose so you will be unable to ask for this for this reason.

Sometimes local councils give grants for those on low income to help with a few bits of furniture but you will need to ask your local council to see if they have anything available.

You could also see if there's any charities in your area and see what they have available. For this you'll need to do some searches on the internet maybe. There's also free sites on face book and gumtree. People very often give furniture away that they no longer want.

Do you have family that could also help you?

UCExpert

Hi richydee
What poppy has stated is spot on, except the bit about having an ESA budgeting advance stopping you from having a UC budgeting advance. I have never come across a budgeting advance being denied because of a previous ESA budgeting advance.( I've done hundreds and the only reason to ever stop one is earnings) but poppy could still be right. The only thing that will stop a budgeting advance becoming available to you is having more then £2600 in earnings in the last 6 months. That's also the only rule in policy except already having one with UC. What I will do for you is double check this for you tomorrow and reply back to you by 12pm.

poppy123456

UCExpert said:

Hi richydee
What poppy has stated is spot on, except the bit about having an ESA budgeting advance stopping you from having a UC budgeting advance. I have never come across a budgeting advance being denied because of a previous ESA budgeting advance.( I've done hundreds and the only reason to ever stop one is earnings) but poppy could still be right. The only thing that will stop a budgeting advance becoming available to you is having more then £2600 in earnings in the last 6 months. That's also the only rule in policy except already having one with UC. What I will do for you is double check this for you tomorrow and reply back to you by 12pm.

See link and scroll to the bottom. https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Budgeting-Loan-Advance/Can-I-get-a-Budgeting-Loan-Advance

The following was taken from the above link. You will not be eligible for a Budgeting Advance if you have an earlier Budgeting Loan or Budgeting Advance that has not been fully repaid.

UCExpert

Yes.. again an example of misinterpretation. I just checked... Any previous ESA budgeting advanced will be sent to debt management for recovery within the 40% deduction rule. The advances are estimated on what the claimant enters on to their account declaration. We recover social fund loans and budgeting loans though debt management. He will be able to take a budgeting advance under UC policy as long as there is not earnings of £2600 or more in previous 6 month's and he has served a linking 26 weeks on benefits.

UCExpert

Hart86 said:

Sorry to jump in, the old ESA budgeting loan will be sent to debt management so it’s possible to get a budgeting advance from UC but it’s not guaranteed.
It would depend on perceived affordability. You can only be paying them back 40% of your standard allowance so if your advance takes most of that it’ll limit your chances of the budgeting advance getting approved.

Most areas have charity that can help. You’d be much better doing that then starting your new life in debt and with less money coming in. ❤️

yes, you could possibly be offered a lower amount due to your new claim advance. I agree with searching for the charity option and having your full allowance of UC each month because if you have historic debt with any government body they will deduct it off your personal allowance up to the 40% rule unless its utilities but let's not get off-topic.

richydee2019

Ok, i understand what everybody has said, i will also ask the adviser on Monday and i am sure they will finalize this issue for me and i either will or will not be offered any help in terms of Budgeting Advance.

Im pretty sure that i am currently paying back a Social fund loan , but that is my only current deduction from my benefits of ESA (Work related) And i get £178 per fortnight.

Im presuming i will get a little more now on UC , and when i eventually get back the ESA or Equivalant for my disability/illnesses i will be better of in the long run than i was on ESA, Because with a flat to look after im really going to need as much as they can allow me.

Regardless of weather i get any Budgeting Advance or not i am still moving into the flat so i will have to make do whatever the situation.

I know the local food bank that i went to has a big warehouse full of fridges freezers beds settees and anything else i could possibly need.

And as long as i can prove i am on benefits they will allow me to take a limited amount for my needs to help me get going.

So i will be more than looked after. (its a great place England)

Thank you for everybody's help

Like i said before, without all your help i would of not known where to even begin with making the claim for The rent to be paid for the flat. So again. Thank you for all your help

I will let you know how i get on to help anybody else understand what happens if they are ever in this situation and weather they would get a grant or have to use the food bank or charity's ect.

See you all very soon with an update.

Richard.

poppy123456

Just so that you're aware. Once they start paying you the LCW element for UC then you'll receive the same amount of money as you were receiving on ESA, except you'll be paid monthly not every 2 weeks. The only reason it will look more is because your rent money will be included in with the payment.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @richydee2019. It's great to hear your local food bank may be able to help you with this. It's worth speaking to your local council too as sometimes they have grants available or may be able to direct you to other local help.
Please do let us know how you get on. It must be very exciting moving into your own place?