I cannot survive i need help

david112

Hello i recentley had to move to universal credit i suffer with paranoid schizophrenia and im unable to work. This month my statement shows im receiving £451 in UC my rent alone is £600 a month as i live in a hotel to be near my family for support.

I have been trying to get council accomodation off and on for 7 years but dudley council are making it difficult.

Before i was on ESA with SDP but now im on UC im £440 worse off they also cut my housing benefit from £345 a month to £260 a month so im £85 worse off there so in total im currently £525 a month worse off. Im still getting PIP thankfully, i dont no what to do this is making me very stressed and ill can anyone help or suggest what i should do?

I will not even be able to buy food on friday when im paid i wont even be able to pay my full rent.

April2018mom

Are you receiving SDP? If so this is not appropriate. What happened to your ESA? In order to provide more information, please tell us more about your situation. Keep us updated. 

david112

Hello due to a poor mental state i was unfortunatley incarceratedfor 3 months so all my benefits stopped. I was told i could not go back on esa as it had been l9nger than 6 weeks so i had to apply for UC nothing has changed so i think i should still qualify for SDP?

poppy123456

Hi,

SDP doesn't exist under UC unfortunately. There's new legislation that came out a couple of weeks ago and those that had to move to UC because of a change of circumstances and lost their SDP will at some point receive some backdated money. However, to qualify for this you need to have been claiming the SDP within 1 month of claiming UC.

As it was 3 months for you before you claimed UC then these new rules will unfortunately not apply to you.

You should be claiming the 1 bedroom rate of local housing allowance for your rent. Check how much you should be claiming for your area here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Are you sending in fit/sick notes for your UC claim? If not then you'll need to speak to your GP and ask for this so the you can start the limited capability for work process off.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @david112 and welcome to the community.

As mentioned by @Hart86 and @poppy123456, please make sure they are paying the correct amount towards your housing, as you're in receipt of PIP this should be the 1 bedroom LHA rate, not the shared room rate. 

I also wanted to mention that if you're struggling it's worth getting in touch with your local council, CAB or Job Centre. As they could help you with the food bank referral or in the direction of other crisis loans or grants available in your area. You might also qualify for a DHP (discretionary housing payment) to temporarily help with the shortfall in your rent.