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My son (21) receiving lcwra and pip

ggame

My son had been staying with us and i as his appointee receive his benefits as he has adhd and autism and extremely impulsive. Anyway our relationship is broken down and he is sofasurfing right now. He will also start working but he does not last with jobs. If we get him a flat can he get the whole rent, will we end up paying some extra, how is he supposed to have a living with reduced benefit? We are stuck and dont know what to do? What is the best advise please?
Thanks

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poppy123456

If he moves into a flat which is privately rented then he will be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate of local housing allowance. Tried posting a link to the LHA rates but it keeps telling me there's an error and to try later.

If he starts working you need to report the changes on his journal.

£344 of his earnings will be ignored because of the work allowance (if he claims for help with the rent). Anything more than this will reduce his UC by 55%. Do be aware that if the work he does contradicts the reasons why he was found to have LCWRA then it could go against him when he’s next reassessed.

ggame

Thank you. He is in and out of jobs all the time. He fails to turn up or some other reasons. It has been like that for years. It was stated on his reasons. When he got 1000 pounds income from his last job the amount he got was about 345 if i remember rightly but i need to know if it will affect his housing benefit as we might need to puy our names as guarantor to rent? Do you know how much he is allowed to earn before it affects his benefits, especially his housing benefit?
Thanks

poppy123456

Unless he lives in supported or temporary housing then his rent will be paid as part of his UC known as the housing element. Housing benefit is a completely different benefit.

As advised if the earnings he receives are more than £344 each assessment period then his total UC will reduce by 55%.

As i advised in my other comment, the Local housing allowance calculator is showing there's an error so i can't post the link. I will try again later if it's working. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/error.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/search.asp If his PIP includes the daily living part then he's be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate of LHA.

calcotti

ggame said:. Do you know how much he is allowed to earn before it affects his benefits, especially his housing benefit?

The easiest way to check this is to use a benefit calculator and put different earnings figures in
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Your thread title mentions LCWRA so I assume he is getting UC. That means that he will get any help with rent through his UC, he will not be able to claim Housing Benefit.

Alex_Alumni

Hi @ggame thanks for reaching out today, and joining the community. Would you mind me asking how old your son is, just so that I understand fully?

I'm sorry to hear that your relationship has broken down, that must be quite hard to manage emotionally. Have you had any support around your relationship with him previously, such as any family counselling?

You mention he's sofa surfing at the moment, hopefully he's staying safe with someone he knows, as that will help ease your worries too.

Scope does offer support for finding and staying in work, so I'd encourage you to see if he might be eligible for any of the employment services we offer.

Citizens Advice also have information about reasonable adjustments, which might help your son feel more settled and comfortable when he's in work. Workplaces have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.

By law, an employer must consider making reasonable adjustments if they are requested or a disabled employee is having difficulty in their job, and must make changes if they are reasonable.

I hope Poppy is helping with advice on benefits for you, as that area isn't one I'm too familiar with. If there's anything you feel I can help further with, or something doesn't make sense, please do ask.

Alex

ggame

Dear Alex, thank you for your help. My son is 21 but very immature and confused. He is with a friend right now and will register himself homeless i believe. I do not know what happens after? He does not want to reveal his disability on job applications as he is afraid of being rejected and his organisational skill is very poor, he is either late or cannot make it to work. His last job only lasted 2 days. So we are on a a harsh and long journey with him. Yes he does get lcwra benefit as well as pip.
Regards

Alex_Alumni

Thanks for explaining @ggame that's really helpful, I can appreciate it's a difficult journey, so make sure you take time to look after yourself as well.

I'm not sure what happens after registering homeless either, but this information on gov.uk explains what makes someone legally homeless and what help you can get.

I would encourage him to contact his local council for any available support, as well as Shelter England (if you are based in England).

Disclosing a disability when searching for a job is a personal choice, but in my own experience it has helped me get the support I need, and helped me feel understood and supported by my colleagues. There are always certain challenges, like negative attitudes to disability that you might come into contact with, so I can completely understand why he'd be afraid of rejection.

Perhaps talking to someone about these feelings would be helpful, your son can refer himself directly to NHS IAPT services online, they are also known as talking therapies.

If you are able to share Scope's employment services with him, or even the Scope Helpline, hopefully that would help with taking steps towards feeling more settled in himself, it depends what he feels comfortable with.

We can offer additional support if you feel you need it, so just let us know if you feel we can help.

poppy123456

Being single with no children doesn't help much at all for social housing, even when you have a disability. Privately renting is likely the only option here but trying to find a landlord that will accept someone claiming benefits is another story.

ggame

Dear Poppy
His housing allowance for Reading is £182 per week but finding a flat this amount is difficult. If the rent is more than that what happens? Does he or us need to pay the difference? How can someone survive with this amount of money and not wxpected to work and pay for the expenses, beyond me?

ggame

I think we need to be guarantor for him. I am his apointee and receiving his benefits. He is extremely impulsive otherwise.

poppy123456

If there's a shortfall then he will need to pay the difference. It's definitely not easy if you live alone, which is why the majority of young people house share.

ggame

Finding him a room might be a better option then ?

ggame

But i believe LHA for roomshare is less than a flat, is that so?

poppy123456

It would be yes. That's if he would be able to live with people he doesn't know.

calcotti

ggame said:

But i believe LHA for roomshare is less than a flat, is that so?

For UC he is entitled, provided he gets daily Living PIP, to a maximum of the one bedroom rate regardless of what type of accommodation he chooses to live in. Could be a room in a shared property or a 4 bedroom house - the maximum help available is the same.