Private renting moving from ESA to UC

MikeyB2102

Ok so I've been living in the same property since 2011. My landlord informed me in November that she is selling the place and I have until 31st January to move out.

I have a 12 year old daughter who lives with her mum and she stays at weekends and some of the holidays. I'm 48 years old and on ESA with severe and enhanced disability premiums and I'm on PIP enhanced daily living. The council have put me in touch with letting agents but all they seem to be offering for my budget is really small studio flats. At the moment I'm in three bedroom (I moved in with my ex and when she moved out the landlord let me keep the place on at a reduced rate). I'm not expecting a three bedroom, one bedroom would be ample for my needs. A studio would be fat too small for myself and my daughter when she comes to stay. The council said they would pay up to £1000 deposit. I just can't find much in my area. I have emailed and called about lots of flats but only had two replies. My daughter lives in Enfield which is a different borough and I know that if I move to a different borough then I'd have to go through the whole carry on of switching to Universal Credit. I'm just unsure whether to just apply for universal credit now, or wait until I've found a place just in case I get a place within my borough. I just don't want to find a place out of the borough and have to tell the landlord that he will have to wait a few weeks for his first rent payment.

Apologies for the long post I'm just feeling really deflated with it all and disheartened and confused with the whole system 

poppy123456

My advice is to wait until you've moved house. If for example you found somewhere else to live that's in the same Local Authority then you won't have claim UC and you can remain on your existing benefits. You will be slightly worse off anyway if you have to claim UC but leaving it until you know for certain is the best way in my opinion.

MikeyB2102

poppy123456 said:

My advice is to wait until you've moved house. If for example you found somewhere else to live that's in the same Local Authority then you won't have claim UC and you can remain on your existing benefits. You will be slightly worse off anyway if you have to claim UC but leaving it until you know for certain is the best way in my opinion.

Yeah that's my worry that I'll be worse off but at the same time, to get a one bedroom flat in my area I'd probably have to pay the excess above the LHA anyway, whereas moving to Enfield one bedroom flats cost roughly the same as the studio flats I've seen in my area. I was also thinking that if I switch now then I've got more options of where to look and I don't want to find a place and have to tell the landlord he's gonna have to wait a few weeks for his money. Some sites have said that the money will stay the same and some have said that it'll drop so that's got me confused

poppy123456

As you're claiming SDP with your ESA then there's no doubts you'll be worse off when you claim UC. The LCWRA will be paid from the start of your claim.  You'll also be entitled to the SDP transitional protection (TP), which will be £120/month for you because of the LCWRA.

Do also bear in mind the TP erodes over time also, this means that if other elements increase the TP will decrease until eventually it erodes completely. The planned benefits increase in April of 10.1% will mean you will be no better off.

You said your LA have told you that they will pay up to £1,000 deposit for your rent so that will help. When you do claim your ESA will continue for an extra 2 weeks. Your first UC payment will then be 1 month and 6 days after you claim.

You can ask for an advance payment but this does need to be repaid back and will reduce your future payments.

MikeyB2102

poppy123456 said:

As you're claiming SDP with your ESA then there's no doubts you'll be worse off when you claim UC. The LCWRA will be paid from the start of your claim.  You'll also be entitled to the SDP transitional protection (TP), which will be £120/month for you because of the LCWRA

That's a big drop. At the moment I get the EDP and SDP - 348.60 so those will go and in its place I'd get £120. So I'll be £228.60 a month worse off?

poppy123456

MikeyB2102 said:

poppy123456 said:

As you're claiming SDP with your ESA then there's no doubts you'll be worse off when you claim UC. The LCWRA will be paid from the start of your claim.  You'll also be entitled to the SDP transitional protection (TP), which will be £120/month for you because of the LCWRA

That's a big drop. At the moment I get the EDP and SDP - 348.60 so those will go and in its place I'd get £120. So I'll be £228.60 a month worse off?

That's not correct, the £120 is because of the SDP. When you claim UC you'll be entitled to LCWRA element from the start of your claim, which is £354.28/month as well as standard element of £334.91/month. Plus housing element for 1 bedroom, what ever that is for the area you're looking for. You can check the amount for that here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Your ESA is currently £887.25/month.. £204.75/week. Then your housing benefit on top of that.

When you claim UC your monthly amount will be £809.19/month.. then housing element on top of that, what ever it is.

MikeyB2102

poppy123456 said:

MikeyB2102 said:

poppy123456 said:

As you're claiming SDP with your ESA then there's no doubts you'll be worse off when you claim UC. The LCWRA will be paid from the start of your claim.  You'll also be entitled to the SDP transitional protection (TP), which will be £120/month for you because of the LCWRA

That's a big drop. At the moment I get the EDP and SDP - 348.60 so those will go and in its place I'd get £120. So I'll be £228.60 a month worse off?

That's not correct, the £120 is because of the SDP. When you claim UC you'll be entitled to LCWRA element from the start of your claim, which is £354.28/month as well as standard element of £334.91/month. Plus housing element for 1 bedroom, what ever that is for the area you're looking for. You can check the amount for that here. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Your ESA is currently £887.25/month.. £204.75/week. Then your housing benefit on top of that.

When you claim UC your monthly amount will be £809.19/month.. then housing element on top of that, what ever it is.

Thank you so much for that clarification. So I'll be £78 worse off per month then. My main worry was that I've just had a year and a half of trying to get  PIP so for me to just get awarded the SDP then move onto UC and they take the whole lot away at once was a big concern. Because I didn't expect it and because its a £78 drop then I might just switch to UC. To get a one bedroom house in my area I'd probably have to pay £200-£250 a month more than I would in an area on the outskirts of London, so I have to weigh all that up.

Thanks again for explaining it so clearly to me. Much appreciated!

poppy123456

Please also be aware that if you claim UC now and when you do move your housing element is more than it currently would be then you would be worse off again. This is because of the TP will erode as other elements increase so you won’t be any better off. 

It still maybe worth waiting before claiming UC. 

MikeyB2102

poppy123456 said:

Please also be aware that if you claim UC now and when you do move your housing element is more than it currently would be then you would be worse off again. This is because of the TP will erode as other elements increase so you won’t be any better off. 

It still maybe worth waiting before claiming UC. 

I will check the LHA for the area I move to, I'm sure Enfield is the same or less (I checked it a couple of weeks ago). I just don't want to make a bad impression on a new landlord by telling him that I'll take the flat and then tell him he'll have to wait 5 weeks or so for his first rent payment. I'm terrible at budgeting so I'm going to ask if I can have the rent paid directly to the landlord like it is now