Our Money & Home Energy Adviser, Andrew, was asked to help one of our tenants, a single person living alone in a three-bedroom property, with multiple long-term health conditions, including mental health problems.  Andrew got in touch in June 2024, and found that our tenant had no money in their bank account and was experiencing significant financial hardship, including difficulty affording electricity and other essential living costs.

When Andrew got started, our tenant was receiving Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Reduction. Our tenant was affected by the removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax) and had Council Tax arrears being recovered directly from her Employment and Support Allowance. They had previously made an unsuccessful claim for Adult Disability Payment and wasn’t sure whether they were receiving their full benefit entitlement. Our tenant requested a full benefit check and support to identify and claim any additional welfare benefits she may be entitled to.

Andrew provided tailored support to meet our tenant’s complex needs.  A full benefit check was completed, which confirmed that their existing awards were correct; however, it identified that our tenant was missing out on entitlement to disability benefits.  Andrew helped the tenant submit a new Adult Disability Payment claim, including completing the application and providing supporting medical evidence.  Due to our tenant’s immediate financial hardship, Andrew also referred them for energy vouchers to prevent fuel poverty.

Following a successful Adult Disability Payment award, Andrew helped our tenant to contact the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that all the disability premiums they were entitled to were applied to her ESA claim.  Andrew then assisted our tenant through their migration to Universal Credit. This included explaining how the migration process worked, assisting the tenant to make the claim and making sure the correct elements were included in the Universal Credit award, and that there was no loss in income during the migration process.  Andrew also supported our tenant to claim Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate the impact of the Bedroom Tax and to submit a new Council Tax Reduction claim.

As a result of Andrew’s support, our tenant was awarded Adult Disability Payment at the Enhanced Daily Living rate and Standard Mobility rate, and a Severe Disability Premium was added to their ESA award for the period they were entitled to the benefit.  Our tenant successfully migrated to Universal Credit with the correct elements in place, including Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity and a Transitional Protection Payment. Ongoing Discretionary Housing Payments and Council Tax Reduction were secured, and all benefits were confirmed as correct at the point of case closure.

The support resulted in a total financial gain of £31,107.84 for our tenant, including significant underpayments and increased ongoing income.  Our tenant achieved improved financial stability, reduced risk of financial crisis, and greater confidence in managing their benefits. The case was closed once all entitlements were secured and our tenant confirmed that no further support was required.