Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

[wales01man]

Been asked by a neighbour who is trying to claim this payment a Question
Is DLA taken into account when submitting a claim as we understand its not taken as income.
Any advice would be helpful I can pass it on .

[des8]

Re: Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

I understand (probably incorrectly) whether you are granted a DHP, how much it is and for how long it is paid will be a decision for the local authority and will entirely depend on an individual’s circumstances and the purpose of the DHP.
In other words as it depends on individual LAs it seems your neighbour will have to ask his LA.

[wales01man]

Re: Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

They applied before and their DLA was taken into the equation as other means tested benefits do not take DLA as income Their Council are not very helpful and they are not very forceful in the argument they need some if available independent advice

[des8]

Re: Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

I don't have personal experience of this "benefit", but I understood it was a temporary top up if the benefits cap affected a claimant.
If a claimant is in receipt of DLA I believe they are exempt from the benefit cap. (I don't know if that depends on the level of DLA)
From that it seems as your neighbour gets DLA he won't be granted Discretionary Housing Benefit.
However please keeps us posted as to how the claim pans out.

[wales01man]

Re: Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

They with my help have been looking into this and are reading conflicting information.
DISABILITYRIGHTSUK state DLA is not classed as income in the case of claiming the money but Local authority websites say it is /
Any ideas as to where to get a definitive answer

[des8]

Re: Bedroom Tax Discretionary housing payment

This quote comes from http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/bedroom-tax
The authority may ask for detailed information about your circumstances and those of your household. Explain these fully, e.g. any disability needs you have, as otherwise the authority could take into account the fact that you receive state benefits, such as disability living allowance, when deciding on your discretionary housing payment request (even if housing benefit rules would normally ignore these). -

This seems to contradict what you say in post 5.
I reckon it is probably down to each individual authority, but I'll keep looking.