Money advice
The Money Advisors at Rooftop can provide help and support with getting the right benefit entitlements.
Struggling with your finances? You are not alone!
If you are finding it hard to pay your rent or keep up with bills, you may qualify for additional benefits and support, depending on your circumstances.
Our Income Team and Money Advisors are here to help. Contact us before things get too tough. We are here to support and not to judge. Call 01386 420 800.
Working out what benefits that you are entitled to can be tricky, especially with recent welfare changes.
Rooftop Housing Group’s money advisors can provide help and support with getting the right benefit entitlements.
Our advisors can check current entitlement, do ‘what if’ scenarios, and offer support with challenging benefit decisions and appealing against them. We can also help you access support from organisations outside of Rooftop including charitable grants or make referrals for debt advice. Email: money.advice@rooftopgroup.org
As you go through the information below, you will see the different Benefits that we can help with and can use our online calculator.
There are various websites offering advice on the Cost of Living Crisis or where you can apply for support too. Please scroll down for more information.
Cost of Living Support:
We can help with
Pension Credit tops up pension income and can help with day to day living costs.
If you are over State Pension age, you may be eligible to claim Pension Credit, even if you own your home or have savings.
People who claim Pension Credit may also be able to get:
- additional Cost of Living Payments
- help with heating costs
- help with rent and Council Tax
- a free TV licence for those aged 75 or over
- help with the cost of NHS services, such as NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
Unsure of when you can start claiming your pension? Check your State Pension age here.
If you think you might be entitled, please contact us.
Universal Credit is the government’s new benefit for working age people. It replaces Jobseekers’ Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits and Income Support.
It is paid monthly, direct to you, so you will need to have a bank account, and it can only be claimed for and accessed online or by telephone. If you struggle to get online or need assistance setting up a new claim, you can contact the designated Citizens Advice Bureau Help to Claim Service.
Citizens Advice Bureau Help to Claim Service
Telephone: 0800 144 8444
You will need to have an email address that you can access easily on a regular basis before you start the claim.
Housing costs are included in your Universal Credit claim, and you will then be responsible for paying your rent to Rooftop Housing. You can also request your housing element paid directly to us.
If you have any concerns or would like to know more about Universal Credit, please get in touch.
How to apply for Universal Credit
As part of the Government's Welfare Reform changes, the total amount of benefit that can be received will be a set amount for both single people and couples. This is called the benefit cap.
The benefit cap was brought in to make sure that no family received more in benefits than the average working household.
For the latest details on the current cap, please see the link below:
If you are working age and claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for help with your rent, this will be reduced by 14% if you have one empty bedroom, or 25% for 2 spare rooms or more.
There are rules about children and bedroom entitlement.
For more information on calculating bedroom entitlement please visit the link below:
Calculate how many bedrooms you are eligible for
Check if a room counts as an extra bedroom for Housing Benefit
If you have non-dependent adults living with you (such as children 18 and over) this can affect your benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions or local authority will look at the income of each adult in your household as this affects which deduction they take. Please speak to the Money Advice team for more information and further advice.
For our tenants who have a shared ownership property and pay towards a mortgage you can apply for Support for Mortgage Interest which is a loan from the Government.
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI): Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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Interested? Want to know more?
The Money Helper Service website has further information on all of the above.
Please contact us if you would like an appointment to see us or if you would like advice via email
We also help with
Disability benefits
We can advise and support you with claims for Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, and Attendance Allowance. This also includes assistance with Mandatory Reconsideration’s and Appeals if applicable. If you would like more information on these benefits or on the appeal process, please contact us.
Council tax Support/Discounts
All claims for Council Tax reduction must be made online, through the website of your local authority. It is important that you do this if you have claimed Universal Credit as U.C. will not pay your Council Tax. You can also claim discounts for the only adult in the property and having students living away at university.
Grants
There are many charities and grants available depending on where you live, your personal circumstances, what your occupation is or was, and if you or your partners were once in any of the British Armed Forces. We can signpost or refer to any organisation that we think might be able to help you.
Discretionary Housing Payments
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) provide financial support to help with rent or housing costs.
Eligibility
You can apply for a DHP if you currently get either:
- Housing Benefit
- the housing element of Universal Credit and need more financial support with housing costs.
What a DHP can cover
DHP funding in England and Wales can help people with housing costs, including those affected by:
- the benefit cap.
- removal of the spare room subsidy in the social rented sector
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates
You may get a DHP to cover housing costs for:
- a rent shortfall
- rent deposits.
- rent in advance if you need to move home.
Please contact the Money advice team for more information.
Advice on the Cost of Living Crisis
Many of us are struggling with the rising costs of fuel and food and the cost of living generally. Our Money Advisors are here to help and the Income Team want to support you. Please get in touch on 01386 420800.
There are various websites offering advice or where you can apply for support too.
Martin's Money Tips (moneysavingexpert.com)
Get help with the cost of living - Citizens Advice
Online Application - Severn Trent Trust Fund : Severn Trent Trust Fund (sttf.org.uk)
Act On Energy - Energy Efficiency, Grants & Advice
Get Help - National Energy Action (NEA)
StepChange Debt Charity - Free Expert Debt Advice.
Debt advice | Free debt advice | National Debtline | National Debtline
Loan sharks
Be very careful about borrowing money or accepting goods from anyone not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. They often charge very high interest rates and demand unaffordable repayments. Lenders such as these are known as Loan Sharks.
Not sure what a loan shark is?
If you can answer yes to one or more of these questions you might be borrowing from a loan shark:
- Did they offer you a cash loan?
- Did they not give you paperwork?
- Did they add huge amounts of interest or APR to your loan?
- Have they threatened you?
- Are you scared of people finding out?
- Have they taken your bank card, benefit card, passport, watch or other valuables from you?
Speak in confidence to one of our Money Advisors, or contact the Illegal Money Team available 24/7 on 0300 555 2222 for anonymous information taken in the strictest of confidence.
