Make sure you’re claiming all you are entitled to

You might be able to claim benefits or increase your current benefits if you’re:

• of working age and on a low income 
• sick or disabled 
• of State Pension age and on a low income 
• a carer 
• responsible for children 

Depending on your situation, you can use the Turn2us, Entitledto, and Policy in Practice benefit calculators to check which benefits you can get.

You’ll need information about savings, income, pension, childcare payments and any existing benefits (for you and your partner).

If you’re not a British or Irish citizen 

You can use the Support for Migrant Families tool if you’re responsible for children under 18 and you want to find out what benefits and other help you can get.

Get your first benefit payment early 

While waiting for your first payment or a decision on your application, you can usually get your first payment early when you apply for benefits. This is called a ‘short-term benefit advance’. You can ask for an advance if you’ve recently applied for:

• Universal Credit 
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Carer’s Allowance
• Pension Credit
• State Pension

You’ll be told when you’ll be paid and how much. You’ll usually be paid on the same day or the next working day. It’ll be paid into your bank or Post Office account.

It is your responsibility to repay any advances. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will deduct a portion of your future payments until you have paid it back.

To support people through the cost-of-living crisis, the Government will send you a ‘cost of living payment’ if you:

• get certain benefits – for example, Universal Credit, PIP or Attendance Allowance
• are over State Pension age and get Winter Fuel Payments

To check if you’re getting the help you’re entitled to visit www.gov.uk for more details but here are some examples:

Cost of Living Payment: Households on means tested benefits (including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Tax Credits) will receive a payment of £900 this year with an additional amount being paid to those who receive disability benefits. This will be made automatically in three instalments, one in spring (between April – May 2023), another in autumn (between October and November 2023) and a third in spring 2024 for most people. For more information on the Cost of Living Payment see here.

Winter Fuel Payments: In the winter months, pensioners can get between £250 and £600 to help pay heating bills. For more information on Winter Fuel Payments see here.

Pensioner Cost of Living Payment: In addition to the Winter Fuel Payments, pensioners will receive an extra one-off payment of between £150 and £300 which will be paid as an automatic top-up to the Winter Fuel Payment. For more information on Pensioner Cost of Living Payments see here.

Disability Cost of Living Payment: Most people were paid the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment automatically between 20 June and 4 July 2023 if you get the following benefits: Disability Living Allowance, PIP, Attendance Allowance, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance, War Pension Mobility Supplement. For more information on Disability Cost of Living Payments see here.

Cold Weather Payment: Households in receipt certain benefits (including Pension Credit & Universal Credit) can get an extra £25 per week during the winter if the temperature is zero or below for more than seven days. For more information on Cold Weather Payments see here.

There are grants available to help with energy and water bills for some customers so it’s definitely worth checking if you could apply for one of these. Find out more about grants at www.turn2us.org.uk.

You might be able to get extra money from a charity. Some of these charitable grants are open to everyone, others might be available to you based on your situation – for example, your health or your previous or current job.

You can check your eligibility for local and national help here.

If your worried about paying your rent, please talk to your Rental Income Officer on rentsincome@soha.co.uk or call them on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone).

To contact your Technical Officer or Lettings Officer for your locality, email housing@soha.co.uk or call us on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone).

Taking in a lodger or sub-letting a room in your home can be a good way to help you pay your rent and share some of your household bills. But – it comes with responsibilities and may affect your benefits.

If you want to take in a lodger or sub-let a room, you need to talk to us first. You’ll need to contact your council’s housing benefit team.

Contact us on housing@soha.co.uk or by calling 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone) to discuss further.

Remember – you can sub-let a room, but you can’t sublet your whole home. If you do sub-let your property, you’ll be breaking the terms of your tenancy agreement.

Have a look at our leaflet on having a lodger here. It contains a sample tenancy agreement, and more information.

If you’re struggling to meet your mortgage repayments, the government could be able to help. You could be able to sign up for Support for Mortgage Interest or other government benefits that might boost your income.

In the first instance, you should contact your lender who will discuss how to help you meet repayments. Your lender can talk you through your options and offer suggestions, including:

• temporary payment arrangements
• lengthening the term of your mortgage, or
• switching temporarily to interest-only repayments

If you are worried about being unable to meet repayments, the following organisations can provide you with free advice; Shelter, National Debtline, and StepChange.

If you are claiming any of the following benefits, you may be entitled to Support for Mortgage Interest, which is offered as a repayable loan:

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit

For more information on Support for Mortgage Interest visit www.moneyhelper.org.uk

It’s worth checking that you are claiming all you’re entitled to as benefits can help boost your income to meet mortgage payment. Information on the types of benefits you could be claiming are above.

We are all experiencing our bills rising month by month but there is support available.

If you need help with your utility bills, please see here.

Budget planning

Go to www.moneyhelper.org.uk to complete their simple budget planner to see other suggestions on ways to relieve financial pressure. There was also a pull-out budget planner in the summer edition of Soha’s Hometalk. Contact the Communications team communications@soha.co.uk for a paper copy if you no longer have the one that was posted to you.

Food

If you’re struggling to afford food, you could try to reduce your shopping bill by using local Community Larders which is a collection of surplus food that are available to the public. Foodbanks are also available if you need access to food in an emergency. More information on local support with food costs and other sources of help here.

Vulnerable households

The Household Support Fund has been replaced with the Residents Support Fund and each Local Authority (Council) will have their own guidelines. Please check with them for further information and criteria. If you’re not sure which Local Authority you live in, you can find out here: Find your local council – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Expecting mothers

The Healthy Start Scheme helps to provide milk, vegetables and fruit for expectant mothers and households with children under 4 on a low income. You can check eligibility and apply online here.

The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a £500 payment to help with the costs of a new baby: you can find out what you’ll get, eligibility and how to apply (claim for SF100) here.

Council Tax

It’s worth finding out if you might be payment more Council Tax than you need to. There are reductions available for people on low incomes, and if you’re the only adult in your house then your bill can reduce by 25%. For more information on whether you can pay less for Council Tax see here.

Bedroom Tax 

If you or your partner are of working age, or a mixed-age couple claiming housing benefit or Universal Credit and have one of more spare bedrooms, you’ll lose some of your benefit because of bedroom tax.

If your home is bigger than you need, you will have to pay the extra amount. We can help advise you if you’re in a property which is bigger than your needs. You may wish to bid for another, smaller home, apply to be rehoused with a friend or family member, exchange your home with someone who needs to move into a larger property, or take in a lodger (see above for information on lodgers).

Contact us on housing@soha.co.uk or call us on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone) to discuss your options.

If you have to take out a loan, please ensure it is with a regulated lender. There are people taking advantage of the current crisis by offering illegal lending. They often befriend you from out of the blue and offer money to help. These are so called loan sharks; they should be reported if you’re approached: Online you can do this at www.stoploansharks.co.uk or call 0300 555 2222.

In our area we have Credit Unions (also known as Community Banks) which can offer a loan after only a few months of saving (Google “Credit Unions in my area”) and we have also recently become aware of a Community Interest Company called Fair for You which might be helpful.

Please note that Soha does not endorse any particular provider.

To keep up to date with the latest scams, including cost of living scams, please see Action Fraud.

Get specialist support if you’re struggling with debt. You can call Citizens Advice 0800 144 8848 (Freephone), www.citizensadvice.org.uk or Money Helper, 0800 138 7777, www.moneyhelper.org.uk, for free and impartial advice. They may help you find a debt management service but please be careful that any arrangement you enter in to should not involve a fee. The majority of these services are free, but some are not.

If you’re worried about paying your rent, please talk to your Rental Income Officer on rentsincome@soha.co.uk or call them on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone).

To contact your Technical Officer or Lettings Officer for your locality, email housing@soha.co.uk or call us on 0800 014 15 45 (Freephone).

• www.moneysavingexpert.com is an independent source of ideas and deals to save money which is run by Martin Lewis who you may have seen on the TV. He sends out a weekly free newsletter by email.
• www.thriftylesley.com provides recipe ideas, including children’s packed lunches, for pence rather than pounds. Lesley has contributed to Soha’s Hometalk magazine in the past.
• Across the region many organisations are offering support in the form of food banks, food larders, and community fridges to help with the rising cost of food. For more information on these services please see this helpful leaflet.
• Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 or www.citizensadvice.org.uk. Citizens Advice offer telephone advice or you may find an immediate answer among the many topics on their website. You can also search for the address of your local branch if you would like to see someone in person.
• Sometimes a change to the way or time at which you pay bills can relieve some of the pressure. There are several organisations offering free money management coaching, including Citizens Advice (above) www.themoneycourse.org (in person or online) and www.capmoneycourse.org (in person or online).

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious or worried by the cost of living crisis, you don’t have to face it alone. As a first point of call, it is important you talk to your GP if your money problems are affecting your mental or physical health.

Mind, the mental health charity, has information on organising your finances, claiming benefits when you have a mental health problem, dealing with services, and looking after your mental health when you’re worried about money.

If you need to speak to someone right now you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 (Monday to Sunday 24 hours).

You can also text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 to speak to a trained Shout volunteer. Texts are free, anonymous, confidential from anywhere in the UK and available any time, day or night.