Leaseholders who are required to pay for a support cost as part of their service charge may be eligible for Supporting People payments to meet part of these costs. These support costs would normally be to cover warden and alarm costs.
An income-related benefit such as Pension Credit will act as a passport to receiving Supporting People payments. Alternatively, a service user may apply for a Fairer Charging Assessment if they are on a low income.
We will require:
- Proof that the leaseholder is the legal owner of the accommodation which carries a legal requirement to pay the service charges
- Evidence of current receipt of an income-related benefit such as Pension Credit
- A breakdown of the service charges
- A signed data consent form (this is not legally required although if we do not receive a signed data consent form from the leaseholder, they will need to supply us with evidence of the benefit)
- Evidence of the benefit can be a copy of the letter issued annually showing the rates for that year or the Department of Work and Pensions will provide a copy on request which can then be forwarded to Supporting People
Application can be made to the Supporting People office by phone or in writing and payments will be backdated to the date contact is first received. You will then be sent a letter with specific details of what information we will need.
Payments will be made on an annual basis by cheque or BACS and we will also require a copy of the service charges for the current year.