SDP Gateway

Sorry, probably being silly here.
Client 22 gets ERDL PIP and IRESA. Lives with mum and dad so no SDP. Moving to private rented property. Would then become entitled to SDP. I’m thinking would have to claim UC as SDP not included in his ESA? If this is the case, could he move, be living alone, get SDP in ESA and then claim HB rather than UC as, at that point, he would be entitled to SDP.
Think I’m getting confused with ‘entitled to’ versus ‘in receipt of’

The most straightforward way to do it:
(1) Move into the property and out of the parents house - you are now entitled to the SDP
(2) Ring up ESA and fill out the IS10 over the phone -  you are now in receipt of the SDP
(3) Claim HB as the gateway now applies (requesting a few days backdating if need be)

Yes, he can do this.

When he moves out, he will become entitled to an ESA SDP.  As for HB, the Council will want to see that this has actually happened before they accept an HB claim.  It is not for them to decide whether someone is entitled to ESA with an SDP - for all they know there could be someone claiming CA, but more importantly it just isn’t within their decision making remit.  But there is a one-month window in which to get the ESA SDP sorted out, because a person on ESA(ir) who becomes liable for rent has a month in which to claim HB and it will be automatically backdated to the start of the tenancy.  He just needs to have an SDP on the day when he makes the HB claim.

If it takes longer than a month to sort out the ESA, that is when you start to get differing opinions about whether an SDP must be in payment in “real time” within that first month in order to get the full HB backdating.  Some say that an SDP awarded in, say, week 6 but in arrears back to when he moved out does not enable an HB claim to be made before week 6, and then it’s too late to get it backdated to the tenancy date.  I don’t agree with that, but if the local authority takes that view it is vital to get the SDP sorted during that first month.

Thanks Both.
That’s what I thought. Not so silly after all !

Is another option in this scenario for the client to move out, contact ESA regarding the SDP, and claim HB immediately? The HB claim will initially be refused because the SDP isn’t in payment, but when the SDP is subsequently awarded, even if this takes longer than the one month, you could then ask for the HB refusal decision to be revised in light of the SDP award.

I would stress that I’m not saying this would work, I’m more asking if it would - I will confess to also having a client with a similar scenario coming up (although it has been delayed due to the virus).

Personally I agree with you, but a lot of authorities will not: they will insist that it was correct to refuse the claim because there was no SDP in “real time” on the day it was made.  I think that is wrong, but in some places it will need an appeal to get past that.