Grief-stricken pensioner feared losing his home and turned to CHAC

A grief-stricken pensioner turned to CHAC for advice when he feared he might lose his home.

David was a joint secure Council tenant who lived with his partner in Herne Bay. When his partner died, David became extremely worried about losing the home he had shared with her.

How CHAC helped

In his state of bereavement, David was confused and struggling to cope. Canterbury Housing Advice Centre (CHAC) invited David to attend one of our Herne Bay outreach sessions. We were able to reassure him that he was now the secure tenant of the flat in which he lived. We were also able to help David make a telephone call to Kent County Council’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service. This service simplifies the process of reporting a death to various organisations and government departments – David only needed to provide the details to the Department for Work and Pensions once and the Tell Us Once process took care of notifying other relevant statutory agencies on his behalf. 

As it was David’s partner who had claimed housing benefit to help pay the rent for their flat, it now became necessary for David to make his own claim. He was unable to do this himself, so we helped him make a claim for both housing benefit and council tax support.

The outcome

We helped David provide all the information required by the Council for both applications and he was subsequently awarded weekly housing benefit payments of £97 plus weekly Council Tax support payments of £22. As a result, David was able to avoid accumulating any rent arrears or council tax debt.

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