Hi all,
Im 50, live alone with my Rottie Loki.
Ive worked from the age of 16, until I was medically retired due to having fibromyalgia in 2023.
Ive lived in the same home for 13yrs, moved in with my partner (at the time) we broke up and he moved out just after my diagnosis, leaving me to pay the rent on a 3bed home.
Cut to 2025 and the landlords increasing the rent by £400 a month, im screwed because DWP will only cover the LHA (£900) for 1 bedroom!
Basically im asking, if anyone in the south west of England would PLEASE let me know if you have a 1bed flat, that the local council will cover rent wise?
Full disclosure… i have a DRO because of financials that my ex was keeping from me… itll be closed in October, so my credit history is poor…
I am desperate… i am NOT a ‘dole blagger’ I am genuinely looking for a long term solution, and trying so hard to not end up homeless… at 50, with a disability and a dog!
Thank all for bothering to read my essay 
I really hope someone has some way of helping 
Regards, Paula
You need to claim the Limited Capacity for Work Related Activity component of Universal Credit, and also claim PIP if you have Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is widely recognised as a severely debilitating condition that ruins people’s chances of finding and being able to cope with any steady employment.
PIP and the LCWRA component of UC will entitle you to a Council Tax Disabled Reduction for your amount of bedrooms if you show a visiting council officer that you have a safe space for resting and recuperating from fibro-fog and other occurrences related to Fibromyalgia, and a space that isn’t your main bedrooom or lounge area.
All of this will allow you to stay in your property as with the CT single person 25% reduction, PIP High Rate Mobility Component, PIP Standard Rate Care Component, UC LCWRA, and the CT Disabled Reduction, you will get a substantial amount added to your monthly income.
I suggest you first start doing online searches for how to fill out claims for the above, and look at the SCOPE and other benefits help web sites. In fact scour them, and you’ll soon have all the information you need for a successful application and the expected appeals process.
Be prepared to get knocked back, then go through the motions of Mandatory Reconsiderations (which hardly ever go in the favour of the claimant), and then appeal the decision immediately, then do you homework and involve the CAB and get a CAB advisor to guide you through providing all evidence to the tribunal before your hearing. Tribunals have a reputation for overturning DWP decision maker’s decisions and are heavily in favour of claimants who can be bothered to do their homework.
I forgot to mention, you can also make a claim for a Discretionary Housing Payment from your local council. Councils have a separate budget set aside so that they can offer people who have a shortfall with their rent a payment that is intended to go towards topping up the amount they have to spend on rent. Your application for Discretionary Housing Payment will need to provide a compelling life circumstance reason for them to consider topping up your rent from their “limited” discretionary housing payment budget. This payment can sometimes completely cover the shortfall, especially if you are, eh hem, ‘creative’, with your expression of need.