The obstacles under Article 10 of the Inclusion Allowance Act
The most common misunderstanding about refusal decisions runs as follows: the degree of impairment has been established by expert evaluation, the statutory conditions appear to be met, and yet the application is refused. The reason usually lies not in the assessment of health but in the obstacles the Act prescribes separately from the conditions. An obstacle operates on its own: if it exists, the right is not granted however severe the impairment.
Three obstacles that apply to all support levels
- a granted accommodation or organised housing service under social welfare legislation or other regulations
- a personal disability allowance obtained under special regulations
- an assistance and care allowance obtained under special regulations
Two further obstacles for the fourth and fifth levels
For the two lowest support levels the Act also prescribes property-related obstacles. The right will not be granted to a person:
- who owns a second flat or house — one not used for housing — which they can dispose of or let and thereby secure means for participating in society on an equal basis
- who owns business premises not used for carrying out a registered activity
The obstacle covers only a flat or house that the person does not use for housing and that they can dispose of or let — not any property whatsoever, and not the flat or house the person lives in.
Accommodation: when it is an obstacle and when it is not
Accommodation is the obstacle that goes wrong most often in practice, because the Act uses the same notion in two different ways.
For all support levels, the obstacle is a granted accommodation or organised housing service. The word “granted” is the key here: the service is granted by a decision, in a procedure conducted under social welfare legislation. Anyone who entered a home on the basis of such a decision faces the obstacle — and it is then no longer decisive whether they or their family pay part of the price.
It is different where the accommodation was contracted directly with the home and is paid for by the person or their family, without a decision granting the service. The accommodation service is then not “granted” within the meaning of the Act, so for the first, second and third support levels that obstacle should not apply. It is important to have evidence of this on file: the contract with the provider and proof of payment.
For the fourth and fifth support levels the Act is stricter. There the obstacle is already that the person has been provided with accommodation in a social welfare institution, with another social service provider, in a health or other institution, or with organised housing. That wording is broader: it is not tied to a decision or to who pays, so privately paid accommodation as a rule means refusal at those levels.
What to do when a decision rests on an obstacle
First read the reasoning and identify exactly which obstacle the authority relied on. Then check two things: whether that circumstance really exists today, and whether the authority explained at all why it regards it as an obstacle. If there is no obstacle, or it was wrongly established, the route is an appeal within 15 days of service of the decision.
If your application was refused by reference to one of the obstacles, our office can assess whether the obstacle was correctly established and prepare an appeal.