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Starting to think we're in a real predicament.
Elkiemoo
Posts: 39 Forumite
Hello everyone,
I was hoping you might be able to help. My boyfriend and I are unfortunately both recently unemployed. The lease on the place we're in now is up on 6th March. So we have about 6 weeks to find a new place. The main problem is, we have absolutely no savings, and are going to have to claim Housing Benefit. It appears you can only start doing this once you have a place, and specific address, and it will take several months to process. We are experiencing great difficulty in finding a local 1 bed property where DSS is welcome. This is also the first time we have ever been in this position and it is very unclear to us how renting a flat with Housing Benefit works. Will a Landlord really be willing to wait for months for payments to start coming in, and in the meantime, what about the Council Tax and Deposit? We're so confused and don't know where to turn.
Moving in with family and friends is a last result, but they have limited space and ultimately we will have to be separated. We are really hoping to avoid this if at all possible as we won't be able to afford to see each other very often.
I'm hoping someone with experience will be kind enough to explain the process and clarify some of the blurry points. We would also appreciate any suggestions of where to look for properties that welcome DSS. We live in the South East of London and wish to move locally.
Also, we've seen some horrible sites about DSS tenants, which have made us feel very small and hopeless. We're starting to feel really miserable about the whole thing. I would like to add that we are both willing to work and both actively seeking employment.
Thank you for reading.
I was hoping you might be able to help. My boyfriend and I are unfortunately both recently unemployed. The lease on the place we're in now is up on 6th March. So we have about 6 weeks to find a new place. The main problem is, we have absolutely no savings, and are going to have to claim Housing Benefit. It appears you can only start doing this once you have a place, and specific address, and it will take several months to process. We are experiencing great difficulty in finding a local 1 bed property where DSS is welcome. This is also the first time we have ever been in this position and it is very unclear to us how renting a flat with Housing Benefit works. Will a Landlord really be willing to wait for months for payments to start coming in, and in the meantime, what about the Council Tax and Deposit? We're so confused and don't know where to turn.
Moving in with family and friends is a last result, but they have limited space and ultimately we will have to be separated. We are really hoping to avoid this if at all possible as we won't be able to afford to see each other very often.
I'm hoping someone with experience will be kind enough to explain the process and clarify some of the blurry points. We would also appreciate any suggestions of where to look for properties that welcome DSS. We live in the South East of London and wish to move locally.
Also, we've seen some horrible sites about DSS tenants, which have made us feel very small and hopeless. We're starting to feel really miserable about the whole thing. I would like to add that we are both willing to work and both actively seeking employment.
Thank you for reading.
:A
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Comments
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Hello everyone,
I was hoping you might be able to help. My boyfriend and I are unfortunately both recently unemployed. The lease on the place we're in now is up on 6th March. Start a claim for HB/HLA for the property you are in now, immediately. They will not accept back-dated claims! So we have about 6 weeks to find a new place. Not necessarily. The main problem is, we have absolutely no savings, and are going to have to claim Housing Benefit. It appears you can only start doing this once you have a place, and specific address, and it will take several months to process. Start a claim for the property you are occuping NOW! It does not tke months to process a claim at all. Please communicate your problems paying the rent with your landlord immediately! We are experiencing great difficulty in finding a local 1 bed property where DSS is welcome. You might not have to find one at all, you could stay exactly where you are IF the landlord is amenable. This is also the first time we have ever been in this position and it is very unclear to us how renting a flat with Housing Benefit works. Will a Landlord really be willing to wait for months for payments to start coming in, and in the meantime, what about the Council Tax and Deposit? You can apply for Council Tax relief at the same time as you apply for HB?LHA but you MUST start your claim for JSA right away. DO NOT DELAY! We're so confused and don't know where to turn.
Moving in with family and friends is a last result, but they have limited space and ultimately we will have to be separated. We are really hoping to avoid this if at all possible as we won't be able to afford to see each other very often.
I'm hoping someone with experience will be kind enough to explain the process and clarify some of the blurry points. We would also appreciate any suggestions of where to look for properties that welcome DSS. We live in the South East of London and wish to move locally.
Also, we've seen some horrible sites about DSS tenants, which have made us feel very small and hopeless. We're starting to feel really miserable about the whole thing. I would like to add that we are both willing to work and both actively seeking employment.
Thank you for reading.
Please, please both get yourselves down to the Jobcentre TODAY and start a claim for JSA plus HB/LHA and Council Tax relief immediately.
The worst-case scenario you are imagining may not come about IF you follow my advice.
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B&T's advice is right...
Hope things get better & you find some work as you clearly want to... hope it works out, best of luck...
Cheers!
Lodger0 -
Don't forget to take with you to the Jobcentre your P45's, your Council Tax documentation and your tenancy agreement or any other documents proving what you are paying your landlord and what for. This is because generally you would be expected to pay your water-rates out of your JSA.
Please, please do this right away! In some circumstances it MIGHT be possible to back-date your claim but in reality they often reject it. They certainly did in my case when I didn't sign on for three weeks after I finished in my last post, so I learned they hard way. Now, you don't have to0 -
Why are you intending to move at all? Has the landlord served notice to quit? If you keep your landlord fully informed, chances are he will be happy to keep on good tenants and be patient while your benefits claim is sorted. The key is to chase your claim every few days, and update your landlord on a weekly basis. If the landlord doesn't want you to stay as DSS, he will have to serve you with two months notice.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
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Thank you everyone, but it gets a little more complicated. Please rest assured that we have both started signing on for JSA. The property we are living in currently has been paid for, up front, by my parents until the 6th March. We currently owe them in excess of £6,000 as we have been unable to pay them back. Obviously they do not want to continue the lease in their name and be even further out of pocket. We tried applying for housing benefits when we first started experiencing problems but we were given a Landlord form by Lewisham as they would not accept the tenancy agreement because it did not give them sufficient information? As my parents had already paid for the rent on the property and we did not owe anything to the Landlord, it seemed we couldn't claim. I am certain the Landlord doesn't accept DSS as we had to sign a declaration before we moved in stating our work/wages and my Mother was the guarantor. The rent for the flat we are in at the moment is £850 a month. I don't think you can claim that much for a 1 bedroom flat in Lewisham... Also, we need to be somewhere where we can afford to pay the rent once we resume work. I predict that my boyfriend in particular will have to take a much lower wage than he had in his previous job...:A0
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Yes, I agree that you do appear to be in a predicament but not right at this moment, not until March. Anything could happen between now and then, like finding work.
How long have you been in this property and how much of the rent in advance have you been able to pay back?0 -
Would I be right in thinking that the tenancy is in your parents name but only you and your BF live at the property?0
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That's my understanding N79 but a new revelation might be about to pop up at any time....0
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Thank you everyone, but it gets a little more complicated. Please rest assured that we have both started signing on for JSA. The property we are living in currently has been paid for, up front, by my parents until the 6th March. We currently owe them in excess of £6,000 as we have been unable to pay them back. Obviously they do not want to continue the lease in their name and be even further out of pocket.
We tried applying for housing benefits when we first started experiencing problems but we were given a Landlord form by Lewisham as they would not accept the tenancy agreement because it did not give them sufficient information? As my parents had already paid for the rent on the property and we did not owe anything to the Landlord, it seemed we couldn't claim.
I am certain the Landlord doesn't accept DSS as we had to sign a declaration before we moved in stating our work/wages and my Mother was the guarantor. The rent for the flat we are in at the moment is £850 a month. I don't think you can claim that much for a 1 bedroom flat in Lewisham... Also, we need to be somewhere where we can afford to pay the rent once we resume work. I predict that my boyfriend in particular will have to take a much lower wage than he had in his previous job...
Have you even tried to claim LHA or given up at the first hurdle??? Let's face it you have plenty of time on your hands! AFAIK you can claim council tax benefits even if you have already paid, after all most council's collect all twelve months by the start of February. The landlord doesn't get a choice to accept DSS DURING the tenancy, he will have to serve you with two months notice to quit. I don't see why he'd be that fussed given (a) the rent is already paid up to March and (b) you have a guarantor.
If your mum is guarantor the landlord can indeed seek to get any unpaid rent from her while you are waiting to get LHA, the money is then paid to you and you pay it straight back to your mum. Even if you don't get the full amount of LHA it will be something towards the rent now, otherwise you are finding £850 a month. By all means hand in your one month's notice in March, but at least start the LHA process now - LHA is paid in arrears so will have a nightmare in a new place if you don't apply ASAP.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Shelter can advise you on all these processes. Visit their website and give them a call.0
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