Benefits Help Please!!!

*+*Dani*+*

Hello,

I am a 19 year old girl, moving in to my own flat ( my housemate has decided to go live with her boyfriend). I work full time but don't earn loads!! I really don't want to live in sharded accomodation.

Am I entitled to any benefits? It seems as though I would have to be either living in shared accomodation or over 25

Just wondering if I've missed anything???

Caz3121

You would be assessed for LHA as having an entitlement to shared accommodation, you can choose to live where you like, if you want to live in a 2 bedroom house then fine but your entitlement is based on the rate for shared accommodation.

search on LHA for the link to see what the shared accommodation rate is for your area then try entitledto.com to plug in your details (wage etc) and it will give you an idea if there is anything you can claim?.....although if you were not entitled before there has nothing been changed that would affect that unless your wage had reduced

Oldernotwiser

If you can't afford the rent for a flat of your own then you should look for shared accommodation instead. It's not a good idea to take on commitments you can't manage and expect others to bail you out.

mouseymousey99

Couldn't you just look for somewhere smaller? If you are alone?? You say a flat - so I am thinking 1 or 2 bedrooms? We are a couple living in a really small 'starter' house - one bedroom, the other 'bedroom' is tiny and really a box room. Don't forget the bigger the place the more you would spend on heating it - not good news at the moment! Get something small (bedsit) and build up a warchest. Why not get an evening job too, instead of benefits? You would have a social life and build up some savings. (Wouldn't hurt your cv either)....

*+*Dani*+*

I've been looking at really really small places. Not saying that I can not afford it, just wanted to keep all my options open, just to check really if I could claim anything.... after all every little helps.

Thanks for all you posts....... Much appreciated!!

Danielle -x-x-