Housing allowance granted..but less than my rent..what next?!!?

Fran

KimYeovil wrote: »

Fran. You missed post #3?

Yes I did! At least my maths was the same...:p

cifpower

astonsmummy wrote: »

But are they not only for tennants of partial HB?
Thats what I was told.

What do you mean "partial HB"? I was on IS and received HB and applied for and got a DHP

cw18

partial HB is when you don't get the full amount they'd pay to someone with no income above the IS rate (I think).

DH and I were both in receipt of IB for a few months last year, which meant we had more income than a couple on IS. So when we qualified for ISMI they deducted the 'extra income' from that, meaning we had the same as we'd have had if we were jointly claiming IS rather than individually claiming IB. They'd have done the same dedcution had we been claiming HB (or rather LHA) for rent.

astonsmummy

cifpower wrote: »

What do you mean "partial HB"? I was on IS and received HB and applied for and got a DHP

As in not full housing benefit, When I was on IS my whole HA rent was paid.
I receiced a newsletter and it said if you receive partil HB you can apply for a DHP, when I asked at the HB office about it they said only if your on partial beneift, I get partial now because I work part time as a lone parent, I am entitled to roughly half my rent paid, sorry if that dont make sense.

dmg24

astonsmummy wrote: »

As in not full housing benefit, When I was on IS my whole HA rent was paid.
I receiced a newsletter and it said if you receive partil HB you can apply for a DHP, when I asked at the HB office about it they said only if your on partial beneift, I get partial now because I work part time as a lone parent, I am entitled to roughly half my rent paid, sorry if that dont make sense.

I don't know if the rules have changed with LHA (I don't believe they have, but could be wrong), but those in receipt of full HB were allowed to apply for DHP's. I think I had one for a fortnight once (until the Rent Service decided I was entitled to more HB)!

cifpower

astonsmummy wrote: »

As in not full housing benefit, When I was on IS my whole HA rent was paid.
I receiced a newsletter and it said if you receive partil HB you can apply for a DHP, when I asked at the HB office about it they said only if your on partial beneift, I get partial now because I work part time as a lone parent, I am entitled to roughly half my rent paid, sorry if that dont make sense.

I see. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

okra

astonsmummy wrote: »

But are they not only for tennants of partial HB?
Thats what I was told.

That depends on how your local council interprets the regulations. The rules regarding DHP's state that they can be paid up to the value of the LHA rate applicable. Some councils interpret this to mean that the housing benefit paid plus the DHP can only ever total the value of the LHA rate. Obviously this was the case for your council.

Some councils, however, interpret this to mean that they can pay a DHP equal in value to the LHA rate applicable. So the OP might be entitled to his housing benefit of £85, plus up to £85 again. It depends on how your council choose to interpret the regulations.

Also worth mentioning, the DHP are rarely paid long-term. The decision maker might grant the DHPs for a length of time, but might expect to see you reducing your lifestyle to fit your means over time - ie moving.

sadken

real1314 wrote: »

OP:

Contact the council and ask them why they have not allowed you the 13 weeks HB / LHA that you can have at full rent as you have been paying your rent in full yourself without claiming HB / LHA in the past 52 weeks.

It's often overlooked, and will at least help you for the first 3 months. It was in the LHA regs from April 08 and was in the old HB regs.

Point 18 here:- http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/claims-processing/lha/products/LHA-national-landlord-QA.pdf

You could even print the linked page out and give the council a copy.

Very helpful info..thanks a lot.
Seems like I should be ok for the 1st 13 weeks.
I am going to the housing office 1st thing to get everything clarified.

mummytofour

Best advice I have is to talk to you LL and explain maybe they will drop the rent a little, its cheaper to keep you there than get a new tenant.

Katlamity

Well, the last few posts went past my head but I'm new to this whole scenario so no wonder. I'm in a similar position to (and sympathise with) SadKen and trying hard to get to grips with the awfulness of having no job.

I too have been made redundant this month but didn't qualify for any statutory pay because my employment (in this instance) is below two years. I've applied for 17 jobs, each one getting further away from my skills and experience as I get more desperate - I have professional skills but there are no jobs, or the few that are go to younger people. Most applications disappear into the ether, probably because they can deduce from my cv that I'm over 45 (public sector ones are the worst as they demand your date of birth for "Equal Opportunities Monitoring".) I can spend days preparing superb applications, matching all the required abilities, only for them to just be binned immediately (probably).

I knew from the outset that I'd have to consider anything but am dismayed by the lack of opportunity out there. I thought I'd get two jobs, a day one and an evening one - I can't otherwise get the salary to pay the bills. A near to me waitressing job demanded a Basic Hygiene Certificate - cost £30 from Learn Direct. I don't have £30. (but do know about food hygiene, having not poisoned anyone in 30 years of food handling lol). Bar jobs want previous experience. (or "energetic/dynamic" aka, young. Fair do's, they have an image to maintain I guess).

So here I too am looking at the blunt end. Rent payable is £70 per month (4.2 weeks) more than the housing allowance. Child at Uni, who gets an LA grant (thank you from child as it reduced the mammoth student loan), who is disabled in the opinion of the Disabled Student people but not in the opinion of the Child Tax Credit/Benefit people (partially sighted versus totally blind).

Also, as he is doing a degree course, rather than a vocational course, I don't qualify for Child Benefit. Can anyone explain the reasoning behind that rule?

Without the Child Benefit, I stumble on page one of the EntitledTo site - it certainly does seem to be a passport to most other benefits.

On JSA of £60, I simply cannot pay the extra rent, heat/light/water (£50 a week), plus food and the bit of petrol I will need to (hopefully) attend interviews etc. Oh, and I've a middle-aged pet to feed too. Should I get her put down - will qualify for a freebie, won't I?

Sorry, I know I sound whining here but it's a shock being suddenly caught in the credit crunch, with no emergency fund to rely on (changes in circumstances a while back meant that every penny of my salary went on necessities like old banger repairs, son's needs, dentist, optician, etc). You spend most of your working life doing the right thing but calamities happen, sometimes, like buses, altogether in a huddle.

So - move to a cheaper place. Why not? Well, the lack of a job and a deposit for one thing - two most vital things a landlord requires. Would I like to live in a council house - you bet! But as we all know, not a cat in hells chance of getting one within the next ten years.

This is an OVER long post, so sorry. But if anyone has any similar experience to share, or any advice, I'd be grateful to hear. Anything. (constructive. Or reasonably pleasant)
:beer: