What happens to state benefit in a recession

Oldernotwiser

Damzel_In_Distress wrote: »

Yeh my house is literally the only place i could find anywhere near close to my family-and its still not even that close!....the damp is beyond a joke..its truly awful...and ive got chronic asthma which cant be treated normally as im allergic to steroids so its just not nice at all.

But surely renting accommodation that's healthy for you and your child is more important than being near to your family? You also seem to rent a house, which is usually more expensive than a flat, at a considerable extra cost to yourself.

I am really sorry that you're in a bad position but it seems to me that at present it's because of bad choices that you're making. I'd look for cheaper accommodation that's covered by LHA,or even costs less.

neverdespairgirl

SingleSue wrote: »

I would assume I would if the temp stays at 0 or below for a week...it's not been triggered as yet but according to the gumpf, it says I should if the above happens.
.

Have a look at these:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018946

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661

Damzel_In_Distress

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

But surely renting accommodation that's healthy for you and your child is more important than being near to your family? You also seem to rent a house, which is usually more expensive than a flat, at a considerable extra cost to yourself.

I am really sorry that you're in a bad position but it seems to me that at present it's because of bad choices that you're making. I'd look for cheaper accommodation that's covered by LHA,or even costs less.

Im offended you would think its through my own "bad" choice im in this situation..the council will NOT pay rent for a flat when you have children UNLESS its on the ground floor..which they NEVER ARE trust me,ive been looking for 2 years!...and finding a landlord who is willing to accept housing payments is a very hard task..it took me a good 7 months before i could find one..ive been on the list for a council house since a few days before my son was born and even now i have been offered nothing!..not even contacted me offering me a cardboard box!..i often contact them but get nothing in responce,im on the list in 3 diffrent areas aswell,so its not as though im being choosy! ....ive looked for landlords in other areas who will take housing payments but non of them will,or if they do they want 2months CASH deposit and a guaranture..and i dont have either,i really wish i did!
at the end of the day some of you on here will think what you like no matter what i say and i cant change that.so you can say "its your own fault" or "get a job" etc if it makes you feel better and like you are right,but i no in my heart that i do everything i can to try and better my situation on a daily basis,and im definitly not living in a damp home by choice,id rather share a bedroom in a 1 bed flat or house with my son and be healthy and warm thanks! ...unfortunatly anything that is livable and availble these days via the council is given to the imigrants...
Infact if you do want to blame someone for taking "your" money id look more in that direction---one of my friends does the heating and plumbing for manchester city council and the council there pay for imigrants gas and electric aswell as housing cost and council tax,they also get full furnised homes (paid for by the council) to a very high standad,most have large lcd hd tvs in! you name it and they get it-for free-out of "your" money.

And another point id like to make is that until i was pregnant with my son i worked EVERYDAY of my life,and paid tax!..and then i found myself in a bad situation and made a claim for income support.How is this any diffrent from any of you loosing your jobs and not being able to gain new employment and being forced to apply for benefits?? ...youve paid tax up until that point,so you would no doubt feel it was ok right ?

nickmason

one of the most frustrating elements of being a councillor is seeing how the council can't do what it should obviously do, because of ill thought-out legislation.

I spent an eternity trying to get a couple moved where there were clear health issues (damp etc), but the law meant that as a council we couldn't accept their offer to take fewer rooms than the law required or put them somewhere that wasn't basically perfect. It meant two bouts of pneumonia before we eventually got them re-housed. To me it was a little victory, but a pyrrhic one as we should not have been held up so long by well-meaning but unhelpful law.

kforshaw

LHA is designed for a tenant to have more choice as to how they spend the money.
Your amount is based on the residents of the property/ ages/ sexes.
I work in the Liverpool area and we don't restrict the LHA if you get a 1st floor flat with kids - the Housing Associations may not give you a property on the 1st floor but that is totally different to LHA which pays for private accommodation.
I suggest you check again when you say that they won't pay for a higher than ground floor flat as I have never heard of such a rule.

Also, just so you know, the council don't pay for "immigrants" - the Home Office do - majority of the time through private landlords who possibly do furnish the houses to a high standard, but I can guarantee you that the tenants won't be taking those LCDs to there next properties - they don't own those items - nor are they "paid for" by the Home Office.
Council benefits and council properties are only payable/given to people who have already been through the immigration process and have "leave to remain" and are therefore as entitled to claim benefits as you are.

neverdespairgirl

Damzel_In_Distress wrote: »

one of my friends does the heating and plumbing for manchester city council and the council there pay for imigrants gas and electric aswell as housing cost and council tax,they also get full furnised homes (paid for by the council) to a very high standad,most have large lcd hd tvs in! you name it and they get it-for free-out of "your" money.

<groan>

I wish people wouldn't spout rubbish like this.

huntersc

Damzel_In_Distress wrote: »

Im offended you would think its through my own "bad" choice im in this situation..the council will NOT pay rent for a flat when you have children UNLESS its on the ground floor..which they NEVER ARE trust me,ive been looking for 2 years!...and finding a landlord who is willing to accept housing payments is a very hard task..it took me a good 7 months before i could find one..ive been on the list for a council house since a few days before my son was born and even now i have been offered nothing!..not even contacted me offering me a cardboard box!..i often contact them but get nothing in responce,im on the list in 3 diffrent areas aswell,so its not as though im being choosy! ....ive looked for landlords in other areas who will take housing payments but non of them will,or if they do they want 2months CASH deposit and a guaranture..and i dont have either,i really wish i did!
at the end of the day some of you on here will think what you like no matter what i say and i cant change that.so you can say "its your own fault" or "get a job" etc if it makes you feel better and like you are right,but i no in my heart that i do everything i can to try and better my situation on a daily basis,and im definitly not living in a damp home by choice,id rather share a bedroom in a 1 bed flat or house with my son and be healthy and warm thanks! ...unfortunatly anything that is livable and availble these days via the council is given to the imigrants...
Infact if you do want to blame someone for taking "your" money id look more in that direction---one of my friends does the heating and plumbing for manchester city council and the council there pay for imigrants gas and electric aswell as housing cost and council tax,they also get full furnised homes (paid for by the council) to a very high standad,most have large lcd hd tvs in! you name it and they get it-for free-out of "your" money.

And another point id like to make is that until i was pregnant with my son i worked EVERYDAY of my life,and paid tax!..and then i found myself in a bad situation and made a claim for income support.How is this any diffrent from any of you loosing your jobs and not being able to gain new employment and being forced to apply for benefits?? ...youve paid tax up until that point,so you would no doubt feel it was ok right ?

Damzel

There's a lot of stuff in this thread, ignore it. Really, there's no need for you to justify yourself, just ignore it.

What I've noticed over the years is that no matter how much money you have you're always relying on the state in one way or another. Some just use it more than others. It's easy for people to look down at others for using government help but at the same time there is always someone else paying more tax than you and using less resource than you. Whether you use the NHS, state education or anything subsidised by the government you're using other people's money.

I pay a lot in tax, more than my parents earn in 5 years earn put together. I could moan, complain that I'm paying for benefit scroungers but I don't because I know that I'm fortunate enough to provide a safety net for others and might one day need it myself.

My son had to go to hospital for something serious a while ago. The cost of looking after him and fixing him up exceeded the amount that I put into the system each year by about 50 times. I certainly wasn't moaning about paying too high taxes at that point.

So no matter how much we earn or how much money we have in the bank, we've all benefitted from the system and will continue to do so. Looking down at others for needing to take a little more out is hypocritical but unfortunately people often don't realise it.

Damzel_In_Distress

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

<groan>

I wish people wouldn't spout rubbish like this.

yes its rubbish...my friend it sent round to these peoples homes twice a week to put money onto their gas and electric meters paid for by manchester city council. it is part of his job..yet no one is coming round to my house to put free money onto my meters are they??? ....maybe i should leave the country and come back in a few years as an imigrant and i might get the same thing eh?...its not rubbish--this IS what he does.

mardatha

I think instead of listening to a lot of nonsense about what immigrants are or aren't getting, why don't you go to night school and learn how to type & spell properly, and then get a good better paying job and improve your own lifestyle ? It isn't helpful in any way to your situation to direct spite at immigrants is it !

Damzel_In_Distress

kforshaw wrote: »

LHA is designed for a tenant to have more choice as to how they spend the money.
Your amount is based on the residents of the property/ ages/ sexes.
I work in the Liverpool area and we don't restrict the LHA if you get a 1st floor flat with kids - the Housing Associations may not give you a property on the 1st floor but that is totally different to LHA which pays for private accommodation.
I suggest you check again when you say that they won't pay for a higher than ground floor flat as I have never heard of such a rule.

Also, just so you know, the council don't pay for "immigrants" - the Home Office do - majority of the time through private landlords who possibly do furnish the houses to a high standard, but I can guarantee you that the tenants won't be taking those LCDs to there next properties - they don't own those items - nor are they "paid for" by the Home Office.
Council benefits and council properties are only payable/given to people who have already been through the immigration process and have "leave to remain" and are therefore as entitled to claim benefits as you are.

well he works soley on two large council estates..there are no private landlords there-the landlord is the council.
and with reguards to never hearing of such a rule,this is what i was told when i found a rather nice flat to rent a little over 6 months ago,you need to remember each council works diffrently,they all do things their own way and this is what i was told when i last looked into trying to move into one that was on the 2nd floor.
they said it was not appropiate accomodation for a family with children and would not be deemed suitable for applying for lha.