housing benefit if you're on WTC?

plzhelpmesave!

Hi there

Anyone know if you can get housing benefit, council tax etc if you're on WTC? A friend is working part time, has one child and is about to move into a rented place. If she applies for housing benefit, would she lose her WTC? or is she entitled to anything else? She's too scared to go and find out - looong story about bad experience with benefits people! - so she asked me to help her.

Thanks for any replies.

Unstoppable_2

LHA is an income based benefit. Her income, including WTC is taken into account as income.

Her family makeup, the type of property and the rent she pays is then taken into account. If she lives on her own, but rents a 2 bed or more house, HB would be based on her needs, and LHA would be paid based on a single bed accommodation. In addition to that, if her rent is expensive, she would only be rebated the average figure for the area.

That figure is deducted from her declared income and then depending on the figure, working on Govt guidelines for income for the claimants circumstances, benefit is paid out.

Roughly, if what she has left out of income used in calculations after paying rent and council tax is more than she'd get on JSA, she probably wouldn't get anything.

kitschkitty

She can apply for them when getting wtc and the wtc won't be stopped.

real1314

A single parent with one child would be allowed an income of (roughly) £129 a week and would still get HB. If they are working up to 16 hours a week they can keep a further £25 and if over 16 another £16 on top.

So, assuming she's doing over 16 hrs, the first £170 a week of her total income (wages, Tax credits, child ben) would be discounted, anything over that would result in a 65% reduction in the amount of HB allowed.

So, if her rent is £100 a week and her total income is £220 a week, it'd be £220 - £170 allowed = £50
£50 x 65% = £32.50, taken off rent figure of £100 = £67.50 HB per week.

nb she might not be allowed the full rent though.

plzhelpmesave!

thanks for the replies guys, will try to get her to go down with me to the benefits advice.