The Dole? or Move to the Woods? You Decide!

Oldernotwiser

dookar wrote: »

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm curious about this.

There must be some kind of criteria? I work full time earning in the region of £25k, surely there is a criterion which would exclude me?

I'm not being facetious but know nothing about LHA and would like clarification of my misunderstanding

If you were living in a very expensive part of the country, like central London, it's perfectly possible that you'd get some LHA if you applied. (The LHA for a 1 bed flat in central London is £360 per week.)

If the OP is unemployed then he'll be eligible for LHA unless he has significant savings (which, I suppose, is a criterion.) There's certainly nothing he needs to check with the CAB.

Edit; Having just run a hypothetical example through https://www.entitledto.org , using your income and rent of £360 per week, you'd be eligible for about £165 LHA contribution towards your rent, assuming you're a single person over the age of 25.

Macro_3

dookar wrote: »

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm curious about this.

There must be some kind of criteria? I work full time earning in the region of £25k, surely there is a criterion which would exclude me?

I'm not being facetious but know nothing about LHA and would like clarification of my misunderstanding

If you lived in an expensive area, maybe a couple of children, it's possible that you'd have some entitlement on that wage.

The criteria are fairly loose. You must have liability, you must occupy the property, you must submit a valid claim, you must satisfy the means test regarding capital and income, and you must have recourse to public funds.

To the OP, whilst the CAB are good, they are extremely busy. If someone makes an appointment to see them and delays their claim whilst waiting to do so, they may lose weeks of benefit. The best possible source of advice for a new/prospective claimant is the local LA, who will often be able to see you same day and give you specialist advice.

It sounds to me like a flat share might suit you. Sharing isn't ideal, but it would be easier to get a tenancy for a share than for a whole flat and if you could find one with bills included for somewhere close to the LA rate, you wouldn't be quite so badly off on JSA. Might be an idea just while you get back on your feet? You can claim before you move in (up to 13 weeks) but your claim cannot be paid until you have moved in and until you have provided the tenancy agreement. The sooner you claim, the better. What you are suggesting isn't cheating - it's completely run-of-the-mill normal.

dktreesea

If you go to your local council office and advise them you are homeless, currently staying with friends, but have to move out due to the imminent arrival of a baby, they must offer you a place to stay, either a council flat or a bed and breakfast place at their expense. Even as a single person without children, you would still, as a homeless person, get priority for housing.

A council flat (rather than a privately rented flat) has its advantages. Don't just turn your nose up at it. I am not suggesting you would, but just to point out that "poor" areas aren't as poor as they may at first seem. The majority of people of working age who live in most "poor" council estates and are not looking after young children work.

The best thing about them is that when you do go back to work, your rent will stay at a nice, low, rent controlled, £60 to £80 a week. That's a big help to getting back on your feet. Also, though this is getting phased out, after five years you can buy it AND get a nice lump sum (in Edinburgh it goes up to £15,000) towards your deposit. Which is like living in the flat for free for the first five years.

If you do decide to get a privately rented flat instead, make sure you have applied for JSA first, then just go into the council and apply for housing and council tax benefits from the day you sign the lease, and preferably on the day you sign the lease. It takes a few weeks to come through, but it doesn't matter, because it is paid in arrears anyway. After a while it will seem like you get the housing benefit and then pay your rent, but actually it is in arrears.

If you instead go down the route of part time work, so must be more than 16 hours a week (below that and you go through the DWP) then the path is diffferent. You apply for working tax credit through the HMRC and once you get your award notice, assuming you are earning less than the threshold, you are then eligible for housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Oldernotwiser

dktreesea wrote: »

If you go to your local council office and advise them you are homeless, currently staying with friends, but have to move out due to the imminent arrival of a baby, they must offer you a place to stay, either a council flat or a bed and breakfast place at their expense. Even as a single person without children, you would still, as a homeless person, get priority for housing.

A council flat (rather than a privately rented flat) has its advantages. Don't just turn your nose up at it. I am not suggesting you would, but just to point out that "poor" areas aren't as poor as they may at first seem. The majority of people of working age who live in most "poor" council estates and are not looking after young children work.

The best thing about them is that when you do go back to work, your rent will stay at a nice, low, rent controlled, £60 to £80 a week. That's a big help to getting back on your feet. Also, though this is getting phased out, after five years you can buy it AND get a nice lump sum (in Edinburgh it goes up to £15,000) towards your deposit. Which is like living in the flat for free for the first five years.

If you do decide to get a privately rented flat instead, make sure you have applied for JSA first, then just go into the council and apply for housing and council tax benefits from the day you sign the lease, and preferably on the day you sign the lease. It takes a few weeks to come through, but it doesn't matter, because it is paid in arrears anyway. After a while it will seem like you get the housing benefit and then pay your rent, but actually it is in arrears.

If you instead go down the route of part time work, so must be more than 16 hours a week (below that and you go through the DWP) then the path is diffferent. You apply for working tax credit through the HMRC and once you get your award notice, assuming you are earning less than the threshold, you are then eligible for housing benefit and council tax benefit.

Whilst there's no harm in asking, in most parts of the country a single young male with no disabilities has zero chance of being offered council accommodation.

Also, WTCs are only available to someone in this situation who works a minimum of 30 hours a week, fortunately.

alwaysonthego_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Whilst there's no harm in asking, in most parts of the country a single young male with no disabilities has zero chance of being offered council accommodation.

Also, WTCs are only available to someone in this situation who works a minimum of 30 hours a week, fortunately.

The LA do not have the responsibilty of rehoming a single person [adult]. He could apply to go on the LAH waiting list but as ONW as said he will be on the bottom of that list.

He should get a private flat/bedsit. I see that the op has a deposit so that is no problem, but some LAs have a rental deposit scheme for those that are struggling.

If he is claiming JSA, he should get LHA but as mentioned he should check how much he would be entitled to with the LA.

If the op struggles to pay any shortfall in his rent he could apply for a discretionary housing payment from his LA.

cassandra13

Well something nobody seemed very forthright in telling me was that I could claim back payment for 3 months. Please look into this and see what you can get as this will be invaluable for a deposit on rent etc if you have difficulty finding a house to take you. Sometimes a private rental will be viable in a better area if you put up a greater bond so look into a rent payment with your local JCP too although it might be more helpful to call it back rent or whatever. I did this and if I had not I would have been rearing my child in a very dodgy area.