Do I still fit in here if...

Penelope_Penguin

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I wish I knew how?

If I was on benefits and if I lived alone (neither are the case now, but that held true when I last did the maths): Out of £260 a month JSA would go £60 for council tax, £110 for service charges, £20 ground rent and buildings insurance, £34 electricity, £20 water ... which leaves £16 for a month's food, public transport and everything else. :eek:

That's how If you were on income-based JSA, you'd get full council tax benefit.

I don't know what you mean by service charge and ground rent. Are they included in housing benefit (also paid in full for people on i-JSA).

Penny. x

Fire_Fox

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

That's how If you were on income-based JSA, you'd get full council tax benefit.

I don't know what you mean by service charge and ground rent. Are they included in housing benefit (also paid in full for people on i-JSA).

Penny. x

The following is as I was advised almost two years ago, so I am willing to be told it's a load of twaddle!

I would have been on contributions-based JSA - IIRC you only applied for income-based if you weren't entitled to contributions based? I was informed by the benefits people that I'd only get council tax benefits if I got at least a penny of income support. I wouldn't get income support as I didn't have kids and would have the £60 a week JSA which the government says one person can live on.

I own my own leasehold flat, which means I have to pay for the care of the communal areas in the building (lift maintenance, corridor cleaning, external fabric, fire alarm and escape etc.) in the form of service charges. It's not optional or negotiable, it's a legal requirement of my long lease. Ground rent is also payable for leasehold properties which is literally for renting the ground my block of flats stands on. In theory my flat can be repossessed by the freeholder if these charges are unpaid.

As I own the flat outright there is no rent or mortgage and therefore no housing benefits. At the time I had no savings and no other income so would have been absolutely stuffed. Had I ended up on benefits I would have written to the prime minister!

kunekune

I could help ....

valk_scot wrote: »

You're not weird at all or if you are, I am too! When my SIL died five years ago and we cleared out her house there were a couple of hundred bottles of wine sitting in the cupboard under thge stairs. She was a bit of a wine snob so it was presumably good stuff, but her ex was teetotal, Hubby prefers beer and I barely drink at all. We ended up giving anyone she knew that came near the house a mixed half dozen bottles ...and we still seem to have a ridiculous amount in the cupboard, going quietly off. I feel guilty every time I grab some venerable looking bottle then slug half of it into the bolognaise....

Now if it had been a cupboard full of chocolate...!!!!!!

Penelope_Penguin

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I was informed by the benefits people that I'd only get council tax benefits if I got at least a penny of income support. I wouldn't get income support as I didn't have kids and would have the £60 a week JSA which the government says one person can live on.

That's twaddle (your word ). IS passports you to full council tax and housing benefit, but you can still get thme without being on IS, just with a low income.

Controversial opinion coming up - please don't read if you're of a nervous disposition IMHO, if one owns a house, you owe it to yourself to keep an emergency fund, which will pay all your housing costs (to save you from repossession) until any Government assistance with housing costs kicks in. If this doesn't apply, then individuals are really better off renting, as housing benefit is available from the first week of unemployment, to keep the rented roof over your family's head.

This isn't personal, just my professional reaction to Government policy (going back to the Lovely Margaret Thatcher :rolleyes: ) to encourage people to own a home, therefore buying votes. It's been the downfall of many of my clients, and the ruin of many families.

Penny. x

patchwork_cat

Penelope I am an ex housing benefit officer and that was a common feeling in our office. I had a colleague who often said that if everything goes wrong ( i.e lose job) I am selling up and renting ( she had no equity as a new home owner in the previous recession)

patchwork_cat

Fire_Fox wrote: »

The following is as I was advised almost two years ago, so I am willing to be told it's a load of twaddle!

I would have been on contributions-based JSA - IIRC you only applied for income-based if you weren't entitled to contributions based? I was informed by the benefits people that I'd only get council tax benefits if I got at least a penny of income support. I wouldn't get income support as I didn't have kids and would have the £60 a week JSA which the government says one person can live on.

I own my own leasehold flat, which means I have to pay for the care of the communal areas in the building (lift maintenance, corridor cleaning, external fabric, fire alarm and escape etc.) in the form of service charges. It's not optional or negotiable, it's a legal requirement of my long lease. Ground rent is also payable for leasehold properties which is literally for renting the ground my block of flats stands on. In theory my flat can be repossessed by the freeholder if these charges are unpaid.

As I own the flat outright there is no rent or mortgage and therefore no housing benefits. At the time I had no savings and no other income so would have been absolutely stuffed. Had I ended up on benefits I would have written to the prime minister!

Which benefits people told you this pearl? If it was Income Support then they don't actually administer your CTB anyway. You would still have to apply to your council ( I am going back a good few years so things may have changed!) - although they would have provided proof of I/S.

WendysWorld

faithcecilia wrote: »

Yes, my weight loss is a bit of a problem just now (never imagined I would ever say that) but its more stress than anything - my heart rate is also higher than usual, though when I saw the nurse to register at the drs she wasn't worried.

Sorry to go off topic a bit but this caught my eye - I hope I'm not out of place here but if you're losing weight (without dropping your calorie intake that much) and having a high heart rate then you should ask for a thyroid function test. Just that these particular symptoms set off alarm bells for me as my husband had an overactive thyroid - set off by stress probably. It may be nothing but I just would advise you to check it out. My husband's problem was diagnosed very late and caused a lot of unnecessary worry and some complications.

And wishing you luck!

BM

jackieglasgow

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Penelope I am an ex housing benefit officer and that was a common feeling in our office. I had a colleague who often said that if everything goes wrong ( i.e lose job) I am selling up and renting ( she had no equity as a new home owner in the previous recession)

Patchwork, that's really interesting, and a really good point. Last year we got the chance of a brand new Housing Association house for rent, and it caused a lot of debate with my husband and I. He wanted to stay on the housing ladder, but I was concerned that as he works in the construction industry, things might be really bad this year, and if he had no work, we had no PPI as he had been self employed. He wasn't one of those people who are self employed with a high disposable income, so eventually I persuaded him that a brand new house with the cushion of Housing Benefit if things were tight was a better option.

Boy, am I glad. He's earned about £2000 since Xmas last year, and with my wee part-time wage, we're just about scraping by. Just applied for Tax Credits etc. - it took a lot to persuade him to do that please don't judge - but I'm so relieved. We have this lovely house, and no worries about keeping a roof on, but if we'd had a mortgage etc., we'd be homeless by now. My heart bleeds for the poor souls out there who have found themselves in that situation, and while I know we're having a tough time, I'm glad we jumped off the property ladder when we did. (Not that there was any profit in it for us, mind you!)

kunekune

I think, though, that it might depend on what kind of rental situation you are in. We bought a few months ago, and I feel much safer than I did in private rental on a series of 6 month ASTs. If you have a secure tenancy, with no end date, yes, I think you may be better off when things fall apart. But for many people that isn't how it is. If you have been mobile over the years, for instance. And if you are even faintly in trouble, you will be out on your ear. OK, perhaps you can stay put and fight through the eviction, but the outcome is scarily unknown for a long time. I'd rather have a mortgage and a cushion myself.

Fire_Fox

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Controversial opinion coming up - please don't read if you're of a nervous disposition IMHO, if one owns a house, you owe it to yourself to keep an emergency fund, which will pay all your housing costs (to save you from repossession) until any Government assistance with housing costs kicks in. If this doesn't apply, then individuals are really better off renting, as housing benefit is available from the first week of unemployment, to keep the rented roof over your family's head.

This isn't personal, just my professional reaction to Government policy (going back to the Lovely Margaret Thatcher :rolleyes: ) to encourage people to own a home, therefore buying votes. It's been the downfall of many of my clients, and the ruin of many families.

Penny. x

I think that's absolutely correct and no offence taken - one absolutely should have a financial buffer. I'm working very hard on that at the moment, hence my addiction to this place and my signature! Unfortunately the five years preceeding my enquiry about JSA I'd been on SSP, Incapacity Benefits, JSA briefly, minimum wage and full time student, so I did well to come out without any debts, no hope of savings!

It sounds more like I was badly advised by the JSA phone line guy. I did not expect benefits to fund any kind of lifestyle but to be told £60 a week had to cover all outgoings when I wasn't even heating the flat in winter was a shock. I'd have been happy with council tax benefit but definitely told no.