Understanding housing benefit - help please

downshifter

Could I just ask please? I've just done the 'entitled to' assessment and see that I can claim housing benefit and council tax allowance. I'm being a bit in advance here as my main work will stop in the New Year but I will still be earning around £200 a month plus a pension of £300 a month. The HB will add around £200 a month to that. I'm nearly 59. That feels ok and I can maybe just about manage, though I will be frantically jobhunting anyway. Do I just fill in the claim forms that are online or do I also have to sign on?

I've never had to claim for anything before and have full stamp fully paid up. However I have been self-employed for part of my work for the past couple of years which might go against me anyway in terms of job seekers - that's the bit that will be finishing.

Also, my pay will vary from month to month, by about £25 or so either way - do I just have to tell the housing benefit people that every payday and how does their payment adjust to that? It will make it hard to budget if I think I'm getting different amounts from them each month.

Hope this makes sense.
DS

Oldernotwiser

To answer the first part of your question,you can claim LHA (HB) without claiming JSA; even people who are working full time can claim for some help if they're on a low wage.

real1314

And for the second part, yes, you would have to tell them about the changes in your wage. If you don't tell them and you're due less, they will expect you to repay the excess. If you don't tell them and you're due more, they won't give you the extra.


I assume your rent or LHA rate is about £80 a week based on the figures you've arrived at?

downshifter

real1314 wrote: »

And for the second part, yes, you would have to tell them about the changes in your wage. If you don't tell them and you're due less, they will expect you to repay the excess. If you don't tell them and you're due more, they won't give you the extra.


I assume your rent or LHA rate is about £80 a week based on the figures you've arrived at?

Thanks yes, it seems to be £80 a week. Less than I pay but as I said, I think I can manage, I just wanted to understand how it works. I thought maybe with the changing of my pay each month that maybe they'd average it out over say 6 months or something, just to make it easier. I didn't expect not to tell them! I think it's fantastic that I'm going to get around £200 a month as it is!

Thanks for both answers.

DS