Housing Benefit - Can we claim please ?

MissMoneypenny

Until you manage to get a council house, might it not be better to move futher away from your work (to a cheaper area) to release some cash? I'm not sure if you work in London, but there are 2 bed rental houses, 30 minutes from central London, that rent for £600-£650pm. Less than that if you are prepared to travel longer.

The benefits are for the poor families, but with the wage you are on you have enough to provide for your family. It's just a case of cutting down on your spending.

When I had my children, we dropped my wage. Not only was I the higher wage earner but I worked for a bank so our fixed mortgage rate of 5% went to 12% too. We managed. When you have children, you are too knackered to go out spending!

debrag

She may end up with a one bed flat. A friend of mine got that and has been waiting ages for a bigger place.

So your girlfriend must be claiming as a single parent as surely your income would mean you can afford private?

My boyfriend is waiting to downsize with the local council and has been waiting almost a year.

How much is the rent for the whole property you live in - £900 each or together? I'm just wondering if you can afford it.

I agree that the benefit system is totally crap and needs sorting out big time.

terryw

debrag wrote: »

She may end up with a one bed flat. A friend of mine got that and has been waiting ages for a bigger place.

So your girlfriend must be claiming as a single parent as surely your income would mean you can afford private?

My boyfriend is waiting to downsize with the local council and has been waiting almost a year.

How much is the rent for the whole property you live in - £900 each or together? I'm just wondering if you can afford it.

I agree that the benefit system is totally crap and needs sorting out big time.

The girlfriend is not even a parent never mind claiming as one. The OP has no intention whatsoever of claiming anything fraudulently.

debrag

terryw wrote: »

The girlfriend is not even a parent never mind claiming as one. The OP has no intention whatsoever of claiming anything fraudulently.

I was just wondering how on his £1600 a month wage she would be able to claim a council house thats all. Do they look at all parents regardless of partners income?

terryw

debrag wrote: »

I was just wondering how on his £1600 a month wage she would be able to claim a council house thats all. Do they look at all parents regardless of partners income?

Anyone at all can apply for and rent a council house. Income and savings are not factors taken into account.

debrag

terryw wrote: »

Anyone at all can apply for and rent a council house. Income and savings are not factors taken into account.

but they would be low down on the list surely compared to people not working on low incomes.

terryw

debrag wrote: »

but they would be low down on the list surely compared to people not working on low incomes.

No. Not working and on a low income is not a priority in allocating council housing.
Here is a link to Shelter's list of priorities for council housing.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/finding_a_place_to_live/council_waiting_lists/who_gets_priority

blueotter

Thanks for the link.
Whilst i recognise that £1600 seems a high monthly wage,it is according to govt statistics,around about average ! Now i don't believe that for one minute but lets not go there on this thread.

Out of the £1600 i take home,i will in a few months time be responsible for the entire rent of £1000,the council tax,the bills...........this will roughly be £1300 in total,leaving me with £300 living expenses for the month on which to cover debts from a previous relationship that resulted in house reposession,car tax,insurance etc.......................A poster back along asked if we could move away to cheaper accommodation and save a few hundred pounds a month,well yes that's an option but then we lose the immediate family support in the area and i will have to travel 30 miles a day to work with the added petrol costs and car maintenance that this entails,so realistically the savings gained will be minimal.

To be fair i wonder why i bother to work but then i remind myself that i am actually putting money back into the economy through taxes etc and have been my entire working life.

debrag

terryw wrote: »

No. Not working and on a low income is not a priority in allocating council housing.
Here is a link to Shelter's list of priorities for council housing.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/finding_a_place_to_live/council_waiting_lists/who_gets_priority

So:

If you need to live in the area to avoid hardship
If you were seriously injured in the armed forces
If you have a medical condition
If you are living in very poor conditions i.e. overcrowding
If you are homeless or about to lose your home
Pregnant women (and people who live with them)
People responsible for dependent children

Isn't that a case of when you don't have anywhere else to live though? I'm not having a go at the OP more the system really.

I know someone who was on a waiting list for 6 years and she was a single mother of two.

Where does the girlfriend live now?

terryw

debrag wrote: »

So:

<SNIP>
Where does the girlfriend live now?

From the OP's first post.


"My girlfriend is 6 months pregnant and now has just lost her job so has moved into the house I’m renting"