housing benefit / local housing allowance

alfiebaby

ok so im 21 and workin part time (16hours) i have to move out my mums house in the next month and abit. ive spoken 2 the council and they basically said i have to wait & start looking for private rented places. i found a 1 bedroom flat which is £450pcm. how much housing benefits will i be entitled to? or is it local housing allowance? as soon as i get back on my feet i'll look 4 a full time job & obviously pay my way this way so no snobby people pls just need a little more info on how much im entitled to & how much of the 450 they would pay

thanks

seven-day-weekend

If you are under 25 then Local Housing Allowance will only pay the equivalent rent for a room in a shared house. If the rent for a one-bedroom is more than this you will have to make the shortfall up yourself.

krisskross

There will also be a deposit and usually 1 months rent in advance. So reckon on needing almost £1000 upfront for a privately rented property costing £450 a month. The shared room rate here is £60 a week so there would be a big deficit to make up.

karenx

Use this website to search for your LHA, this is the max they will pay for you per week if you were on JSA. But as you are working they take your income into account so you wouldnt get the max amount and you will have to make up the shortfall yourself. And when you get a full time job I doubt you will get anything towards the rent so bear that in mind when looking for a place. And as been said you will need about £1000 up front also

Jowo_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

If you are under 25 then Local Housing Allowance will only pay the equivalent rent for a room in a shared house. If the rent for a one-bedroom is more than this you will have to make the shortfall up yourself.

And in that event, you could struggle to find a landlord to accept you if you cannot demonstrate you have sufficient income to pay the rent, plus some landlords will not rent to LHA claimants anyhow.

Many councils operate deposit guarantee schemes for those in housing need or low incomes - check out the criteria on your local council website.

Have a look at the Shelter and Crisis websites which give information on LHA and tips on how to avoid homelessness, how to find private properties and how the council is supposed to help those at risk of homelessness.