Homeless 24 year old - is he entitled to anything

StockportGerbil

Hi!
I hope you can point me in the right direction - confirm my suspicions.

My stepson is 24 years old and trying to live and work in Basildon. He's been living with his son's mother, but the accomodation is in her name (she's nominally a single mum so has been given a two bed flat.) She's thrown him out as his attempts to earn a living and stay out of prison are cramping her social life. So he's kipping on friends floors but is running out of friends rapidly!

He wants to stay in Basildon, so he has some contact with his son and he's now got a job which he wants to stick with. The problem is it's only part-time and therefore he earns £90 per week. Because he's been stupid in the past he hasn't got any qualifications and has done a series of prison sentences, so getting a better paid job / more hours is unlikely in the near future.

I believe because of his age he is not entitled to working tax credits or income support. I think he can get some housing benefit / council tax benefit (up to £127 per week?) if we can find him some accomodation? Is this correct and is there anything I've forgotten about?

Thanks alot

Kevin

november

With housing benefit he will be affected by the single room rent as he is under 25. That means he is only entitled to get housing benefit to pay for a room in a shared house. Incidentally in a shared house it is the landlord that is liable to pay council tax not the tenants.

I don't know what it is in Basildon but round here its roughly £55 week maximum housing benefit for an under 25 year old. Roughly speaking anything he earns over JSA level could be deducted from any housing benefit he recieves when he finds somewhere to live.

So add JSA together and the single room rent and that would be the maximum he would get including housing costs. So because he earns £90 week he is unlikely to get full hb.

Sorry is all very 'roughly speaking' but I'm on leave at the moment and normally I look things up

lynzpower

council tax isnt always included in rents, never has been where Ive rented

Scarlett1

SG you're stepson needs to go to basildon council in the town centre and ask to see a homeless advisor, I doubt they will house him, but they might be able to help him find accommodation, probably in a bedsit or shared house

Dora_the_Explorer_5

NACRO, the organisation to help ex-offenders with housing, employment etc, has a freephone information line http://www.resettlement.info/. HTH