Mums housing benefit and private landlord

lindos90

Hi all, im hoping someone can help my mum...

She is 73 and for health reasons, would like to live nearer to me so I can help her. She is in a council flat and gets full housing benefit.

I have put her name on the council list in my area but as she is not 'local' she has been told she may have a very long wait.

I have therefore looked at other options (like housing associations) and have also found a flat near me with a private landlord, run by a lettings agent on his behalf.

Ive hit a catch 22....the landlord will consider having a 'DSS' tennant, but wants written confirmation that my mum would get enough housing benefit to cover the rent, before he is willing to sign her up for a tennancy....

Ive been to the local council to get this, they say in principle, looking at her figures that she would get the full rent paid, especially as she gets a 'guarantee credit' with her pension credit, as this is a 'passport benefit' for full HB, however they cannot provide anything in writing until she has a tennancy agreement?!? Its chicken and egg as she would say!!

Anyone know where I go from here, or been in the same position and got an idea how to sort this please?

sleepless_saver

You'll probably get more replies posting this over on the Benefits board where the housing benefit experts live.

[Deleted User]

for private renting its LHA not housing benefit(local housing allowance)and its a fixed rate for each area depending on number of bedrooms in the house,if she only needs 1 bedroom she will only get the one bed rate regardless of how much the rent actually is.you should be able to find out the lha rate on the councils website(for the area she wants to move to NOT the area she lives in now)
HTH

Oldernotwiser

Although I understand your reasons for considering this, I would be very wary of giving up a secure tenancy to move into a private rental. Your mother could find herself having to move every 6 months/year which would obviously be expensive and unsettling for her. There's no security whatsoever in the private sector.

Has she got her name on the list for social housing exchanges?

Savvy_Sue

Although she's not 'local' to you atm, she has a 'local connection' which should be mentioned on her application form for social housing - moving nearer to you would enable her to ...maintain her independence, renew family ties, etc etc etc

Mankysteve

Offer to be guarantor might help, As you mum's going to be getting HB anyway your not going to footing her bill.

lindos90

Thank you for all your replies. I do indeed have concerns about renting from a landlord and the lack of security. She does have her name on my local council list, and I have done 'bids' for her (the new way of asking for properties from the council) However as she is not currently a 'local' resident she has no priority at all, and it could be years before she gets somewhere suitable. So I was just thinking what other avenues we could look at, and thought about private renting.

Problem is, the local council do not give 'extra points' for having a 'local connection' or that she needs to move as her flat is no longer suitable for her medical/disability needs, all because she is currently the 'responsibility' of the council where she lives.

Since my initial post I have found a list of all the housing associations in my area and called them all, problem is, a great many of them advertise via the council website and biding process....where my mum has no priority:(.

Ive also been back to the council, expressed the 'catch 22' and they have written a note on a compliment slip, which confirms my mum would get full HB, based on her income. (I'll keep this in reserve now, as im getting more unsure about private renting)

chesky369

Do your LA have sheltered housing? These are sometimes more available than regular council housing, which is more or less non-existant.

Savvy_Sue

chesky369 wrote: »

Do your LA have sheltered housing? These are sometimes more available than regular council housing, which is more or less non-existant.

Second that, also check out all the local HAs again, because sometimes they can be more flexible, even if they're working through the bidding system.

It would be a sensible option anyway, because Mum's presumably not going to get any fitter. If she's somewhere with help available when she's in need of it, that's a better option than waiting until she needs it badly and having to move to get it. But if she doesn't need it when she first moves in, she doesn't have to have it.

dmg24

lindos90 wrote: »

Ive also been back to the council, expressed the 'catch 22' and they have written a note on a compliment slip, which confirms my mum would get full HB, based on her income. (I'll keep this in reserve now, as im getting more unsure about private renting)

As mentioned before, you need to ensure that the LHA will cover the rental amount. An entitlement to 'full HB' is not the same as an entitlement to full rent.

lindos90

Thanks all, I have contacted a couple of sheltered accommodation places, they usually only have 'bedsits' for single people, and this may appear too 'residential home' for my mum to accept right now. But I certainly take your point.

Its taken her years to admit that living in an upstairs flat is too much for her, so I need to tread carefully with her!

Having just moved myself, I know how stressful it is, I dont think my mum would be up to moving again really once she is settled though.

The good thing is though that I can give her much more practical support when she moves closer to me, as I am a full time mum/housewife, so could care for her as her needs change.

Good point about HA possibly being flexible and not putting all accommodation via the councils bidding system. I will draft a letter about her circumstances and reasons for wanting to move, and the low priority the council has given her as she is not local...its worth a try!