Moving house whilst on housing benefit question?

donny909

This is not for me but for someone who may not have looked into the issue to realise what I suspect.

But someone is moving from 1 area to another. They currently have housing benefit for where they are now and will apply for it where they are moving to. They are to sign for the new place on friday I gather but intend to give the months notice on the old place pretty much the same day. As I understand the situation they are paying the deposit on friday too so almost certainly the tenancy will start from either that same friday or possably the monday.

Where I think they might come a cropper is the moment they sign for the new place. If the new place is liable for rent from the moment they sign which seems most likely then where do they stand housing benefit wise if they have to give the months notice for the old place?

property.advert

They are screwed and will legally have to pay rent on two properties. Are they that stupid ?

karenx

you can only claim for 1 property. I think they may allow a day overlap for moving things. Are they not also having to pay first months rent up front? As this will cover them untill the months notice is up

AngelBadger

If I understand you correctly, you are saying that they will be paying 2 lots of rents for a month? If that is the case then they will have to pay for one lot of rent out of their own pocket as the council won't pay for both houses. Why do they need 2 houses for a month?

KimYeovil

It's up to you to save up for the deposits and moving cost et al. You do not, of course, get any extra for any overlap. But surely they will eventually receive their deposit back?

This question has nothing to do with housing benefit - any landlord knows that notice has to be provided to the previous landlord so it is up to you to arrange to move in a month later when necessary - every landlord of repute accommodates this. If this 101 fact is after the fact then, duh!

donny909

There is no reason why they need both places for a month AngelBadger. But I'd assume it's the same in all cases that you dont give any notice on 1 propery untill you have secured where you want to move to?.

I'm a little unsure what the deposit is for sure. As it's right to assume that it's either a deposit or the first months rent. They are taking the new place on the understanding that they will require housing benefit to pay for the rent. I just don't want to been seen as sticking my nose into things or seeing them is a months worth of debt as soon as they have moved in without realising.

I'll try and find out more tomorrow as I've the feeling they may have not looked into moving whilst on housing benefit properly. Or if as suggested above it may have been made clear and obvious that a months notice is required in a previous property.

In which case how long does it normally take to transfer housing benefit from 1 place to another, or is it a fresh claim all together?

hippy-chicy

There will be an overlap of a month, which they will be liable for.

They can apply for benefit on two homes, Howver for this to be considered they will need to meet the criteria and they wil need to have moved into the new property when they become liable to pay the rent. If they stay at the old property they will not be eligible. The criteria is very strick for HB on two homes.

In this situation they might look into unavoidable overlap. However, in a private to private let there should never 'really' be a need for unavoidable overlap. It is normally granted in cases where people are moving from a private let to a RSL and they have to sign immediately or risk loosing the secure tenancy.

There are other criteria as well so they need to enquire about this with the LA in the area that they are moving to as it will be them that pay it if it is awarded. They will be able to give further info based on the OP's exact circs.

hippy-chicy

Yes it will be a New claim in their new area if its with a different LA. They will need to cease their previous claim. It can take anywhere between a few days to a month ( possibly longer) depending on work loads and if they need to request further info.

Jowo_2

donny909 wrote: »

If the new place is liable for rent from the moment they sign which seems most likely then where do they stand housing benefit wise if they have to give the months notice for the old place?

There are dates here which don't necessarily have to be related. It's up to your friend to negotiate the tenancy start date to prevent any overlap between tenancies. Don't confuse the date of signing the contract with the date the tenancy commences - it's possible to sign a tenancy contract in advance of it starting.


Yes, your friend needs to arrange a date to hand over the deposit and first months rent which takes place in advance of getting the key, plus sign the contract

BUT

the date they sign contract doesn't necessarily mean the date the tenancy commences. The contract itself will stipulate that the tenancy begins on x date and it can be signed anytime before hand.

Your friend needs to check when the tenancy is scheduled to commence and not confuse it with the date of signing the document itself. It can be the same day but since they can't receive HB in both places at the same time, they should check with the landlord the proposed date of the start of the tenancy and ensure it doesn't start before the current one ends.

Mum2twins98

This happened to me housing benefit will only pay once, when we got our new house we had to pay a month on our old flat and council tax

donny909

Thanks for the responce fellow members. It seems they are paying a deposit and the first months rent when they sign. However, I dont think even they know on the start date of the tenency as of yet. They aught to know for sure on friday I guess.

Though in the same situation I would be tempted for the sake of not getting into trouble in a new place from day 1 to transfer housing benefit from the old place to the new 1 right away and then await a billing for unpayed rent from the old place and sort that via arrangerment when contacted?.