Not Really Sure.

Ulfar

£500 pm month may be a cheap level of rent for the type of property, it is however too much for you.

You will not receive housing benefit or LHA to cover this as you are both under 24 and will only receive the one room allowance.

Even if you were over 24 your benefit would be reduced as you are renting a property greater than your needs, you would only qualify for a one bedroom flat.

I suggest you check your councils LHA details for amount of LHA you could potentially get and feed it into https://www.entitledto.co.uk.

dianah

also, do you need 3 beds? my husband and i are currently renting a 4 bed & 2 reception room house - he used to houseshare here before we met and eventually everyone else moved out and the two of us stayed. the rent is very reasonable and we're in the city centre - we had a look at finding a smaller house with a garden but the rent was higher. we're in the process of buying a (lot smaller) house now.

however, it's two of us and we have six rooms. we spend a lot of time in the living room and we use two of the bedrooms. the rest of the house - we don't even go to. there's a whole floor we don't use. yet it still costs a lot more to heat etc - not because we heat the unused rooms, we don't, but the heat doesn't stay confined in the rooms we use, it also means a lot more cleaning...

tobynchloe

Thanks for all the advice, there is alot more to think about.
even if we had a one bedroom flat the only thing that would be cheaper is the council tax and maybe bills but he wont buy a flat as he is looking for a more higher investment in the future. So its a house that he wants or nothing at all. So there is no way of this working ?
i have done that checker and it says we could be entilteled to a two bedroom house/flat/appartment and could claim £97 a week housing benefits but if we dont have a two bedroom house we have a threee would they still allow us the £97 :mad:.

thanks

dianah

why don't you give your local jobcentre plus (i think they deal with benefits.. sorry, it's all different over here) a ring tomorrow? even if you don't want to explain the whole situation to them, ask by how much would your benefit be cut if you rent a bigger property.

the third way around it... it's HER stepdad. could she sweet talk him into smaller rent while she's looking for a job?

CIS

if we dont have a two bedroom house we have a threee would they still allow us the £97 :mad:.

Yes. The LHA rate for the size of property your assessed to need is the maximum they will pay even if you have a larger property.

SouthCoast

we could be entilteled to a[STRIKE] two [/STRIKE] one bedroom

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/pdfs/TRSHB(LHA)2CP.pdf

Annisele

As a couple without dependants, at most you'd get the rate for a one bedroom property. You could in theory use that towards a larger property, except for the fact that you'd be renting from your girlfriend's stepfather at below market rent - a contrived tenancy - and so you couldn't claim HB for it at all.

Doozergirl suggested lodgers, and dianah that you persuade the stepdad to charge a lower rate - I'm afraid I can't see any other ways that it could work. You can't afford £500 a month, so you need to either increase your income (lodgers) or decrease the rent (sweet talk the stepdad).

tobynchloe

Annisele wrote: »

As a couple without dependants, at most you'd get the rate for a one bedroom property. You could in theory use that towards a larger property, except for the fact that you'd be renting from your girlfriend's stepfather at below market rent - a contrived tenancy - and so you couldn't claim HB for it at all.

Doozergirl suggested lodgers, and dianah that you persuade the stepdad to charge a lower rate - I'm afraid I can't see any other ways that it could work. You can't afford £500 a month, so you need to either increase your income (lodgers) or decrease the rent (sweet talk the stepdad).

I started my job as an apprentice plumber from school i have been with my employer for three years 2 of which my apprenticaship took, i was promised an increased wage when i fully qualify but when i qualified in june 2009 this never happened, i waas then assured when i pass my driving test that i would get the pay rise i was promised. i passed my driving test november 2009 two months later i kept being told soon soon soon. 5 months later my boss upped my pay from a stupid rediculas 40 pound a day to £50. with this increase obiously my tax rate increased therefore been left with hardly any more wage a week. so have been looking for another job, as a fully qualified plumber i should be on top notch pay but no i am still on apprentice wage,dont no whether this is allowed but hey. so for the time being im stuck with this whilst other jobs awaiting.
This house situation is happening to quickly and i need to find a solution. however this is off subject but still totally relevent.

Annisele

The minimum wage for 19 year olds is £4.83ph, so as long as you're not working more than 10 hours a day there's nothing you can do re the pay other than look for other jobs / persuade your boss to give you a pay rise (both of which you're either trying or have tried).

Don't let your girlfriend's stepdad pressure you into making a decision. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it. From what you've posted, your only options are lodgers or lower rent. This isn't a board where you're likely to get much sympathy if it appears that you're trying to get the state to pay for a lifestyle you can't afford (I'm not saying that's what you're doing, but it could be interpreted that way).

It might make life rather cheaper for the stepdad if she does move out - as others have said, presumably she eats! - so that might be an underlying reason for the pressure. Also, it's possible that your own welcome is wearing rather thin (are you paying rent to your girlfriend's parents?) which might increase the stepdad's enthusiasm for finding you somewhere else to live.

minnie123

If her dad wants as bigger investment would it not better for him to invest in say 2 one bed flats instead of 1 three bed house. Then he could rent one at the full rent achieveable and rent you the other cheaper. He would then have the same long term investment but also a better short term income from it.