Income support [merged]

Kev27

Hi im entitled to income support, got my eye on a flat (private.) The guy that owns the flat does not want a deposit but wants 2 months rent paying up front instead (in his words). would this be paid for me or would i have to pay something back because i have not had to pay a deposit? cheers Kev

absent_dad

What he (the landlord) is doing here is playing with the law. Now the landlord has to keep deposit monies in a special bank account which is protected. If he calls it rent up front I guess he thinks he doesn't qualify to do this.

Housing benefit is what pays for the rent not Income support, income support qualifies you normally to claim. You will have to go into your council offices and get a claim form, they will tell you how much you are entitled to as this depends on your area and age.

HB only pay in arrears so you will have to pay the up front money and keep paying the rent until the council process your forms. At which point if you qualify they will pay up till that point, even though your landlord wants his rent in advance.

If your landlord isn't putting your money in a secure account...don't expect it back as he sounds a rouge and will probably say the flat wasn't left in the same condition as you took it on and keep the money, it is a game of cat and mouse who gets off the better.

Hope this helps

Kev27

Thanks for your interesting reply Absent dad, the thing is i dont have a penny to my name and i am going to view the flat at 4:30pm today with my sister as i was told on here on a previous post that i should secure a flat first before i get in touch with benefits etc, the flat probably wont be available much longer as it is above a row of shops, making it popular with people, i have only chose this flat as i can not travel very far due to mental health issues and being above the shops would be ideal.
Am i wasting my time going to view the flat in the case of the 2 months rent in advance then? cheers Kev

karenx

There is no way the housing benefit people would give you 2 months rent up front. You need to secure a place first then apply for housing benefit. So you could find your needing to also pay another months rent too if its not sorted in time. There is a rent deposit scheme some councils offer where they pay the deposit and you pay them back weekly. But you would still need to fund the rest yourself also.

missmontana

You could get help if your local council has a "deposit " scheme, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.
I'd be a bit wary tho, its not the norm not to ask for a deposit, make sure you check the tenancy agreement very carefully before agreeing or signing.
Good idea taking your sister with you.

absent_dad

By all means go and view it but you will need to find the 2 months up fron rent plus it normally takes up to 6 weeks to process your HB forms so if the rent is £400, you may need to find £12-1600 before getting HB to kick in. at which point they will pay the 6 weeks it took to process the claim. Then pay every four weeks, even though you normally have to pay every month, which is more than 4 weeks.


Your best bet is to get down to JC and ask for social fund forms, you can claim for a crisis/budgeting loan which will get deducted from your benefits. You will have to show what the money is going to be spent on and how much you need. They never give you enough though.

Otherwise have you any rich relatives

alwaysonthego_2

healy wrote: »

I do not think they will give a crisis loan for rent.

Correct, possibly the discretionary housing payment.

healy

alwaysonthego wrote: »

Correct, possibly the discretionary housing payment.

I think I was wrong to say that because after having had a look it does say you can get it "in some circumstances", so I deleted my post.

I do not know if the OP would get it though, I get the impression the DWP is not keen on the idea.

absent_dad

I applied for a loan...do not recall which one and stated that it was for deposit. £800, they gave me £400.

Maybe the rules have changed as this was some 2 years ago?

The rules about the social fund are different from the DWP and can vary from region to region

edit - Budgeting loans

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/benefits/help_for_people_on_a_low_income_-_the_social_fund.htm

You can apply for help with rent in advance or removal expenses to new accommodation.

AsknAnswer2

A budgeting loan can be used for rent in advance. The maximum a budgeting loan would pay for a single person in £348.

In some circumstances a crisis loan can be awarded for rent in advance too. With the social fund a lot of people think money cannot be given for rent. It can be provided for rent in advance but not for rent arrears (other than intermittent costs not met by housing benefit) or for a deposit on a property.

alwaysonthego_2

AsknAnswer2 wrote: »

In some circumstances a crisis loan can be awarded for rent in advance too. With the social fund a lot of people think money cannot be given for rent. It can be provided for rent in advance but not for rent arrears (other than intermittent costs not met by housing benefit) or for a deposit on a property.

but they would have to prove that there health and safety would be at risk to be entitled to the crisis loan for rent in advance, it would be very extreme circumstances.