housing benefit and benefit basics query, please help

terryw

The rule that the excess up to £15 can be retained by the tenant is changing today. You can no longer keep any excess LHA above the rent paid.

Jowo_2

dustinjames wrote: »

so basically they make you work for your JSA allowance,
you dont get JSA on TOP of your part time income....it kinda gets balanced off.

So sounds like you should either be fully unemployed on JSA, or you should be NOT claiming any benefits, and just working part time or as much hours as you can.
correct?

Job seekers allowance is paid to those actively seeking work - it is not a top up for those in employment.

Employment support allowance is for those who are too sick to actively seek work.

What is your age? Tenants aged below 25 aren't entitled to the LHA rate for a self-contained property, they get a rate equivalent to a room in a shared property which is typically less.

Also, the LHA rate for a property doesn't mean the person gets it in full - it will depend on their income as to whether they receive the sum in full or just some of it due to their earnings.

Yes, a tenant can keep up to £15 per week if they find a property whose chargeable rent is less than the LHA they are entitled to receive and yes, a tenant who gets a tenancy for a property costing greater than the LHA rate is expected to pay the difference themselves.

Use the Entitled to website to model your scenarios. For example, a single person over the age of 25 entitled to a weekly LHA rate of £120 per week, whose council tax is £120 per month who earns £6000 per year is entitled to a significant discount on their council tax which means only paying a small proportion of it, plus housing benefit of £90 per week.

This means despite the fact that they have a low part time salary, there's hardly any council tax or rent to pay.

Jowo_2

terryw wrote: »

The rule that the excess up to £15 can be retained by the tenant is changing today. You can no longer keep any excess LHA above the rent paid.

wow, i knew they'd postponed its withdrawal planned earlier than this and expected them to pull it at some point but haven't come across any notification of this - its still displaying on the directgov and LHA direct website.

terryw

Jowo wrote: »

wow, i knew they'd postponed its withdrawal planned earlier than this and expected them to pull it at some point but haven't come across any notification of this - its still displaying on the directgov and LHA direct website.

Oops, I hope that I am correct. I did not know it was being deferred/postponed. Op please do not act on this until it has been checked.

Jowo_2

To be honest, I don't know if the £15 excess that a tenant can retain has been pulled or not but I don't expect it to last particularly long, certainly its not a sum that a claimant should depend upon as a permanent thing.

Also, I'm forming an opinion that lots of landlords that accept LHA claimants will set their rent at or above the LHA rate - I can't see many landlords happy that the £65 per month that could be receiving is going to the tenant instead.

What I've noticed when browsing some wanted/offered ads on accommodation sites is typically the tenant is seeking accommodation less than the LHA rate (obviously wanting to pocket the difference and top up their benefits this way) and there's little accommodation offered by landlords below it...

dustinjames

im 30. I have no idea how much council tax is.

"If your rent is more than £15 less than the Local Housing Allowance rate that applies to you, any benefit you may get will be based on a lower rate."

This means if i get LHA of £400, but my rent is £370, I will not get all rent paid maybe, i will get a lower band......but say if the lower band is £350? Then i have to pay the extra?

And i dont understand what i would get if i shared a flat, eg if i start renting a flat with someone else, a 2 bedroom flat. What is this classed as? one bedroom shared? two bedrooms? Do you generally get less for shared accommodation or more?

If my flat mate is a full time worker, he is not defined as a non-dependant, is he?

Flats im looking at are Band E council tax. I think £1,500? for a two bedroom flat , is that £1,500 each? or £1,500 in total split between two people??

dmg24

Are you sure it is Band E? That seems very high for a flat! The council tax is per flat, not per person.

dustinjames

yes band E.

Just called up council:

If my allowance is £400, if rent is £370, it will be covered fully.
370 x 12 / 52 = xxx something like that he said.

about sharing: 2 bedroom flat is classed as 1 bedroom shared facilities, even if you have 2 private bathrooms for each person! So if i want to share a flat, i will only get £57 pw LHA = £228 per month.

2 bedroom LHA is only for people with children.
Couple is still classed as one bedroom.

For a 30 year old single male, it sounds best to have a 1 bedroom self contained flat which give £103 per week. But you can not get a city centre flat for £400.
But you CAN get a city centre flat for less than £400 if you SHARE with one person. But if you share you only get £228 per month LHA.

dmg24

Which city are you referring to? Do you have to live in the city centre?

dustinjames

dmg24 wrote: »

Which city are you referring to? Do you have to live in the city centre?

birmingham