Housing benefit again!

Oldernotwiser

Deleted_User wrote: »

Can you not try and appeal based on the fact there has been a massive change of circumstances because she is pregnant?

Benefits are based on financial rather than personal circumstances.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Might be worth re-applying once baby is born as that would put you on the 2 room rate, so you MAY get SOME help from LHA.

Sharon87

Witter wrote: »

If you work under 16 hours you can still claim HB. I dont know about over 16 hours you would have to go into HB office and they will do a calculation and tell you if your entitled to anything. You will get child benefit and working and child taxcredit when baby is born

If you work over 16 hours you can still get HB. You just need to provide council with payslips every month. I was on a variable income last year could be anything from £300 to £900 a month, and I could claim on average just over £100 a month (started off higher when I was on the lowest wage!)

Hope it all works out OP.

Just a thought, the student finance is only designed to cover 1 person, besides it only about works out about £400 a month or less (depending on if you just got loan, or grant as well). So surely you could have been eligable for something.

Is the eligability for the HB down to the house and the contract rather than the income? What kind of tenancy do you have?

Zeldazog

I've just finished Uni, but as a single parent I was able to claim income support during the summer breaks for the last two years.

Although I finished Uni in May each time, I could never claim income support until the start of July as the student loan is calculated over a 43 week period.

So you will probably find that, even though the academic year has ended, you won't be eligible to claim for another week or two, as they will still be calculating your income to include the student finance.

Did they give you a breakdown of the figures as to why you weren't eligible for any support or have you simply been told "no, you won't get it"?

I ask this, as I have had rather bad experiences at my local housing benefit office with front desk staff being less knowledgeable about the system than I was and giving me wrong information (twice I was told that I had to claim council tax benefit during the summer months by front desk staff, a form which is several pages long and totally not required as, as a full time student I was exempt anyway)

In my first year, they also calculated my claim wrong, by counting some my special support grant as income, when it should have been disregarded.

zaralondon

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Then you both will not have to claim the rent because you can both pay your rent as good taxpayers.

Why people feel the need to insert subjective evaluation is beyond me.

You can earn up to approx. £65 a week (JSA rate) without affecting LHA as per what I was told.

Person_one

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

If she is ex uni and now pregnant i doubt that she will ever use her qualification again.

What a helpful contribution!

Sallyann58

zaralondon wrote: »

Why people feel the need to insert subjective evaluation is beyond me.

You can earn up to approx. £65 a week (JSA rate) without affecting LHA as per what I was told.

I think you may have been misinformed. I know you have to declare all work to the Council and I don't think the amount they disregard is as high as £65 - more like about £20.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Sallyann58 wrote: »

I think you may have been misinformed. I know you have to declare all work to the Council and I don't think the amount they disregard is as high as £65 - more like about £20.

It works the other way. The single persons income disregard is £5 (more if you are in rec't of certain other benefits) which means the TOTAL diregard for a single person for HB is £70. But this is the lower limit and any earnings in excess of £70 aren't taken pound for pound.

BERFFRO

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

I would suggest that you get a FULL TIME job and when you partner/girlfriend/sife/ has had the baby then she get a PART TIME job to help you. Then you both will not have to claim the rent because you can both pay your rent as good taxpayers.

Dont you think i have been trying? Im getting more hours now at work so it is practically FULLTIME. We have been taxpayers for over 20 years between us. So you think you have the right to belittle us because we have had some financial difficulties for 4 months this year?

Zeldazog

BERFFRO wrote: »

But i have been told today that im not eligible for any help and it looks like im going to be evicted from this house soon.

Who actually told you this - did you submit a claim and have a written reply with a breakdown of finances?

See my previous post regarding end of academic year and how its calculated.