The new LHA rule for under 35's that only allows them to claim the rate for one room

londonbabe73

if there is a problem with your property you need to contact your local councils private sector housing enforcement team who will take your landlady in hand but obviously you run the risk of her serving you with your notice to quit

But what i fail to understand is why do you feel that you are entitled to you own flat which the tax payer has to fund ??? its called living within your means i would like to live in a house but can only afford a flat i don't expect the tax payer to fund a house for me i have to wait until i can afford it

As far as i am concerned if you are a single adult with no issues or circumstances why you cant share
ie disabilities ,mental health etc and want the tax payer to fund your accommodation the cheapest accommodation is sharing and that's what you should be assisted with anything extra fund it yourself !!!

sorry dont mean to rant but i work within social housing and it amazes me everyday what people who effectively are not paying their way think what they are "entitled" to have . That aside there is no excuse for landlords not being brought to book for crap properties and they do need to be reported...

LB

Comstock

londonbabe73 wrote: »

sorry dont mean to rant but i work within social housing and it amazes me everyday what people who effectively are not paying their way think what they are "entitled" to have .

The FAQ for this forum makes it clear this type of post isn't allowed. Your remarks are out of order, Londonbabe....



"Its about helping people get their entitlement! Not about benefits policy!

This board is here for help and support for those on or looking to claim benefits, not for judgement.

It’s ONLY focus is helping people with their money.

It's here to help people find out what they are entitled to under the current system, and to help them get it.

Benefits provide a lifeline for many, and this site is here to help people with their money, and not to judge"

Oldernotwiser

Suggesting suitable alternatives is not judging!

londonbabe73

well said oldernotwiser

i'm merely supporting the new policy that is long overdue!!! and i totally agree that everyone can have a patch of bad luck and it can be a life saver unfortunately for a few its become not a lifeline but a way of life ........

no offence meant ......

stresshead81_2

oldernotwiser - I do agree that for some it has become a way of life, but as someone who has been through the system twice the system stinks irrespective of the changes that are forthcoming. I am not meaning to cause offence by the thing I say but it is wrong to assume that people get stuck in that trap. It is not the person who is homeless that is stuck, it is the councils concerned. There is a Big Issue seller that has a pitch near where I have just been rehoused (very greatfully as otherwise there would be a 10 year wait on council list). He was on JSA, attended every 2weeks as per usual. Then out of the blue they chuck him off the benefit resulting in his housing benefit being stopped (bear in mind he is in hostel that is around 295 per week, plus he has to contribute 20 per 2 weeks). 9 weeks later he still fighting to get the DWP decision overturned. The reason he has been chucked off benefits - because he cannot find work. Who is going to employ a homeless person who could, at any moment, be chucked out of the hostel that does not even have a working kitchen let alone hot water. Homeless persons should not be put onto JSA or ESA they should be given some money as it is rough out there without any financial input, trust me I know that from the rough end of the spectrum. Homeless people should not be expected to, due to the high rents you pay until one is out of the system (ie perm housing not temp or hostel). Not all homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics, some of us are/were normalish people who had a breakdown or something that caused us to leave previous flat or house. I am sorry if this seems like a rant but people (not yourself) do seem to think that homeless people are not worth support.

Comstock

londonbabe73 wrote: »

well said oldernotwiser

i'm merely supporting the new policy that is long overdue!!! and i totally agree that everyone can have a patch of bad luck and it can be a life saver unfortunately for a few its become not a lifeline but a way of life ........

no offence meant ......

I'm not suggesting you meant offence, simply pointing out that this type of discussion is NOT what this board is for.

It's about what people *are* entitled to, not what they should or should not be entitled to.......

Oldernotwiser

stresshead81 wrote: »

o He was on JSA, attended every 2weeks as per usual. Then out of the blue they chuck him off the benefit resulting in his housing benefit being stopped (bear in mind he is in hostel that is around 295 per week, plus he has to contribute 20 per 2 weeks). 9 weeks later he still fighting to get the DWP decision overturned. The reason he has been chucked off benefits - because he cannot find work.

People aren't "chucked off" JSA because they can't find a job. If he's been refused JSA it'll be because he hasn't been applying for enough jobs or because he's missed his appointments to sign on.

Raphael

popxcore wrote: »

I was just saying some people may not have either of those options

Yeah, especially if there is a sudden influx of people looking for shared accommodation when the new rules kick in! There is only a certain number of 2 bedroom flats available and if you're thinking of more people sharing, the flats have to have an HMO licence, and there's not that many of them either, especially in a city where most of those flats are filled by students who reserve them months in advance.

I guess the only good point is that there will be more 1-bedroom flats available and less demand so landlords might have to lower their prices for 1-bedroom flats.

Raphael

londonbabe73 wrote: »

But what i fail to understand is why do you feel that you are entitled to you own flat which the tax payer has to fund ??? its called living within your means i would like to live in a house but can only afford a flat i don't expect the tax payer to fund a house for me i have to wait until i can afford it

Well I am a taxpayer too, and HB / LHA is meant to help people on low incomes! I have lived on my own for 8 years and always paid my rent myself, and it's only over the past year that I've had to claim housing benefit, being self-employed your income can fluctuate a lot and it's difficult to predict if you will always be able to cover all your outgoings or if you will have to temporarily claim HB to help.

So what am I expected to do, move every 6 months to reflect my situation? Also, I work from home, and if I was forced to go back to having a room in a shared flat, I would probably not be able to continue doing so, so in the end I might have to claim LHA for the whole rent (instead of just a portion of it at the moment) if my income dropped even further as a result and if I wasn't able to find other work immediately. That's not exactly gonna help "the taxpayer" is it?

Anyway, thanks for everyone else's input. I think I might have found somewhere finally, meant to sign the lease this week, so my claim will start in March, and let's just hope the changes are indeed applied at the next anniversary date after april 2012...

Arg

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Why would anyone need to become homeless or starve when they can simply share a house or flat?

If things were that simple this forum would be much quieter.
I doubt you believe that people would smoothly find a new place to live with people their perfectly matched for without any cockups from the DWP or council.

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Suggesting suitable alternatives is not judging!

What alternatives would they be?

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

People aren't "chucked off" JSA because they can't find a job. If he's been refused JSA it'll be because he hasn't been applying for enough jobs or because he's missed his appointments to sign on.

JSA could be stopped for whatever reason and the claimant will be left without it until after the appeal.
Whether you think this because he hasn't been applying for enough jobs is missing the point.