Part DSS

abc1989

Hi,

Im posting this on behalf of somebody.

They are currently looking for a four bedroomed house in their area, due to the current house being too small. The problem is she has two daughters 21 & 16 sharing a room and 14 year old son in a tiny box room. You can not swing a cat in the house as its way too crowded. Her question is, If she moved to a four bedroomed house, would the DSS disqualify her as they might think that a four bedroomed house is too big?

She isn't sure how it works, She works part time so she would be paying part DSS and the rest out of her wages.

Oldernotwiser

She can check the rules for LHA on here.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHASearchIntro.aspx

MrsManda

I think she'd be entitled to claim for a 4 bedroom house based on the LHA bedroom allowance calculator:
https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/Calc.aspx

How much this would be depends on your local council and your circumstances.

Jowo_2

A tenant who receives LHA can live in any size property at any rental rate that they wish but will only get a maximum rate of LHA based on their family size and any income they receive can reduce their LHA. They are therefore required to top up the difference between what the LHA they receive and the rent from their own money.

The LHA Direct website will tell her the maximum LHA she can receive according to her household size (ages and gender of children) and the Turn2us website will tell her of her benefit entitlements and factor in the wages she earns which could reduce the LHA.

I expect in this case, the elder children if they are on benefits or working, would be willing (or already paying) house-keeping to their mum which will make the move more affordable.

She should understand the proposed changes to LHA that the govt have advised, which may reduce LHA rates going forward (such as the move from the 50th percentile of market rents to 30th percentile which means that LHA will be based on the bottom third of local rents, rather than the average).

Also, many landlords will not rent their properties to LHA tenants and some will only rent them to LHA tenants if they have a guarantor,