current housing benefits rules for single person?

morganedge

Hi.
I'm curious.

I thought that recently rules were made that if a single person wanted to claim housing benefits, they could only rent either a bedsit or a room in a shared flat?

Is that correct? Is that rule in place yet? I thought it was a rule, but I know someone who recently got a nice little flat to himself and is having the rent paid for him.

Also, how should the 'order' work?
Im currently unemployed and living with my brother so I dont think im allowed any benefit because it's a family member.

When someone claims housing benefit, do they apply whilst they are still living at their current place and wait for the government to re-house them, or do they look for a place themselves and then get the deposit money from the Government (Or pay the deposit themselves) and then get housing benefit for the rent????

I haven't got a clue. But I *might* have to move out soon.
So can you advise me on what a single 26 year old is entitled too (have the rules changed?) and what is the order to do things in regarding securing a property etc.

What if I move in by myself (borrowing money) for a small flat? Can I then get housing benefit????

confused.
cheers

georgina32

hi,

My understanding is that u cant claim if u live with a family member, unless theirs a legal tenancy agreement. At 26 you can get the full LHA for your area. This is roughly the average rent I think. I understand though next year its changing, you won't get as much if your under 35. I think you need to pay the deposit yourself. As soon as u a tenancy agreement, you can apply for HB.

I think I got it right, i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm mistaken!

Georgie

morganedge

Thanks.
So you think the rule that I mentioned (bedsit, or shared flat) kicks in next year?
Will them rules only apply for people who are applying once the rule is in place, or will they kick single people out of their homes and tell them to move into a bedsit or a shared accommodation?

If so, best get in quick.
Bet there'd be some serious arguments between the 2 people that the government place together in each flat, lol. Wait for the headlines next year. How many violent fights between housemates until they scrap that rule? lol

Aarons_mummy

As it's close family member I don't think you would be entitled to housing benefit where you are at the moment.

Right now the direct gov website says that under 25s are only entitled to the shared room rate however this is increasing to 35 in April I believe so even if your friend has then the amount he recieves will reduce to take this into account.

As soon as you have signed a rent agreement you can apply for local housing allowance but it is reducing in April so you have to work out if you can afford to move out into a single apartment. You can search for how much you would be entitled to maximum here:

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHARateSearch.aspx?SearchType=PostCode

You would look for a house yourself, there are some grants available for deposit, it's dependent on certain factors though and also by council so you would have to check with them what they offer.

As you are on JSA you could apply for a budgeting loan but this has to be paid back and is only a certain amount for a single person, around £300 I believe.

To get a property by yourself you would have to look at the above info and find out what you would be entitled to, then look for somewhere that will accept HB, once you've signed the agreement you can apply for LHA from the date you move in. As I said though the rates are going down so until April you could have a 1 bed flat paid for but after that you would receive the shared room rate and have to pay the rest yourself.

Hope that makes sense and helps a little.

morganedge

thanks AaronsMummy.
So even after the rule kicks in, one could still choose to live by themselves in a flat, but would only receive the rent that one would pay if they were sharing a flat or living in a bedsit....?

Jowo_2

Here are the current rules for those 25 years or older.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/FAQ.aspx#SingleOver25

Here are the proposed changes from April this year which may depress LHA rates (LHA caps and move from 50th to 30th percentile to calculate LHA).

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHASearchIntro.aspx#changes01

Here are the later changes, including the extension of the shared property rate from 25 to 35 and the 10% cut to LHA for those on JSA for a year plus

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_192415

I would think that the changes will apply to new LHA claims after this date, or possibly on the anniversary of the existing claim, but hopefully another member can tell you this. Here is advice to consider the impact of future changes for anyone on LHA

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018928

Aarons_mummy

Yep that's right, so say the rate you are entitled to was £200 (just a figure I plucked from the air) and your rent was £450 you would have to add the additional £250 yourself. To get your rent fully covered you would have to be somewhere that you only paid the £200 if that makes sense?

KxMx

I think the rule changes are for new claimants only, and that they haven't decided when to put them in place for existing claimants. I may be wrong though.

Angel_Rachie

I think how much you recieve depends on your age and what area you live in. For example my partner and I are on JSA. He is 25 and im 21. We get £110 pw for a one bed flat. However if I was living on my own as I'm under 25 I would only recieve around £65pw and this will usually only get you a tiny bedside or a room in a shared house. Although if you manage to get a council property you might be able to rend a one bed property for around £65 - it varies.
Alsoin answer to your other question you do not claim housing benefit until you have signed a tenancy agreement for a property. We signed for our flat a month before we moved in, but handed our form in straight away in order to get the ball rolling. As it can sometimes take 3-6 for your first HB payment to come through.
It is also worth considering that most private landlords will ask for a bond for a property (ours was £450) and also might want references or a guarentor as your DSS. Best of luck finding a place as most landlords dont want to take on DSS. However we managed to find ours on Gumtree.
Sorry for the rant...hopes this helps

Jowo_2

Here's a good summary of the changes from Shelter and when they actually kick in for LHA claimants.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/future_changes_to_local_housing_allowance

The OP needs to give serious consideration to their proposal to move into a 1 bedroom self contained property as it will clearly not be 'affordable' for more than a couple of years on benefits since a claimant may have a grace period of 9 months or a maximum of a year depending on the anniversary of their claim. They will then have their LHA cut to the shared property rate, plus the long-term unemployed on JSA will see a 10% cut to it, as well.

morganedge

thanks, AG.
Regarding landlords, Is the rent money paid into YOUR account or the landlords? If its the the former, couldn't you just tell the Landlord that you are nothing to do with DSS and are paying privately? How would they know?