Housing Benefit guide Discussion Area

tiddlertot

No one seems to have considered those that are mortgage payers.
For far too long tenants have had an advantage over mortgage payers, now the tide is turning at last!

lychees

i dont know if i have posted this in the correct place i am new to forums and been trying for over a hour to post apologies in advance. can anyone help please with housing benefit advice. i want to bring a woman with learning disability to live within my family home. she is currently in a hostel in another town from me and her genetic family and she hates it (it is a womans refuge not specific for people with disabilities) she desperatly wants to come and live with me and i would gladly accommodate her i just want to know if i can claim housing benefit for her living in my home and could i claim for her food as i know i would have to provide all her meals and support her social needs. i have given it a lot of thought her social worker will not speak to me i assume due to confidentiality etc they want her moved into a flat or supported living asap as they cannot support her where she is her diet is lacking etc as she is eating canned food. i work so know i cannot claim carers allowance sorry to go on thank

john539

lychees wrote: »

i dont know if i have posted this in the correct place i am new to forums and been trying for over a hour to post apologies in advance. can anyone help please with housing benefit advice. i want to bring a woman with learning disability to live within my family home. she is currently in a hostel in another town from me and her genetic family and she hates it (it is a womans refuge not specific for people with disabilities) she desperatly wants to come and live with me and i would gladly accommodate her i just want to know if i can claim housing benefit for her living in my home and could i claim for her food as i know i would have to provide all her meals and support her social needs. i have given it a lot of thought her social worker will not speak to me i assume due to confidentiality etc they want her moved into a flat or supported living asap as they cannot support her where she is her diet is lacking etc as she is eating canned food. i work so know i cannot claim carers allowance sorry to go on thank

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kell.b

I have just received a letter to say that my housing benefit is going down, as of last week, and I will have to make up a short fall of £28 each week.

There's been a reduction as I'm single and aged 34, what I want to know is will it go back up when I'm 35? I'm looking online but can't find the right info.

I just wish I'd been given a bit more warning, rather then a letter received after the effect. I know £28 a week isn't much but when JSA is £71 a week it doesn't leave much to pay my bills. I can see something going wrong.

nannytone_2

once you are 35, you will be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate of LHA again.

to be fair, it has been widely publicised that under 35's would only get the shared rated of LHA, so you knew it was coming.

you could try claiming discretionary housing allowance to help until you reach the magic age of 35

kell.b

I knew it was coming but no one would confirm what it would drop to and I was still being told it may not go down even though I'm under 35 due to what the rates are in my area. Just annoying to get a letter after the changes take affect.

BigAunty

kell.b wrote: »

I knew it was coming but no one would confirm what it would drop to and I was still being told it may not go down even though I'm under 35 due to what the rates are in my area. Just annoying to get a letter after the changes take affect.

You're not the only tenant who have not received a formal letter from their local council about this change and it's a big shame that you were not notified of what is a clearly big and unmanageable change.

However, in the wide publicity that covered the change, it was crystal clear that the LHA rate for the under 35s affected everyone (except the severely disabled who require a non-resident carer to come in and provide overnight care) and would drop from the 1 bed to the shared property rate. A glance at the local council website rate for 1 and shared rates would have filled you in on this.

Further but far less publicised information on the LHA change for the under 35s would have told you about the transitional protection in place, how long each tenant got before the drop was due. I think it was calculated something like 9 months after the anniversary date of the LHA award but I'm just recalling this from memory, i haven't verified it.

cj_seven

Hi all,

I am trying to find out more information on this issue

I have found out that I'm being made redundant in April, and rent my home from a housing association. I'm 30 years old.

The house has 2 bedrooms and the rent is 75 pw

Does this change mean i would not be able to claim anything at all from housing benefit or i could claim and have to make up the 14% my self

jw2512

Hi, I was 61 in December 2012. I live in a two bed council flat. This was allocated to me 12 years ago. I didn't ask for two bedrooms, this was given to me. I haven't had anyone living with me in this time and have not become under occupied by any circumstances. I am a secure tenant and presuming that my original tenancy agreement was for their allocation of this flat? I am eligible to claim my pension and pension credits on 6.9.13 and I have been informed that I have to pay bedroom tax from April. Any ideas?

BigAunty

jw2512 wrote: »

Hi, I was 61 in December 2012. I live in a two bed council flat. This was allocated to me 12 years ago. I didn't ask for two bedrooms, this was given to me. I haven't had anyone living with me in this time and have not become under occupied by any circumstances. I am a secure tenant and presuming that my original tenancy agreement was for their allocation of this flat? I am eligible to claim my pension and pension credits on 6.9.13 and I have been informed that I have to pay bedroom tax from April. Any ideas?

AFAIK, I think you have to pay the 14% shortfall in HB out of your existing income or get a job or short term lodger to fund it until you get your pension in September. You could apply for discretionary housing payment - look into that.

The fact that you were allocated a 2 bedroom property years ago is irrelevant - this change is being applied retrospectively and affects all social housing tenants of working age (with the exception of the severely disabled) who are claiming HB and have unoccupied rooms.