Some help for my daughter regarding LHA would be really appreciated!

GreyQueen

Wicked_witch, I'm sorry to hear that your young person is having such difficulty with her housing situation (I'm Ceridwen's email contact btw). It's a tricky situation and as someone who has lived in some, as well as who works on t'other side, I can see both sides of the problem.

The council paying the allowance has a duty to the public purse to make sure that the LHA is paid properly and, by spitefully returning her mail, the flatmates have caused the balloon to go up at the other end. The standard proceedure in my LA if they suspect non-occupancy or some other fishiness, is to send a "visiting officer" on a random visit within office hours. If the V.O. doesn't find the claimant at her home they will leave a calling card with a short time window (often only 48 hours) for her to make contact. If that isn't done the claim will be suspended (i.e. not paid).

Obviously, with her college hours, and the bad attitude of the other sharers, two things are predicatable; she'll be at college when they call and the calling card will be hidden/ destroyed.

My advice to your young person would be to telephone the council asap and ask for an appointment to see a housing adviser, if they have one, or a benefits adviser if not. She'll have to do this in office hours and she'll need to get permission from her college for absence but this is a serious matter and they should co-operate.

The young woman might want to have another person with her, an older adult or a support worker will probably be more use than another young lass/ lad of the same age and limited experience.

Please look at this website www.shelter.org.uk and select the part of the UK you live in (housing law is different in England & Wales to Scotmnd and Northern Ireland). There is an emergency adviceline number up there.

Always remember that she has the right to ask for the benefits decision to be reviewed or appealed but I think she'll have to wash her hands of this particular sharing situation as the other parties are not acting in good faith. If she is especially vulnerable and under 25, perhaps something called "supported lodgings" might be the way forward for her? The housing adviser can discuss all this with her.

Best of luck to you and her.

ceridwen

Thanks GreyQueen:T

Wicked_witch

Wow, thanks so much! I'm printing that out for future reference.

My husband called the council today, apparently they sent someone out yesterday while she was at college. But they have been very helpful and understanding and have agreed to do a home visit on a set day next week once the show is over. Would it be a good idea for me to be there?

I can understand people being surprised that she isn't just taking time off college in this situation. For her, college has been the only static, reliable thing in her life for the last year and a half and she is absolutely paranoid about being in trouble or thrown off the show or course.

She has applied to the ymca for supported housing and will hopefully have an interview date in the next week or so, although there is no way of knowing when they will re-open. But she will have a bed here until then.

Again, many thanks to you and ceridwen.

GreyQueen

Wicked_witch wrote: »

Wow, thanks so much! I'm printing that out for future reference.

My husband called the council today, apparently they sent someone out yesterday while she was at college. But they have been very helpful and understanding and have agreed to do a home visit on a set day next week once the show is over. Would it be a good idea for me to be there?

I can understand people being surprised that she isn't just taking time off college in this situation. For her, college has been the only static, reliable thing in her life for the last year and a half and she is absolutely paranoid about being in trouble or thrown off the show or course.

She has applied to the ymca for supported housing and will hopefully have an interview date in the next week or so, although there is no way of knowing when they will re-open. But she will have a bed here until then.

Again, many thanks to you and ceridwen.

I think it might be a good idea if she wants your help. It's never a bad thing to have another pair of eyes and ears in on a meeting; we do it regularly in my LA with both professional support workers and concerned family members/ friends. Hope it all comes good for the young lady and good for you for helping her.
Love and peas GQ x

Savvy_Sue

Wicked_witch wrote: »

My husband called the council today, apparently they sent someone out yesterday while she was at college. But they have been very helpful and understanding and have agreed to do a home visit on a set day next week once the show is over. Would it be a good idea for me to be there?

if you can be there, and she's happy for you to be there, then yes, do it. It can be a great help as well if the council know there is a supportive adult in the background, it might sound a bit cynical if I say that they may take more care to see that the right information is properly communicated if they know someone else is listening, and there would be a reason for that! But even leaving my cynicism aside, it can be hard to hear what's said when you're new to all this: council official says "we'll assess you next week and then you can start applying for housing ..." and youngster hears "next week I'll get a flat", or whatever.

Wicked_witch

She knows there is no chance of getting any sort of housing in this area, lol. Even bedsit accomodation is at a premium and as a single young woman of 18 she has no priority at all. However, the ymca would be ideal for her, so hopefully that will work out- the people we have spoken to there are quite positive about her suitability and because of the remodel they currently have an unusually large number of openings.