A few Housing Benefit questions.

DeadGurlsAreEasy

So I have just finished university, I moved out of my university accommodation and I'm too poor to rent anywhere, so I moved back in with my parents. Now due to excessive arguments (and being kicked out last night, resorting in sleeping in a local forest) I cannot live at home, so I must move out ASAP.

I have just been accepted JSA and I sign on within the next few days. I am currently in a relationship and my partner has lived with me for 2 years now, she is a student and cannot claim JSA, however she should get student loans in the next few months.

We currently have about £30 to our names and we're running out of options. This leaves me with two questions:

1. Can I apply for housing in the council I went to university in, whilst currently residing in a different council (where my parents live)? I have much better ties to my University city and am more likely for find employment, plus my partner still needs to study there. I Also have my JSA registered through my parents council, would I have to switch this? They're going to want to know why I can't turn up to appointments if I live in another city.

2. Am I supposed to have a house before I apply to housing benefits? It makes sense to apply immediately, but obviously I don't have a place lined up yet, and I can't put that i'm living with my parents on the form as that will be misleading as I intend to leave. Would it be a better Idea to borrow money to pay for a deposit on a new house, move in, then claim benefits when I know the exact figures for the application form?

I'm just a bit overwhelmed by information and i'm worrying a bit about everything. Sleeping in the woods has made this a top priority for me.

Also, I don't intend to sponge off benefits forever, but I do need to get back on my feet.

Anubis_2

1. Yes, although preference is given to residents so you will have a long wait.

You will need to move your claim over to the relevant city, informing both offices, but this cannot be done until you have a fixed abode.

2. You need a house before you can claim housing benefit.

Is there anywhere else you can stay in the meantime?

HappyMJ

1. JSA is not registered with the council. It'll be connected to the Jobcentre at which you sign. You can change this by calling the DWP.

2. It will be very difficult to find a property to rent with a borrowed deposit and a promise to pay based on a successful housing benefit claim. You will have a better chance of finding a property by registering with the council as homeless and applying for every council/housing association property you can. This will take from several months to more than a year to find one depending on the demand in your area.

You can claim housing benefit for a house in advance of moving into a property but you won't get the first payment until a few weeks after you move in. A landlord will want a deposit, credit referencing fees and at least 1 months rent in advance.

Have you considered shared accomodation. Renting a room makes much more sense and doesn't usually require as much money. As a lodger in someone elses house the landlord knows that they can ask you to leave at any time so may only ask for the rent on a weekly basis (on the assumption if you don't pay it you leave) and may not even require a deposit.

bestpud

As a young, able bodied, adult, you are extremely unlikely to be offered social housing.

You would need to find accommodation and then claim LHA. You'd get the room only rate - the council website will tell you the maximin they will pay for this.

Be careful about moving in with students, as you could be hit with a hefty council tax bill.

If you move into the same house as your partner, you will need to make a joint claim. As you have lived together before, you'd have difficulty proving you are now just friends living in a shared house.

Really though, you need a job ASAP.

Who would loan you the deposit money?

Oldernotwiser

Best to go home and sort it out with your parents whilst getting a deposit together and job hunting for anything and everything.

viktory

DeadGurlsAreEasy wrote: »

I am currently in a relationship and my partner has lived with me for 2 years now

So did your girlfriend move into your parents house and then the woods with you? If not, where is she living?

DeadGurlsAreEasy

viktory wrote: »

So did your girlfriend move into your parents house and then the woods with you? If not, where is she living?

Actually, yes on both accounts.

DeadGurlsAreEasy

Anubis wrote: »

1. Yes, although preference is given to residents so you will have a long wait.

You will need to move your claim over to the relevant city, informing both offices, but this cannot be done until you have a fixed abode.

2. You need a house before you can claim housing benefit.

Is there anywhere else you can stay in the meantime?

Thanks for the help. Yes we can stay at my parents still for a while, one of them is ok with it and the other isn't. They won't kick me out of the house, but it's clear that I need to get out soon.

DeadGurlsAreEasy

HappyMJ wrote: »

1. JSA is not registered with the council. It'll be connected to the Jobcentre at which you sign. You can change this by calling the DWP.

2. It will be very difficult to find a property to rent with a borrowed deposit and a promise to pay based on a successful housing benefit claim. You will have a better chance of finding a property by registering with the council as homeless and applying for every council/housing association property you can. This will take from several months to more than a year to find one depending on the demand in your area.

You can claim housing benefit for a house in advance of moving into a property but you won't get the first payment until a few weeks after you move in. A landlord will want a deposit, credit referencing fees and at least 1 months rent in advance.

Have you considered shared accomodation. Renting a room makes much more sense and doesn't usually require as much money. As a lodger in someone elses house the landlord knows that they can ask you to leave at any time so may only ask for the rent on a weekly basis (on the assumption if you don't pay it you leave) and may not even require a deposit.

I understand the problems that this scenario presents, but there may be some way around it. If we can borrow money (from various sources) to cover a deposit and a few months rent then it could get us by until Housing Benefit could go through. I don't see why I wouldn't get it. I can't really do shared accommodation because we're a couple and we've been living in this type of arrangement for the last 4 years, and now with my parents, we really need our own space and we cannot live with other students, so this would likely mean living with some landlord and I wouldn't feel comfortable with this, especially with my last landlord abusing his powers with a 'licence agreement'. The reference would prove difficult.

DeadGurlsAreEasy

bestpud wrote: »

As a young, able bodied, adult, you are extremely unlikely to be offered social housing.

You would need to find accommodation and then claim LHA. You'd get the room only rate - the council website will tell you the maximin they will pay for this.

Be careful about moving in with students, as you could be hit with a hefty council tax bill.

If you move into the same house as your partner, you will need to make a joint claim. As you have lived together before, you'd have difficulty proving you are now just friends living in a shared house.

Really though, you need a job ASAP.

Who would loan you the deposit money?

Maybe I've missed something, but why would we have to prove that we're just friends living together? As she's a student she's not eligible to make a claim, so I would and she would be my partner.
The council that I would apply for says that for a 1 bedroomed house it could pay up to £250 a week (unless I made a mistake). As a couple I believe we would have to get 1 bedroom. This is very financially viable if we can definitely get the claim and can get the initial money ourselves.

I agree that we need jobs and I could get my last job again, which would be in the city we're trying to get to. Where I am now with my parents I have no contacts and working here would mean that I have to live here for an even longer period of time.

There's also another twist; I'm just finishing off some uni work that's spilling over from the year just gone, I'm not a full time student anymore (qualified for JSA) but it would be hard forr me to work for a couple of weeks because I have to submit a piece of work and take an exam. That said, if a job came around I could make it work, but that still means staying here, whereas if I can get to this other city I can get work and have access to university easily, which Is more necessary for my girlfriend.

HappyMJ

Yeah right. Set your sights a bit lower than Kensington and Chelsea. £250 per week is the maximum for the country. Trying to find a 1 bed flat in Kensington and Chelsea for £250 is going to be near impossible. There is a large population in London working working very hard for £250 a week a landlord will rent to them over you. The demand is too high. Try the outskirts of London. You'll have a better chance of securing somewhere.