Splitting up - housing benefit for me?

toasterman

Hi all,
Me and my girlfriend have been sharing a 1-bedroom flat, but are now splitting up.
I've been unemployed for about 6 months (she's been working the entire time), and although I was contributing to the bills, I stopped 2-3 months ago.
I've only been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for the last month or so, because of the stigma attached, and how it makes me feel having to go and do it. I also thought they'd want to know about her bank accounts/savings, etc. which they don't.
I'm an idiot in this respect - I should have started claiming as soon as I could, but I honestly didn't expect to be out of work this long.

So my question is this:
How do I go about claiming housing benefit so I can move out? Is this possible? To claim *before* you move out?

My now-ex-girlfriend has offered to lend me a deposit, but this doesn't help me in as much as I won't be able to afford the following month's, estate agencies won't touch me as I'm unemployed, and most private landlords say "NO DSS" anyway.
I have claimed housing benefit once before, but I was already living in a shared house at the time, as a single person - so finding somewhere to live wasn't needed. Also, that landlord was very hands-off, and didn't care where his money came from, as long as it was on-time.

I can't stay here. I don't have any savings. None of my friends have a spare room and the only thing I've been offered from relatives is a temporary sleep on their sofa.
I do have a car, but I don't want to sell it because it's only worth a few hundred pounds, and employment agencies regularly ask if I have my own transport. If I don't, it excludes me from even more jobs.
At this rate, I'm going to end up sleeping in it.

We've no joint bank accounts, kids or anything.

Any help/advice much appreciated.

Sam____2

I think you can apply in advance if you have an address to move in to

Claiming in advance


If you know you're moving to a new address, you can claim Housing Benefit up to 13 weeks (17 weeks if you're aged 60 or over) before you move.
You won't usually get any money before you move in.

pmlindyloo

You don't say how old you are. Look up the housing allowance you would be entitled to on your local council site. This will give you a good idea as to what you can afford while you are on JSA. If you are on income based JSA you will automatically be entitled to HB and CTB.

Also go to your local council offices and ask if they do a deposit bond scheme. This will enable you to find a place without having to produce a deposit.

Some local councils also have a list of landlords that accept people claiming HB. If they don't then you could try private house shares or being a lodger in a private house. Have you anyone who could act as a guarantor if you took on a tenancy? Some LLs will accept you if you have a guarantor.

It is not at all easy when you are single, male and receiving JSA so you have to 'think outside the box'.

Good luck.

toasterman

pmlindyloo wrote: »

You don't say how old you are.

Ah. Didn't realise my age came into it. I'm 29.

I don't think I have anyone who would act as guarantor. I don't have much in the way of family, and I wouldn't want to burden any of my friends, because I'm such a screw-up at the moment.

Thanks for your tips. I will check the council's website.. I was looking on the main direct.gov site, but not finding much of use there.

pmlindyloo

If you are 25 yrs or under you would only be entitled to the shared room rate. This is likely to change (not sure when - anyone?) to 35 yrs and under!

Hopefully you will have a job by then and you won't need HB.

PS I know CAB are currently raising this 35 years threshold as a social policy issue so, you never know, this may get reviewed!

toasterman

Just tried my local council's website, and slightly confused.
It asked the rental amount so I used what I was paying in my last house-share. £285 per month.
The resulting figure of housing benefit I could receive is 65.77 per week. Which only adds up to around £276.

I wondered if they consider £285 per month to be too high, so changed it to £275. Then says I can receive 63.46 per week. Which only adds up to £266.

Do they pay less than your rent, as an incentive to find work quicker?
Even at rent of £200 (and I'm not going to find anything that cheap anywhere around here), they only pay ~£193 a month.

I put in £650 per month as an absurdly extravagant monthly rent (for my circumstances), and it suggested they'd pay £150 per week / £630 per month. I couldn't afford this, even with their help (as I couldn't afford the electricity/gas, etc. bills to go with it), but I'm surprised they don't cap it a long way below that for a single male with no dependents.

Caz3121

If you are looking at private rentals you need to find the LHA rate for the area, that is the maximum they will pay. If the rent is more than this figure you need to find it from your JSA. Use this site once you know the LHA for your area for a one bedroom rate https://www.turn2us.entitledto.co.uk/entitlementcalculator.aspx

pmlindyloo

toasterman wrote: »

Just tried my local council's website, and slightly confused.
It asked the rental amount so I used what I was paying in my last house-share. £285 per month.
The resulting figure of housing benefit I could receive is 65.77 per week. Which only adds up to around £276.

I wondered if they consider £285 per month to be too high, so changed it to £275. Then says I can receive 63.46 per week. Which only adds up to £266.

Do they pay less than your rent, as an incentive to find work quicker?
Even at rent of £200 (and I'm not going to find anything that cheap anywhere around here), they only pay ~£193 a month.

I put in £650 per month as an absurdly extravagant monthly rent (for my circumstances), and it suggested they'd pay £150 per week / £630 per month. I couldn't afford this, even with their help (as I couldn't afford the electricity/gas, etc. bills to go with it), but I'm surprised they don't cap it a long way below that for a single male with no dependents.

I'm not sure what you are doing

Forget about the Housing Benefit for the moment. You need to find out your housing allowance for a 1 bedroomed flat.

This is the maximum they will pay per week so if you are looking at monthly figures for a flat (for example on Rightmove) then multiply the housing allowance by 52 and then divide by 12.

They will not pay any more than the housing allowance so if you find somehwere dearer than you are expected to find the extra yourself. In your case this wouldn't be possible so you must not find anywhere that costs more than the monthly housing allowance.

If you decide on a house share then they will only pay the maximum amount allowed for a house share (not the 1 bedroomed rate).

Hope this helps

If you are still stuck let me know your council and I will try to find out what you would be entitled to.

ps Look back at my highlighted part in your quote.

A room share at £285 per month
£65.77 per week housing benefit
Multiply £65.77 x 52 and divide by 12 = £285 per month

Based on those figures you would get HB to pay for all your rent.

Also, and I know this is very confusing, if your rent is less than the Housing Allowance you won't get the extra!

KxMx

Housing Benefit applies to council properties only.
Local Housing Allowance applies to private rentals.
So as others have said, find out your LHA allowance rate and search accordingly.

pmlindyloo

KxMx wrote: »

Housing Benefit applies to council properties only.
Local Housing Allowance applies to private rentals.
So as others have said, find out your LHA allowance rate and search accordingly.

Now don't confuse the poor man :rotfl:

Housing Benefit applies to both private and council/housing association properties.

But, Housing Allowance rates apply only to private rentals.

toasterman

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I'm not sure what you are doing

A room share at £285 per month
£65.77 per week housing benefit
Multiply £65.77 x 52 and divide by 12 = £285 per month

Based on those figures you would get HB to pay for all your rent.

Also, and I know this is very confusing, if your rent is less than the Housing Allowance you won't get the extra!

Sorry you're right. I was doing something stupidly more complicated (and wrong) maths wise.
I got those rates from the council website housing benefit checker thing..
I was multiplying the weekly rate by 4.2 to get an approx monthly figure, then comparing it to an 'exact' monthly rent. I'm really not awake today.

According to the Direct Gov LHA info, it is the 1 bedroom rate if:
"you are 25 years or over, and rent a room for your sole use in a shared accommodation.
Choose the ‘1 bedroom’ rate if you are 25 years or over and rent a self-contained property (eg a whole flat or house)."

The one bedroom rate for my area is 114.23 per week x 52 and /12 = £495 per month.

Does that mean that regardless of what it says on the Housing Benefit site, £495-a-month is the top limit?
If so, that's quite handy to know, because it effectively means I can only look at rooms in shared houses, and (possibly) studio flats...and makes searching a lot easier.