Housing Benefit Eligibility

sarah_barker

Hi there,
Myself and my partner are looking into renting our first home (a two bedroom furnished apartment in the town centre - £525pcm, which would be convenient for the town centre and for our commutes to work).
We're both 21, and i'm currently at Uni (commuting from home) studying to become a Veterinary Nurse. He is working varied hours at the local cinema, but on average around 25-30 on minimum wage.
With my student finance, I get about £5000 a year with my maintenance loan and small grant as i still live with my parents. He earns approx £700 a month before tax. We could just about afford the monthly rent and bills inc. food each month with some left over for a rainy day etc.
Neither of us are disabled, nor have any savings that would be of interest.
The .gov benefit calculator said that, using my partner as the applicant, he could receive £68 a week in housing benefit, and some towards council tax as well (I said that he was 'living with partner' on the calculator which he would be - living with me).

Does this sound likely to be the case, as it would obviously massively help us with our rent and getting our foot in the door when it comes to moving out and having our own lives.

Oldernotwiser

Your student funding package will be taken into account when assessing your household for means tested benefits.

sarah_barker

I answered all the questions that related to such matters, such as me not being elligible to work or something along those lines.

bobajob_1966

I agree with ONW, the online benefit calculators do not take into account student finance. Best to call your LA and getting a proper calculation before committing to anything.

[Deleted User]

if you live away from home i think your grant would be increased

[Deleted User]

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Your student funding package will be taken into account when assessing your household for means tested benefits.

welcome back ONW

sarah_barker

woodbine wrote: »

if you live away from home i think your grant would be increased

this only seems to be the case if you can prove you've supported yourself independantly for the last 3 years, but i don't suppose living with the 'rents counts as that haha!

Caz3121

sarah_barker wrote: »

Myself and my partner are looking into renting our first home (a two bedroom furnished apartment in the town centre - £525pcm, which would be convenient for the town centre and for our commutes to work).

you need to look for the LHA rate for your are for a one-bedroom rate for your area. - this is the figure that will be used in the housing benefit calculation (not the actual rent)

here is some info on what student funding will be counted as income
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_070816