housing benefit rate lowered new guidelines

System

I'm lucky to live in a student city so have flatshare for £53 pw, do you have any friends who have a spare room who could take on a lodger?

MissMoneypenny

AMG762 wrote: »

Could somebody please confirm this is correct?

I thought it was 9 months transitional protection from your yearly review date?

I am due a review anytime now and was expecting to be placed on the lower 30th percentile around April 2012?

If its December 2012 I will be happy

People making new claims from 1 April 2011 will be affected straight away. Existing customers will normally be affected from the anniversary of their claim. They may be affected sooner if

• there is a change in the size of their household that affects the size of dwelling they are entitled to, or
• if they move.

Existing customers can get transitional protection for a further nine months from the date that that the changes apply to them. This transitional protection means that many existing customers will not be affected until January 2012 and some will see no change until March 2012.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/local-authority-staff/housing-benefit/claims-processing/local-housing-allowance/2011-changes/

bobajob_1966

geministar2008 wrote: »

hmmm all a nightmare, mine was already reduced. Where i live you cant get a room below 90 a week anyway! So regardless if i move to a shared house, which i am not prepared to do when im nearly 30! it wouldnt make much difference! i had enough of shared houses in late teens early 20's! Its all a bit confusing, as a couple of people have said that as long as i dont move or change my claim i should stay as i am. Gonna email my local housing i think! The country has gone mad, cut back after cut back, yes we know why they are doing it. But people are literally struggling to eat now and have a roof over their heads even those classed as a higher class are starting to feel the strain! I dont even have car on road due to the expense. I feel lucky that i have a part time job! I could easy give up and sign on at times!

If you gave up work without good cause your JSA claim would be sanctioned, plus you would still only be eligible for the shared room rate.

Benefits_Bod

You need to ask your LA for the claim / start date from the beginning of your award - even if it's years ago.

geministar2008 wrote: »

how do you know when your review is due???

MissMoneypenny

geministar2008 wrote: »

how do you know when your review is due???

I assume it's the date LHA started on the property you live in.

geministar2008

thanks all. We have to just plod on i guess and hope things improve.....1 day. I think i may have started claiming from sometime in June 2008, its always been a top up bar a period when i was sick and on ESA and a month here and there on JSA. My current period of claiming began April this year. I have just emailed my benefits office asking for clarity and review dates etc and ive asked for the name of an MP who i could write to to stress my concerns! I know it wont make a difference but one day it may?!

FBaby

geministar2008 wrote: »

hmmm all a nightmare, mine was already reduced. Where i live you cant get a room below 90 a week anyway! So regardless if i move to a shared house, which i am not prepared to do when im nearly 30! it wouldnt make much difference! i had enough of shared houses in late teens early 20's! Its all a bit confusing, as a couple of people have said that as long as i dont move or change my claim i should stay as i am. Gonna email my local housing i think! The country has gone mad, cut back after cut back, yes we know why they are doing it. But people are literally struggling to eat now and have a roof over their heads even those classed as a higher class are starting to feel the strain! I dont even have car on road due to the expense. I feel lucky that i have a part time job! I could easy give up and sign on at times!

Indeed, times are tough for everyone and I don't see why it is seen as such a unacceptable thing to expect 'young' people to share a house when they can't afford to rent a flat themselves... I shared a flat in my early 20s, then when I was 24, I managed to get a job that allowed me to have my own flat, it felt like a real achievement. Unfortunately, I lost my job and had no choice but to relocate elsewhere and look for another job. I found one, but not well paid and had no choice but to share a house. I didn't see it as the end of the world, just that I had to start again, work hard, get a better paid job and aspire to get my own place. I did, rented a flat, saved and bought my house.

Bogof_Babe

geministar2008 wrote: »

thanks all. We have to just plod on i guess and hope things improve.....1 day. I think i may have started claiming from sometime in June 2008, its always been a top up bar a period when i was sick and on ESA and a month here and there on JSA. My current period of claiming began April this year. I have just emailed my benefits office asking for clarity and review dates etc and ive asked for the name of an MP who i could write to to stress my concerns! I know it wont make a difference but one day it may?!

You've asked the benefits office for the name of your MP?