No idea where to start

sacapuntas

I am 25 and my husband and I have 2 children, ages 4 and 2. We are separating and he is moving out. I have been a homemaker and have no income of my own. I would like to continue living in this house we are currently in so that my son doesn't have to change schools, plus I like this house and its location. I have no idea how to figure out if I'll be able to afford it.

We, at the moment, get £108/week in child tax credit and £33/week in child benefit. I'm assuming I will either have to look for a job and claim JSA until I find one, or claim Income Support until my daughter turns 7. Either way, that will be £65/week? I've calculated that my husband will only have to pay £5/week child maintenance. So that leaves housing benefit/council tax benefit, right? Rent in this house is £530/month, but I can't figure out how to calculate what housing benefit I would receive. turn2us.org.uk tells me I will get £123/week, but the Directgov site says that the LHA for 2 bedrooms is £92/week. Is there some kind of extra money you get for being a lone parent and that's what turn2us is adding?

I'm going to ring CAB tomorrow morning to set up an appointment, but I'm just desperate to be able to put some numbers together. Do these look right to everyone? Am I missing out on anything? If these are right, then I think I will be able to afford to stay in this house, but I'm so worried I'll have to move. I've put my name in with the local authority for social housing as a safeguard, but I would much rather stay here.

AnxiousMum

Turn to us might be telling you that the allowance might be £123 but when you add in your own personal details, the lower amount might be what you are actually entitled to given your specific situation.

Did you go through the whole process on Entitled to to find out what you are entitled to on the last page?

sacapuntas

Yes, that's the figure from the final page, which is why I was confused.

AnxiousMum

How many bedrooms is your house, and are the children both same sex? It could be the 'entitlement' is less than what your house actually is in terms of rooms?

sacapuntas

The house is 3 bedrooms, and I have a 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. So we're entitled to 2 bedrooms, but perhaps turn2us just sees that I have 2 children and is giving the allowance for 3 bedrooms?

sacapuntas

Hm, I've just gone through it again listing it as only having 1 child under 20 and it still gives the same housing benefit amount, so I don't think it's assuming I'm entitled to more than 2 bedrooms. The LHA site itself says 3 bedrooms is £114, so that wouldn't work out either. I don't know where that extra £31 is coming from.

AnxiousMum

When you put in what your allowance is, are you putting in the lha allowance for two bedrooms? On the calculator I believe it asks you what the allowance is for your area, and then it calculates how much of it you would receive due to the other income information you put in. I think it might just be inputting errors

sacapuntas

That's weird-- it doesn't ask. I know that it used to. I've gone through it twice now, and it doesn't ask the post code or LHA on any page.

AnxiousMum

It does at one point, it asks you what the LHA rate is......you enter the rate which you are entitled to there, not an amount you pay for rent or anything.

sacapuntas

I see where it's going wonky-- the page where it asks if your income for 2010/2011 is less than or 10k greater than your 2011/2012 income. I was putting no, and for whatever reason, that made it skip the page that asks for the LHA.

Caz3121

the first page also asks for your housing status - if you leave it as tenant-social and voluntary it will not ask for LHA - needs to be tenant private sector