Housing Benefit Help please!

mum_of_lewis

Hi,
I Recently applied for housing benefit, Today i have recieved £13.18 into my bank account. I called them as its an odd amount they say im entitled to £1.67 a week! I put my details on the turn to us calculator and it should definately be more than that.
Here is my figures
I work 16 hrs per week £98.08
Child Benefit £20.10
Working and child tax £195.60 ( this includes severe disability premium for my som)
Disability living allowance£73.60
Carers Allowance £55.55

My rent is £280 per month. Is there any housing benefit experts that could check and see if this correct?

Thanks in advance
Janetttex

emsywoo123

Hi
It depends on your area and your entitlement (as in rooms you qualify for on LHA....................)

mum_of_lewis

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Where would i find out that information? i live in fife.Scotland.

Thanks
Janette x

BigAunty

The Direct gov website will have a LHA calculator that will provide guidance about the rate for you, depending on your location and household size/age mix.

The Turn2us online benefit calculator will take into account your employment income when calculating what is due. I know that the calculators will exclude non-means tested benefits, such as the DLA at the very least, possibly some of the others (other members can tell you exactly what would be ignored).

However, your monthly net income is around £1920 and your rent is very low in terms of the percentage of your net income (around 15%), so I'd be surprised if your LHA was a significant sum.

EDIT - sorry, ignore the info on LHA if you are a social housing tenant as it's not applicable. The following link is useful when it comes to finding out HB rates.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/housing-benefit

drc

Are you in social housing or are you renting privately? Housing benefit is for social housing and local housing allowance is for private rentals. Also, are those benefits per week or monthly?

If you are privately renting the rates can be found here;

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_196239

Mara69

Assuming your figures are weekly, you have £442.93 a week with only £70 rent. Therefore, I'd guess the LA are correct. The benefit calculators are not always 100% accurate

mum_of_lewis

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. I live in a housing association house. Rent is £290 per calander month. When i put all my details on to the benefit checker it says i should be entiltled to £32.05 Per week. I will wait on the paperwork arriving and see what it says.

Thanks
Janette x

BigAunty

mum_of_lewis wrote: »

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. I live in a housing association house. Rent is £290 per calander month. When i put all my details on to the benefit checker it says i should be entiltled to £32.05 Per week. I will wait on the paperwork arriving and see what it says.

Thanks
Janette x

If accurate, that takes you perilously close to the future benefit caps that are planned under the move to the Universal Credit system as it would mean your household receives 24.9k per annum net.

Dig out the information on this as there is a proposal (not yet a ratified policy) that no household can get in benefits what the average household in employment earns. Currently that's estimated at around 25 k per annum, or approx £500 per week.

So if the cap reduces or your income increases and there's a conflict, you might be affected by the proposed cap in the future. Just keep your eye on that as many proposed benefit changes never actually see the light of day, they are just newspaper headlines.

uganda

mum_of_lewis wrote: »

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies. I live in a housing association house. Rent is £290 per calander month. When i put all my details on to the benefit checker it says i should be entiltled to £32.05 Per week. I will wait on the paperwork arriving and see what it says.

Thanks
Janette x

Hi Janette,

You don't give exhaustive information in your initial post, and I'm surprised no-one's asked you these questions:

1. Are you a lone parent?
2. Is the DLA for your son or are you also disabled and in receipt of it?
3. Do you pay any childcare costs to a registered childminder?

The child benefit and DLA are disregarded as income. There is also a £42.10 disregard from your earnings if you are a lone parent.

On the assumption that you are a lone parent without childcare costs and it is only your child that is on DLA (that's how it all seems), I calculate that your applicable amount is £236.65 (lone parent over 18 £67.50, lone parent family premium £22.20, dependent child premium £62.33, carer premium £31.00 and disabled child premium £53.62) and that your net income after disregards is £307.13, therefore your contribution (65% of the difference between those two amounts) is £45.81pw. Your rent @ £290pcm is £66.92pw so you would get £21.12pw.

The figure you worked out was higher, but that may be because some of my assumptions are wrong!

EDIT: I was forgetting the lone parent premium would not now apply, you would just get the £17.40 family premium, so the applicable amount would be £231.85. Also, if your son gets the care component of DLA at the higher rate, which looking back I'd say he appears to, there would be an extra £21.63 enhanced disability premium, so your applicable amount would actually be £253.48 - so 65% of the difference between this and your assessed income of £307.13 is £34.87, meaning you would be awarded £66.92 - £34.87 = £32.05. Which tallies perfectly with what the benefits calculator told you.

sunnyone

BigAunty wrote: »

If accurate, that takes you perilously close to the future benefit caps that are planned under the move to the Universal Credit system as it would mean your household receives 24.9k per annum net.

Dig out the information on this as there is a proposal (not yet a ratified policy) that no household can get in benefits what the average household in employment earns. Currently that's estimated at around 25 k per annum, or approx £500 per week.

So if the cap reduces or your income increases and there's a conflict, you might be affected by the proposed cap in the future. Just keep your eye on that as many proposed benefit changes never actually see the light of day, they are just newspaper headlines.

Dont worry janette you will be fine as it wont apply to you as you have a disabled child, it only applys to ordinary households who are creaming in the benefits, not ones with kids with problems.

tomjonesrules

Whilst I would have no intention of taking this thread off topic, a quick scan on the OP's previous posts has left me concerned that the OP is unsure of her marital status. Perhaps a good time to remind the OP that the DWP take fraud extremely seriously?