Housing benefits query

nikonpro

Hello world,

I have a query about housing benefit from a landlords point of view..

I have a large bed sit that is rented to a long standing and reliable tenant..
The local council pay the rent via housing benefit as the tenant is unable to work..
The rent has remained unchanged for 10 years and I would like to put it up.
How can I find out the maximum housing benefit that the council will stretch to ?? Do I just phone them up and ask or is there a correct way of doing it ?? The 'flat' is a bed sit with separate kitchen and bathroom . Rent has been £395 a month for past 7 years...
The LHA site says that the average for one bedroom flat in that area is £600 per month...
The tenant is on an assured shorthold tenancy furnished.. the term of her tenancy expired many years ago.. But as mentioned I dont want to cause her any hassle or chuck her out ...
any advice welcome

Dunroamin

Is the flat self contained, with its own kitchen and bathroom?

BigAunty

Is the tenant 35 or over?

nikonpro

flat is self contained above a shop, with no shared facilities and its own front door ..
and the tenant is approximately 40-45

pmlindyloo

I have followed you over from the Housing forum!

I believe that Upper Belvedere comes under Bexley Borough Council.

The maximum Housing Allowance they will pay are as follows:

Shared Accommodation Rate (for single under 35s ) is £78.50 per week (remember to times by 52 and divide by 4 for the monthly rate.)

One bedroomed rate is £150 per week.

I am not sure what rate they would be using for your bedsit. I suspect it is the one bedroom rate as it has its own private front door.

You can check that the above is correct by telephoning Bexley Borough Council on 0208 303 7777 or emailing [EMAIL="customer.services@bexley.gov.uk"]customer.services@bexley.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

You will need to check that Upper Belvedere does come under Bexley Borough Council (!) and ask what Housing Allowance they would give for your studio flat.

If the Housing Allowance works out more than your current rent then you can raise it to that level. Take the advice of those on the Housing Forum about how to do that correctly.

Since some tenants go into panic mode when they see a rise (especially if they are elderly and those who find it difficult to budget) and since they get the Housing Allowance weekly it might be worth considering setting the monthly rent at the Housing Allowance weekly rate times four. Hope that makes sense!

Dunroamin

Several councils websites state that that the 1 bed allowance is what's used for a self contained studio flat.

http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/19419.html

pmlindyloo

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I have followed you over from the Housing forum!

I believe that Upper Belvedere comes under Bexley Borough Council.

The maximum Housing Allowance they will pay are as follows:

Shared Accommodation Rate (for single under 35s ) is £78.50 per week (remember to times by 52 and divide by 4 for the monthly rate.)

One bedroomed rate is £150 per week.

I am not sure what rate they would be using for your bedsit. I suspect it is the one bedroom rate as it has its own private front door.

You can check that the above is correct by telephoning Bexley Borough Council on 0208 303 7777 or emailing [EMAIL="customer.services@bexley.gov.uk"]customer.services@bexley.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

You will need to check that Upper Belvedere does come under Bexley Borough Council (!) and ask what Housing Allowance they would give for your studio flat.

If the Housing Allowance works out more than your current rent then you can raise it to that level. Take the advice of those on the Housing Forum about how to do that correctly.

Since some tenants go into panic mode when they see a rise (especially if they are elderly and those who find it difficult to budget) and since they get the Housing Allowance weekly it might be worth considering setting the monthly rent at the Housing Allowance weekly rate times four. Hope that makes sense!

Have been thinking about this and am not sure that this is the right advice.

If the OP set the monthly rate at 4 times the weekly HA , say for discussion purposes £600 per month, would the HA then be £600 times 12 and then divided by 52 or would they still give the £150 per week?

Don't want to give the OP the wrong advice

In other words, if the OP's tenant gets the one bed rate at £150 per week what is the maximum he can charge per month and it still be covered by HA?

nikonpro

Please excuse me if I ask a silly question.... But if I ask for too much, wont they just knock it down and pay their maximum rate ??

fogartyblue.

Because there are not exactly 4 weeks in every calender month, there will always be a under/over payment.

If using the above example and you charged £650 a calender month, some months £600 would be paid as HB and some would be £750.

The overall figure would be the same at the end of the year from the tenant's point of view.

If you think that the tenant would worry about that, why don't you charge £600 every 4 weeks and then there would be 13 payments in the year.

It is a good idea to keep the rent at the maximum rate (ie what the tenant can claim for). The only people that are gaining out of you is the Council to the tune of £3060 a year!!! You must be their best friend and benefactor.

pmlindyloo

They won't 'knock it down' because the tenant's tenancy agreement will have the monthly rent on it.

What would happen is the tenantt would receive the maximum rate for what they are entitled to (in your case we think it is the one bed rate but you need to check) and then the tenant would be expected to pay the rest.

That is why it is vital for you to set the correct rate if you wish to keep your tenant and you feel that she would not be able to pay this 'top up'.

Dunroamin

nikonpro wrote: »

Please excuse me if I ask a silly question.... But if I ask for too much, wont they just knock it down and pay their maximum rate ??

They won't pay more than the maximum rate, whatever you decide to charge but if you charge less than the LHA allowance then this is what they'll pay.