Welfare Reform Act, making it difficult to move and take a job

edgex

adwyer wrote: »

My rent now is £100 a week for a 5 bedroom and if I am on benefits next year I will have to pay 25% of that myself, However if I move to a private rented 3 bedroom house in the same situation next year the government would pay 100% of the £150 a week rent, when the local housing associations 3 bedroom houses have an average rent of around £80, so from a money saving level this works out a lot worse for the tax payer.

adwyer wrote: »

I do NOT get housing benefit, I pay my own rent,

you are however receiving subsidised housing

there is simply no way that £100pw rent is paying the costs of providing & maintaining a 5bed house



what dosnt make sense is why/how your in a 5bed property when your requirement is for a 4bed at most

was this the only housing the HA had available?
if so, presumably you have this in writing, so that you can make the argument that the HA should continue to treat the property as a 4/5 bed, or a 3bed for a family with 3 children that are within a couple of years of moving up through the rules

adwyer

edgex wrote: »

you are however receiving subsidised housing

there is simply no way that £100pw rent is paying the costs of providing & maintaining a 5bed house



what dosnt make sense is why/how your in a 5bed property when your requirement is for a 4bed at most

was this the only housing the HA had available?
if so, presumably you have this in writing, so that you can make the argument that the HA should continue to treat the property as a 4/5 bed, or a 3bed for a family with 3 children that are within a couple of years of moving up through the rules

I originally ended up in this house because the HA only had a couple in it at the time and I just happened to have the same Housing officer as them. I had a 3 bed with 2 single bedrooms and no dining room, at the time and it was the HO that asked us to swap and since the rent was the same and I had to move anyway I moved. I have put a lot of money into this house myself and maintain it out my own pocket, new kitchen, French doors, new doors throughout, done the gardens, most jobs are done by me. I know its not my house but I do think I have a responsibility to make it look nice while I live here.

But I am not moving because I have to, I'm moving because there is better work opportunity elsewhere. as one conservative put it 'I'm getting on my bike' but because of my house size its proving difficult.

Some middle-classes are getting subsidies, even the rich get them, but just because their subsidies are called 'credit' does not mean it's not a 'benefit' :P

edgex

adwyer wrote: »

I originally ended up in this house because the HA only had a couple in it at the time and I just happened to have the same Housing officer as them. I had a 3 bed with 2 single bedrooms and no dining room, at the time and it was the HO that asked us to swap and since the rent was the same and I had to move anyway I moved. I have put a lot of money into this house myself and maintain it out my own pocket, new kitchen, French doors, new doors throughout, done the gardens, most jobs are done by me. I know its not my house but I do think I have a responsibility to make it look nice while I live here.

But I am not moving because I have to, I'm moving because there is better work opportunity elsewhere. as one conservative put it 'I'm getting on my bike' but because of my house size its proving difficult.

presumably you have this in writing, so that you can make the argument that the HA should continue to treat the property as a 4/5 bed, or a 3bed for a family with 3 children that are within a couple of years of moving up through the rules



& some advice;
stop writing endless posts full of pointless info & rants, & then moaning that you shouldnt have to be telling others

stick to the neccesary facts only

Werdnal

OP, whilst I sympathise that the rules are daft, I think the only answer to your "move-to-get-a-job versus get-a-job-to-move" situation, is for you to move to the area where you want to work, on your own, and rent a room for yourself, find the job you are looking for, then when you are working and settled, move your family down to join you. Sadly, if the system doesn't allow you to do it any other way, that may be your only option.

My late uncle had to relocate for his work from Hertfordshire to Dorset, several months before his family could move down to join him. He actually bought a battered caravan, found a site local to his new job, and commuted back home each weekend. It was hard for the family for a time, but short-term pain for long-term gain and all that ...

By the way, what makes you think that job prospects are better in Plymouth? Obviously, we don't know what type of work you are looking for, but I'm in the South West and things are not great down here!

theartfullodger

Welfare reform eh? Not fair, no reform, just more conservative grinding down on the poor.

adwyer

edgex wrote: »

presumably you have this in writing, so that you can make the argument that the HA should continue to treat the property as a 4/5 bed, or a 3bed for a family with 3 children that are within a couple of years of moving up through the rules



& some advice;
stop writing endless posts full of pointless info & rants, & then moaning that you shouldnt have to be telling others

stick to the neccesary facts only

Take your own advice and stick to my original question and don't tell me what I should and should not do, when a person makes wrong assumptions about a situation I am in.

to answer your question, no I did not get it in writing because I did not think two years in the future the government would put regressive criteria in an otherwise progressive act that did not exist at the time

adwyer

Werdnal wrote: »

OP, whilst I sympathise that the rules are daft, I think the only answer to your "move-to-get-a-job versus get-a-job-to-move" situation, is for you to move to the area where you want to work, on your own, and rent a room for yourself, find the job you are looking for, then when you are working and settled, move your family down to join you. Sadly, if the system doesn't allow you to do it any other way, that may be your only option.

My late uncle had to relocate for his work from Hertfordshire to Dorset, several months before his family could move down to join him. He actually bought a battered caravan, found a site local to his new job, and commuted back home each weekend. It was hard for the family for a time, but short-term pain for long-term gain and all that ...

By the way, what makes you think that job prospects are better in Plymouth? Obviously, we don't know what type of work you are looking for, but I'm in the South West and things are not great down here!

I have a support network that's not available here and your advice is welcome and will definitely be considered

Fiddlestick

adwyer wrote: »

That's a bit of an assumption on your part, I am after moving for work after losing work in my current area AND as stated I want to downsize, I've not been receiving anything at this moment in time so forgive me for saying kiss my a@@e!

Social housing doesn't count?

Read what I put, no more, no less, if you read it properly and take off your Daily Mail spectacles, you would see I don't actually disagree with people sharing rooms and its not about benefits its about entrapping a person in an area when he is wiling to move to find work and better his circumstances.

Can you take a private let?

adwyer

Dunroamin wrote: »

Freudian slip?

Dyslexia, it's an easy mistake to make.

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Social housing doesn't count?


Can you take a private let?

I've pretty much answered both these questions above mate

Southend1

OP I fear I am going to come in for criticism for saying this because it is probably not what you want to hear but....

The law is not stopping you from moving. You have the same options everyone else does. I.e. private rented, buy your own place, stay with friends, become a paying guest in someone's home etc.

However if you stay where you are, you have the option of staying put in a massively subsidised home which is larger than you really need. This luxury is one many (including myself!) do not/would not have. You really are very lucky to have social housing.

So.... If you look at it like this, then you just need to weigh up whether it's better for your family for you to be in work sooner and living somewhere else in non social housing, or possibly to be out of work longer and stay put. I hope you will realise you are lucky to have the luxury of this choice, as most of us would only have the option of moving to the first place they could find work.

I hope you will see this as constructive advice, as this is how it is intended, although it may not be what you want to hear right now.