Housing benefit query?

inaworldofmyown

Wondering if anyone has any idea please?
Me, partner & our 6yr old daughter live in a rented 2 house paying £750pcm. We recieve approx £120 HB per mth, split into 2 payments. We are looking about @ possibly moving to a 3 bed house due to outgrowing the current house. Are aware that we will lose 14% of HB as they will deem that we don't NEED the extra room.

My question is however that the rent for a 3 bed will obv be higher than what we are paying @ the moment (approx £800-850pcm) so will the HB be increased as our rent will have increased minus the 14% or will they just take 14% off of the £120 & say we need to make up the difference ourselves??

Many thanks

benefitbaby

I very much doubt it. Private sector rents and the amount of HB payable are governed by the Local Housing Allowance - for you this will be the 2-bed rate for your area (this is how your current entitlement will have been calculated) and so whilst you maymove to a larger home your LHA will not increase.

shegirl

As you're renting privately it'll be local housing allowance which means there is a set amount per area.It also means that you'll only be entitled to 2 bedroom rate rather than a mere reduction of 14%.Obviously your income will still be taken into consideration aswell.

So no,they won't take the fact that the rent is more expensive due to having an extra bedroom into consideration.They'll look at the limits for a 2 bed property in the area you'll be living and your income and calculate your entitlement based on that.

BigAunty

Being penalised by a reduced HB of 14% for an unoccupied room is something that will apply in the social housing sector (council/housing association) from April next year.

It is not relevant to private tenants whose HB is already premised on their needs in terms of size anyhow - those changes are to make social housing tenants be treated in the same way that private tenants are treated now, who now only get the rate based on the number of bedrooms they are entitled to anyhow.

So the 14% figure is irrelevant to you if you are a private tenant.

You will only get Local Housing Allowance based on your current needs in terms of size and income, and will only get LHA calculated as a 2 bedroom property, end of.

If you live in a larger property and/or dearer property, this is irrelevant to the LHA rate - you can live where you like but you will not get a penny extra than your current entitlement.

If you move areas, your LHA may change based on the rate for the area, but apart from that, it won't budge just because you move to a dearer place.

Therefore, any extra rent you are charged at the next property, you will be expected to fund yourself. You need to find the extra £50 to £100 pcm yourself. The fact that there is an unoccupied room is irrelevant, it's because you have a set rate that you just have to manage yourself, it doesn't increase just because your expenses increase, you have to make your budget stretch in anyway you like.

You can identify your LHA rate for a 2 bedroom property on the local council or Direct Gov website and you can double check overall benefit entitlements on the Turn2us calculator. But the rate you have now, is the rate that you will get at the next place so long as it's within the same LHA boundary area.

benefitbaby

The 14% (aka the 'bedroom tax') is for people in social housing not privately rented accommodation.

Private = LHA
Social = bedroom tax

gayleanne

You will get exactly the same as you are getting now for the two bedroom, as this is all your LHA has ruled you are entitled to. It dosen't matter what the rent is costing you you will only receive, the LHA for the 2 bedroom.

Morlock

BigAunty wrote: »

It is not relevant to private tenants whose HB is already premised on their needs in terms of size anyhow - those changes are to make social housing tenants be treated in the same way that private tenants are treated now, who now only get the rate based on the number of bedrooms they are entitled to anyhow.

The bedroom tax does not treat social housing tenants in the same way as private tenants are treated now. If the LHA covers the rent on a larger property than the 'number of bedrooms' entitled to, then the number of bedrooms is irrelevant. Which is not the case for social housing tenants.

princessdon

Morlock wrote: »

The bedroom tax does not treat social housing tenants in the same way as private tenants are treated now. If the LHA covers the rent on a larger property than the 'number of bedrooms' entitled to, then the number of bedrooms is irrelevant. Which is not the case for social housing tenants.

Well the majority of that argument is because of the very low and subsised cost of SH. Where else can you pay £80 pw rental for a 4 bed house privately?

As rental of a 3 bed SH is more than that of a 2 bed SH though it is certainly implied.

If the two were comparable (which I agree they are not) then they would be the same.

I know of no SH scheme that charges the same rental for a 2 bed and 4 bed on the same estate - if they do elsewhere in the country then I'd agree with what you say, but reality is that currently SH tennants are getting "paid" for rooms they don't need and LHR means if you want rooms you pay. There will always be *some differences* due to none comparables, but rarely will you find a 4 bed private rental for a 2 bed LHR rate unless in a really none desirable area or via a family rental. There are a few people I know (work related not social) whose parents are renting their ex LA home at 4 bed's to their children and charging the exact amount that LHR pays, but that is more due to the contrived tennancy than reality.

Morlock

princessdon wrote: »

Well the majority of that argument is because of the very low and subsised cost of SH.

How is social housing subsidised?

Morlock

princessdon wrote: »

There will always be *some differences* due to none comparables, but rarely will you find a 4 bed private rental for a 2 bed LHR rate unless in a really none desirable area or via a family rental.

No, but a three bedroom is more likely. The main problem is the difference between one or two bedroom properties. A lot of two bedroom, social housing properties are well below the LHA rate for a one bedroom property. For example, a social tenant lives in a two bedroom flat at a cost of £70 per week, but will have to contribute 14% towards the rent if claiming housing benefit. However, there are plenty of private, two bedroom flats at below the LHA rate of £100 for one bedroom entitlement.

A tenant can move in to the two bedroom, private property and have all of the rent covered by the LHA, adding £30 more per week to the housing benefit bill, and not having a 14% levy for an 'extra' room.

For the bedroom tax to apply equally to social and private tenants, a private tenant would also be penalised for having an extra room, whether or not the rental cost was within the LHA rates.

PippaGirl_2

SH is not subsided. However at present it covers it's own costs of administration and maintenance and no more and the talk under discussion is to increase rents so that money can be gained to a) build more houses and b) increases services in the area for everybody and not just SH tenants.