housing benefit query

mellc

Sorry this is a long winded, but here goes.
Last January we moved into our present home, the landlord reduced the rent as he wanted to be paid HB directly to him the rent was agreed at £825.00 pcm, LHA rate was £725.00 pcm, we pay a £100.00 pcm shortfall directly to him every month.

He did say when my son became 16 he would be putting the rent up as we would then be entitled to a four bedroomed property (we have a daughter 12 and another son 9) and the relevent LHA rate. My son was 16 December 2012, the council automatically put the rate up to cover 100% of our rent which was £825.00 as obviously i understand the max they can pay you is %100 of the rent set at the time. Previously i had asked the council about the rent increase and we were told it couldn't be considered until January 23rd 2013 which was 12 months from when we took over the tenancy, which is when the planned increase was taking place anyway.
From January 23rd our rent increases from £825.00 to £1100.00, as the LHA for a 4 bedroomed house is £950.00 pcm this left a shortfall of £150.00 which we felt we could cover.
Today i contacted the council and was told they cannot pay the increase although they agreed that we are entitled to a four bedroomed rate, but because they increased the rate when my son became 16 a month ago they can't increase again until December 2013.
Has anyone else come across this? we have today applied for discretionary payments but i'm not holding my breath.

Dunroamin

It sounds as if this might be considered to be a contrived tenancy.

mellc

i don't think so as the people that moved out before us were paying £1100 but he wanted to let it long term so let us have it at a reduced rate with the understanding that it would go up as soon as our entitlement changed. i thought this was fair enough.

fluffymovie

Unfortunately they're correct. A change in circs means your LHA anniversary date is moved.

However, LHA is being reviewed and anyone due to have an anniversary review in Jan - Mar is not going to see an increase. The rules are changing so that in April, everyone will have an anniversary date and the rate will be frozen until the following April.

Blackpool_Saver

um, yeah ok

BigAunty

Dunroamin wrote: »

It sounds as if this might be considered to be a contrived tenancy.

But doesn't this apply only in situations when the landlord and tenant are closely related?

Landlords whacking up rents according to LHA rates is a very common practice, and probably part of the reason why the govt hope by restricting them, landlords won't be so greedy.

I'm surprised that the OP could arrange to pay their HB directly to their landlord at his request - I thought that local councils must pay it to the tenant unless they have a history of arrears or are considered vulnerable and unable to manage their money. Has this officially changed or is the case that perhaps some councils aren't following the rules?

mellc

BigAunty wrote: »

But doesn't this apply only in situations when the landlord and tenant are closely related?

Landlords whacking up rents according to LHA rates is a very common practice, and probably part of the reason why the govt hope by restricting them, landlords won't be so greedy.

I'm surprised that the OP could arrange to pay their HB directly to their landlord at his request - I thought that local councils must pay it to the tenant unless they have a history of arrears or are considered vulnerable and unable to manage their money. Has this officially changed or is the case that perhaps some councils aren't following the rules?

we were told that if he reduced the rent considerably then they would pay the LL direct, if only they could all be paid directly we probably wouldn't have the problem finding homes that we do now.

mellc

Ok we applied for DHP and weren't surprised that we were turned down. At least they dealt with it quickly.
I know we don't have a right of appeal but i gather we can ask for the decision to be looked at again.

The reason it was turned down was because they classed my DLA as excess income. If it is disregarded as income when making the claim why is it taken into account for DHP?

I looked at some notes called DHP guide to best practice, in there it says it is at the total discretion of the DM, but i have to pay for incontinence aids, thearpy, and saving for repairs on my scooter as well as saving for a deposit for my motability car, ( i can't use a small car one as i need to be able to get my scooter in) all this comes from my DLA.

Is it worth asking for a reconsideration?

elmer

Its always worth asking them to look again, especially regards your DLA, but please bear in mind that at this time of year the DHP pot may be empty.

Certainly at my LA we have no more money now until April.

elmer

wayne0

is it worth moving.... its never wise to move to a property if you cannot afford the rent.

btw: LL has to give you 2 months written notice to increase the rent. did he do this?

i would look to move into a cheaper place....

but bear in mind: some cheaper rent comes at a cost - crappy heating = expensive bills etc...

mellc

wayne0 wrote: »

is it worth moving.... its never wise to move to a property if you cannot afford the rent.

btw: LL has to give you 2 months written notice to increase the rent. did he do this?

i would look to move into a cheaper place....

but bear in mind: some cheaper rent comes at a cost - crappy heating = expensive bills etc...

Thank you for your replies. Yes he did give us the correct notice and with the details outlined in my original post i thought we had no problem meeting the cost. we need a four bedroomed house and this one has been adapted for my needs, stairlift etc as well as our lounge, bedroom and bathroom are all on one level which is ideal for me. As the rent has gone up by £275.00 per month obviously this couldn't be forseen.
The problem i still can't understand is why is DLA disregarded for HB but is taken into account for DHP?