Local Housing Allowance and Maternity Allowance.... Help

Clarkabell

Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me

I moved into a private rented 2 bedroom accommodation with my 5 year old son on 22/10/2012, at the time I was still working, due to come off on maternity leave on 4/11/12. I did not earn enough in my job to be paid SMP through my employer so instead was granted maternity allowance through the jobcentre at 92 pounds per week (pound sign doesn't work on this keyboard lol). My local housing allowance award at this time was 82.69 per week calculated as follows:
Rent charged per week: 175
Weekly eligible rent: 103.85

Weekly Income:
Earned income: 94.71
Child Benefit: 20.30
Child Tax Credit: 60.73
Maintenance Received (fully disregarded) 27.69
Working Tax Credit 72.60
Gross total weekly income 276.03

Disregarded Income
Earned income: 42.10
Child Benefit: 20.30
Maintenance Received: 27.69
Disregarded Income: 90.09

Total Applicable Amount
Lone parent: 71.00
Child under 11: 64.99
Family Premium: 17.40
Total applicable amount: 153.39


This makes my excess income 32.55, of which i have to pay 65% of which is 21.15 making the award 82.69 per week at which I was only just managing to afford.

My benefit was then suspended and I have received no payment at all since 14/12/12, after a lot of phone calls and visits to the office I have been told that they were updating their systems and had a lot of problems with payments but that my payments will start again on 18/1/13 but also that my payments are going down to 57.16 from 12/11/12 because i now receive maternity allowance.
The new calculation I received is exactly the same as the one above except from there being no earned income, it now simply states Maternity Allowance at 91.89 per week in the gross weekly income and there is no income disregard for the maternity allowance making my total weekly income look 39.28 higher and therefore less local housing allowance award. Not only is the award less, the council are taking the overpayment from 12/11/12 back off the new weekly award making it even less.
I have also lost my council tax benefit making my payments due for this go from 13.90 per week to 27.60 per week.

I understand that the reasoning for this is that there is no longer an earnings disregard as they are treating me as no longer in work but then surely if I'm being treated as no longer in work I should be treated as on benefit? I have 10% less income coming into my house because I'm on maternity allowance and the councils answer to this seems to be to make me pay almost double council tax and 30 per week more for rent. This is all before gas an electricity and with having an old back boiler my gas is costing me almost 200 a month.

I am due my baby on Sat (19/1/13), I know I am not allowed to work for the first 2 weeks after birth but am thinking that after this period the only answer is to go straight back to work to be able to afford to keep a roof over my childrens heads as I should then get the income disregard back?

Any advice would be appreciated, I know I really need to get to CAB but with baby so close its not really possible at the moment.

Thanks in advance

Horseunderwater

Have you input these income details into the turn 2 us or entitled 2 benefits checker? If not I suggest you do this - it should tell you what you should get.

welshmoneylover

Clarkabell wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me

I moved into a private rented 2 bedroom accommodation with my 5 year old son on 22/10/2012, at the time I was still working, due to come off on maternity leave on 4/11/12. I did not earn enough in my job to be paid SMP through my employer so instead was granted maternity allowance through the jobcentre at 92 pounds per week (pound sign doesn't work on this keyboard lol). My local housing allowance award at this time was 82.69 per week calculated as follows:
Rent charged per week: 175
Weekly eligible rent: 103.85

Weekly Income:
Earned income: 94.71
Child Benefit: 20.30
Child Tax Credit: 60.73
Maintenance Received (fully disregarded) 27.69
Working Tax Credit 72.60
Gross total weekly income 276.03

Disregarded Income
Earned income: 42.10
Child Benefit: 20.30
Maintenance Received: 27.69
Disregarded Income: 90.09

Total Applicable Amount
Lone parent: 71.00
Child under 11: 64.99
Family Premium: 17.40
Total applicable amount: 153.39


This makes my excess income 32.55, of which i have to pay 65% of which is 21.15 making the award 82.69 per week at which I was only just managing to afford.

My benefit was then suspended and I have received no payment at all since 14/12/12, after a lot of phone calls and visits to the office I have been told that they were updating their systems and had a lot of problems with payments but that my payments will start again on 18/1/13 but also that my payments are going down to 57.16 from 12/11/12 because i now receive maternity allowance.
The new calculation I received is exactly the same as the one above except from there being no earned income, it now simply states Maternity Allowance at 91.89 per week in the gross weekly income and there is no income disregard for the maternity allowance making my total weekly income look 39.28 higher and therefore less local housing allowance award. Not only is the award less, the council are taking the overpayment from 12/11/12 back off the new weekly award making it even less.
I have also lost my council tax benefit making my payments due for this go from 13.90 per week to 27.60 per week.

I understand that the reasoning for this is that there is no longer an earnings disregard as they are treating me as no longer in work but then surely if I'm being treated as no longer in work I should be treated as on benefit? I have 10% less income coming into my house because I'm on maternity allowance and the councils answer to this seems to be to make me pay almost double council tax and 30 per week more for rent. This is all before gas an electricity and with having an old back boiler my gas is costing me almost 200 a month.

I am due my baby on Sat (19/1/13), I know I am not allowed to work for the first 2 weeks after birth but am thinking that after this period the only answer is to go straight back to work to be able to afford to keep a roof over my childrens heads as I should then get the income disregard back?

Any advice would be appreciated, I know I really need to get to CAB but with baby so close its not really possible at the moment.

Thanks in advance

Is the baby's father helping at all ?

elmer

Surely when the baby is born your applicable amount will increase by another child, although your tax credits will also rise as well, perhaps if you try a calculator to see how your income will change

elmer

Clarkabell

I already receive maintenance from my son's father and am sure he will contribute towards our daughter when she's here, this is my housing costs, he has his own to pay.

I have tried to use the turn2us calculator but got a completely different answer to what I got from the council

And I wondered the same myself about whether or not my applicable amount would change once my daughter is here but with tax credits rising, I just assumed that the local housing allowance award would not go up especially as the amount of bedrooms required is still the same.

What I can't understand is why Maternity Allowance is being treated as neither being in work or being on benefit. It seems as if I was on benefits such as income support I would receive more local housing allowance or if I was either getting my maternity pay through my employer or went back to work I would again get more local housing allowance. It seems to be a grey area that I'm stuck in.

Thanks for the suggestions though and taking the time to answer

Horseunderwater

Maternity allowance is as far as I know a benefit as it paid by the DWP via job centre plus. Have you tried using the 5 minute benefit checker on this site? Found under family income tab top right and over on far left top link - Same as Entitled to one. I found that one the most accurate and very easy to complete.