housing benefit reduction. a solution but the council is blocking it!

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

i moved here from london 9 years ago... a distance of around 160 miles.
but i moved with a partner, not alone.
amd i am now blind.

But, and I know I've asked this before, if you can't get around without the help of your PA, what difference does it actually make whether you're familiar with the area or not?

SandraScarlett

On another "bedroom tax" thread, a poster called MysteryWoman, or something like that, was constantly posting and using phrases like "Nanny and I understand this/that/the other" - but she hasn't been on this thread at all.

Has she disappeared to an empty flat somewhere?

xx

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

But over-occupiers are NOT competing for 1 bedroom properties, so their points are irrelevant.

But singles are given 2 bedrooms. So points are relevant.

The question was about financial incentives to downsize. Clearly, you agree with me that the bedroom tax sets the financial incentive and providing even more financial incentives would make no difference.

No I don't agree with you, I think in places like London and the South East it makes sense to help people with their moving costs.

Define "very few".

5 in the private sector. 6 if you count the studio that's been up for rent for the last 2 years. It's such a state tbh, I can't imagine many people wanting it. Only one of those flats may be suitable for someone with mobility problems (I say may because I haven't seen inside it.) The biggest collection of 1 bedroom council flats here are the ones that my dd got moved out of because they can't be adapted. Other than that, it's ones that are reserved for the elderly.

lighting_up_the_chalice

mazza111 wrote: »

But singles are given 2 bedrooms. So points are relevant.

Because, as you keep telling us, there are plenty of 2 beds to go round. You're banging on about 1 beds. All I'm pointing out is that households with points for overcrowding won't be after a 1 bed. So, for a single person/couple, looking for a 1 bed to avoid the bedroom tax, those measly 10 points may well be worth their weight in gold. Whatever points others get isn't always relevant.

mazza111 wrote: »

No I don't agree with you, I think in places like London and the South East it makes sense to help people with their moving costs.

I refer you to the information posted by Neverdispairgirl

mazza111 wrote: »

5 in the private sector. 6 if you count the studio that's been up for rent for the last 2 years. It's such a state tbh, I can't imagine many people wanting it. Only one of those flats may be suitable for someone with mobility problems (I say may because I haven't seen inside it.) The biggest collection of 1 bedroom council flats here are the ones that my dd got moved out of because they can't be adapted. Other than that, it's ones that are reserved for the elderly.

If a 1 bed property has been available for 2 years, regardless of condition, it kinda points to low demand. So, even if there are only six, 1 bed units available, if there are only 3 people looking for such accommodation, you have over-supply. "few" is not an absolute number.

mazza111

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

Because, as you keep telling us, there are plenty of 2 beds to go round. You're banging on about 1 beds. All I'm pointing out is that households with points for overcrowding won't be after a 1 bed. So, for a single person/couple, looking for a 1 bed to avoid the bedroom tax, those measly 10 points may well be worth their weight in gold. Whatever points others get isn't always relevant.

Often it will be people with some sort of mobility problems who are after those flats though, or elderly people. 10 points is a drop in the ocean compared to the points for that.

I refer you to the information posted by Neverdispairgirl

I've read it, does that mean I have to agree with you?

If a 1 bed property has been available for 2 years, regardless of condition, it kinda points to low demand. So, even if there are only six, 1 bed units available, if there are only 3 people looking for such accommodation, you have over-supply. "few" is not an absolute number.

Those one bedroom flats are more expensive than the 2 bedroom social housing though. And we have plenty of 2 bedroom social housing...


My fella looked at that studio when he moved to Scotland, in all honesty, it was a death trap. The outside stairs were crumbling, the electric storage heaters were hanging off the wall, there were exposed wires in the shower, and that's before I talk about the mould on the walls. So no unless the landlord has done some work in it since then, I have no doubts why it's still empty. I wouldn't let my cat go into it.

lighting_up_the_chalice

mazza111 wrote: »

Often it will be people with some sort of mobility problems who are after those flats though, or elderly people. 10 points is a drop in the ocean compared to the points for that.

I would have thought you, of all people, would understand that someone with mobility issues, stuck in accommodation unsuitable for those needs, is in greater housing need than a person with a very modest shortfall to pay.

mazza111 wrote: »

I've read it, does that mean I have to agree with you?

You may not agree with me. But you have to believe the facts.

mazza111 wrote: »

My fella looked at that studio when he moved to Scotland, in all honesty, it was a death trap. The outside stairs were crumbling, the electric storage heaters were hanging off the wall, there were exposed wires in the shower, and that's before I talk about the mould on the walls. So no unless the landlord has done some work in it since then, I have no doubts why it's still empty. I wouldn't let my cat go into it.

I'm sure you will have reported it to the Local Authority, in which case suitable repairs will, I'm sure, have been carried out.

evenasus

SandraScarlett wrote: »

On another "bedroom tax" thread, a poster called MysteryWoman, or something like that, was constantly posting and using phrases like "Nanny and I understand this/that/the other" - but she hasn't been on this thread at all.

Has she disappeared to an empty flat somewhere?

xx

You mean mysterywoman10.

She's not logged onto MSE since 28th April.

SnooksNJ

nannytone wrote: »

you being deliberately dense.

yes the already pay more.
but from next week they will exp4ect AN ADDITIONA: $14.

or lets say from next week all cars that dont drive on 6 weels will have tp pay £14 a week MORE than they pay today.

i bet theres plenty of cars that drive on 6 wheels around .... ( not spare wheels... ones that need to be in contact with the road for the car to move)
does that make it simpler for you?

This bedroom tax is an extra £56 a month? By the way people were complaining I thought it was in the hundreds. That is totally worth it because you wouldn't be able to get a storage until for that amount of money.

SnooksNJ

nannytone wrote: »

so if everyone was told that they would have to pay an additional £14 a week unless their car had 3 wheels ....

I've seen one of those cars for the first time recently and it would be totally worth it not to be seen driving around in one.

MathewJ

nannytone wrote: »

regulars on this forum know the position i am currently in. there are two 1 bed flats to rent privately. their rents are £100 and £110 a week respectively ( LHA rate has recently been lowered to £69 a week so non starters even if i were willing to give up my security) and two 1 bed flats, supported housing for young people.

today i became aware that one of the tenants of the social housing flats is moving out tomorrow, and that they are no longer exclusively for young people. the council will be putting them up for bids next week ( it's already on the board in the council office, but no bids will be accepted until the internet site is updated over the weekend)

so i phoned the housing association and spoke to my housing manager. he was more than happy to let me have it, but he had to phone the council and ask them to withdraw the property. he phoned back 10 minutes later to tell me that the council have REFUSED, they want to property to be kept available for someone that is homeless ( he will talk to his superiors next week to see if theres anything he can suggest to get the council to back down,

so it seems we are told to downsize or lose benefit... but when i fond somewhere to downsize to.. they wont allow me to move!

so now tell me im not being 'forced' to pau for the reduction in housing benefit!

Hi,

Under the current legislation there is NOTHING you can do. They will or should advise you to claim for a discretionary housing payment (DHP) but you probably won't get it because each local authority is given an annual budget for this type of claim - and if they paid them to everyone who is impacted by the 'bedroom tax' they would blow the DHP budget in 9 weeks - and the last time I looked there are 52 weeks in a year.
There are 1000's of people in your situation and I don't believe the Government actually realised just how many people this would effect - put simply there is not enough housing stock to allow people to scale down, they have no where to move to.

I'm posting this info via my partner who is a very experienced (20+ years) private contractor for local housing benefits offices all over the UK, and she is very frustrated about this situation - being unable to help genuine cases of people in need.