MSE News: Thousands of tenants to get bedroom tax rebate

custardy

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

If your friends and family act as carers do they stay overnight? Even for a few nights a week then you might be able to claim an exemption as you require the additional bedroom for overnight carer. The carer or carers do not have to be paid carers they can be family or friends so you do have carers.

The current loophole is for those who have remained in the same property continuously without a break in Housing Benefit since 1st January 1996 at the same property. The Government plan to close the loophole on 3rd March 2014.

They haven't asked about getting an exemption.
sounds more like a way to fudge the 'system' with a convenient version of what happens.

disabled_person

Hi I have just came asross a letter from council when I signed for the property I moved in to (signed for it on 2-5-1997) it says.

Dear sir/madam,

I should like to claim housing benefit from 19-5-1997.
I have today been given an application form and I understand that if I do not return it to the office within four weeks, this claim will not be valid and a new claim will have to be made.

Thank you

Signed by me

Address (the address I moved in to in 1997)

So I don't know it does not say my benefit stopped or restarted ?? Still confused???

I would like to state I am a disabled person with no cure for me and I have worked before. Many thanks for the nice people who are going through the horrible stuff they are . god bless

disabled_person

Yes same council in different areas very big .(housing benefit)

custardy

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

If your friends and family act as carers do they stay overnight? Even for a few nights a week then you might be able to claim an exemption as you require the additional bedroom for overnight carer. The carer or carers do not have to be paid carers they can be family or friends so you do have carers.

The current loophole is for those who have remained in the same property continuously without a break in Housing Benefit since 1st January 1996 at the same property. The Government plan to close the loophole on 3rd March 2014.

disabled_person wrote: »

Hi I have just came asross a letter from council when I signed for the property I moved in to (signed for it on 2-5-1997) it says.

Dear sir/madam,

I should like to claim housing benefit from 19-5-1997.
I have today been given an application form and I understand that if I do not return it to the office within four weeks, this claim will not be valid and a new claim will have to be made.

Thank you

Signed by me

Address (the address I moved in to in 1997)

So I don't know it does not say my benefit stopped or restarted ?? Still confused???

I would like to state I am a disabled person with no cure for me and I have worked before. Many thanks for the nice people who are going through the horrible stuff they are . god bless

Seems pretty clear

Morglin

disabled_person wrote: »

Hi I have just came asross a letter from council when I signed for the property I moved in to (signed for it on 2-5-1997) it says.

Dear sir/madam,

I should like to claim housing benefit from 19-5-1997.
I have today been given an application form and I understand that if I do not return it to the office within four weeks, this claim will not be valid and a new claim will have to be made.

Thank you

Signed by me

Address (the address I moved in to in 1997)

So I don't know it does not say my benefit stopped or restarted ?? Still confused???

I would like to state I am a disabled person with no cure for me and I have worked before. Many thanks for the nice people who are going through the horrible stuff they are . god bless

If you only moved into your current property in 1997, then you are not eligible for refund under this loophole.

It is only for those who have lived in the same property since 1996, and who have claimed Housing Benefit continuously since then.

If you have carers (paid or not) regularly having to stay overnight, then you can put in a claim for Discretionary Housing Payment to see if they will make up the shortfall for the Bedroom Tax, although the decision making, across the various councils, is pretty erratic and there is no guarantee how long they will pay, even if granted.

Lin

lilly123

my latest update, had a reply to the letter that i sent my local housing on 14th feb ( although when i rang them to ask if they did get my letter and i stated the date, i was told that dates were irrelevant, now now mr council dates are of course relevant do we not have to send proof from jan 1996?) was asked to now provide for the month of march 1996, first it was january 1996 now march 1996, i supplied this to them, had another letter back from them stating i still did not qualify, made appointment to see them in person, took my documents of proof including dss income that i was on for the covering years to them was told to go home and photo copy them and take them back the next day by hand, did this got a receipt of proof that they had received them, had another letter yesterday they are now asking me for ORIGINAL rent statements for the whole of 1996, now how many people keep these, if you are like me well i do still have them , this is just one big headache, local authorities can go back as far in their archives, just to lazy to get off their butts, now this has been going on with me since jan of this year, why did they not just tell me all this back in january so now gets all every document i have relating to dss and council for the whole of 1996, phewwwwwwww will call them tomorrow to make appointment with the ORIGINALS, of course i will take photos of every thing i hand over to them and will not be leaving them in their possession, will update soon as they send me another letter asking for something else as proof, may be it will be for the whole 17 years which i can supply them as well, the council are just jokers as well as the workers at the dwp. all get paid mega bucks for old rope.

lilly123

well took all the ORIGINAL documents to my local council, really fed up but not giving in, was told by the woman (council worker) there that the council should be doing all of this proving to the people that are entitled to claim this back, any way it has been 3 months now and still no where on this, oh well see what the reply will be hopefully next week, i am expecting them to ask me for some other proof.

lilly123

still not got it back yet, my local council claim that i was not on hb in a particular month, and they wanted yet more proof, considering i have supplied them with original rent statements, dwp letters stating i was on benefit the entire year of 1996 ( then social security),2 rent books covering 1995-1996 and 1996-1997, council tax bills, now i have produced them the originals like they asked, i then decided to contact my rent officer who told me that the person dealing with this for me could have got all the information from their computer data base as they do go back to 1996, they then said that they would email me my rent statements, they did this from 1995 up to date, after printing these off i decided to take a look, and guess what they do not match up with my originals,lots of unpaid hb on theirs, i put in yet another letter today asking why this is as i do actually have the original rent statements, i am very angry at the moment that this could happen, i have now told them in my letter that i have been in contact with the cab and will now after my local council has replied seek legal action. will post back later once i have another reply, they have wasted 3 months doing all this backward and forwarding with letters, guess its a good job really as i think the ball is in my court with my originals, but the big question is as to why they have different read outs?

norfolkshops

i was just wondering if any one as received any money back from thier local housing !!!.

fluffymovie

Norfolkshops - my council paid all the cases we could in Feb 2014.