Housing Benefit Calculation Help Please

thepalace1

Hi, i recently moved into a private rented house from a 1 bed council flat. there is me, my partner and our two children aged 2 and 3. Our rent for our new private rented 3 bedroomed house is £100 pw. when we made a claim for housing benefit we were awarded £80 is this right?. My mother lives alone after my father died and lives in a 1 bedroom flat through the council and her rent is £82.75 pw and the housing benefit pay every penny for her. Do you think I would get anywhere by asking for a review of my housing benefit or would it be pointless. any advice would be greatly received.

lil_me

There is usually a maximum paid for private rental properties, sounds like that is what has decided the £80 amount if you are on income support/JSA. Before asking for a review I would contact them and ask what the decision was based on.

Other things deductions can be made for are non dependants, where it includes heating, hot water, lighting, cooking facilities, etc.

£75 is the maximum our council would pay on my sisters previous privately rented house which was 3 bedroom, she also has 2 children. The one before that was 2 bedroom and the max I think was £70, but does differ from area to area. However there is NO restriction on council properties.

This is of course probably from a different council area but gives an idea how the benefit for private housing is calculated http://www.derby.gov.uk/Housing/HousingFinance/HousingBenefits/Housing_Benefit_restrictions_for_private_tenants.htm

Elle00

I disagree with the maximum on private rentals point.

When a private property is assessed by a fair rent officer it is for whether or not the property is being charged at the going rate for the market. If it is overpriced for the local market or what it is offering you will be awared less HB so that's one possibility.

If the property is assessed as being fair rent, HB will pay it all if you're a family (single people are treated differently I'm afraid) and only occupying as many rooms as they deem you need. They would rather you are in a private rental than taking up their minimal hostel accommodation or costing them a fortune in a B&B as this means they don't have to house you later down the line as well as keeping the valuable hostel places free...

A family of two adults in a relationship and two young children will usually only require (according to the council, not me) two bedrooms and one parlour room so I wonder if this is why you've been awarded less HB than covers the rent. If the children are the same sex or you have a second parlour room I would be confident this is the reason. Even if it's a boy and a girl, it may still be they expect them to share a room until they are either 5 or 7 (sorry I forget which).

If in doubt, write and ask. Don't phone though, write - you might need it in writing later on.

If you think this might be an income thing, I can give you the manual housing benefit calculation after Sunday if you remind me you want it. My Dad was a housing manager for a great many years but is an income officer now (was inside for a few years in between, oh the irony of it). He got an up-to-date copy of the housing regs to do my own HB calculation and we're going over it this Sunday. He did tell me on the phone about the minus this and allow for that then take £15.45 off this etc but I'll be damned if I was listening. :rolleyes:

EDIT: Oh yes, and don't forget they DO make mistakes... Make sure you find out what the reason for this calculation is and take it further if needs be.

lil_me

Fair point about the rooms part, I never thought of that part http://www.therentservice.gov.uk/online-services/room-calculator.asp some info on it on there. One couple and 2 same sex children under 9, is 4 rooms, just tried with my details.

If you google 'calculate housing benefit' there are many guide on different councils websites about deductions etc. Like this one http://www.eden.gov.uk/main.asp?page=310