Housing Benefit

[Deleted User]

I would first like to say this is a long one so please bare with me... Thanks!!!
I'm living in private rented accomadation, I'm a single parent on Housing benefit.. My rent is £475 a mth. When I first viewed this house it was the only one available to me because private landlords are not keen on taking on H.B tenents for some reason. So from the start I didn't take this house cos i loved it or it was in the right location. I took it cos it was here. Tho I do like it. Anyway before i moved in the rent service came in an assesed the rent at £380 taking into account the location and rents in the area. The H.B is tied to this and could pay no more So it meant I had to make up £95 a mth towards the rent myself. At first this wasn't a problem, But for reasons i won't go into I found it hard to make ends meet and wrote to the council asking for a discretionary housing payment ( extra help with rent). I was turned down on the basis that after I've paid all my bills etc I was left with £4 a week so I was in no hardship. After a year of living here I decided to look for a cheaper property in the area and found that actually my rent was very cheap for the area. Average rent for a 2 bed in my area being between £450 and £575 ( nowhere near the £380 the rent service said). i wrote to the council and was told they couldn't help me. So in desperation I wrote to my MP expaining I thought the original rent assesment was too low, who then wrote to the CE of the council and a week later my H.B was put up from £380 to £455. I was so happy and wrote to the council asking if they agreed with me about the assessment being too low in the 1st place would they consider backdating the extra H.B to when I took on the proprerty. They told me the had put my H.B up because of a yearly assessment. In the same letter they told me that unless there was a major change in my tenency My H.B wouldn't go up. Yet Here I am with an extra £75 H.B that I'm totally greatful for , but as there has been no change to my tenency I'm confused.
They say my H.B went up because of a yearly review ( nothing to do with the letter from the MP) They say in the yearly review that no exrta H.B will be awarded unless there is a major change to my tenancy ( there has been none) I believe they have put my benefit up because they realised that the original assessment was too low and therefore i think they shoiuld backdate me..
I'm sorry if this has baffeled anyone.. Cos it sure confuses me. I hope anyone with any advice on how i can get the council to back date me the money I think they owe me. And jus for the record In proving that my assessment was wrong from the start I have a friend who is a single parent private rent like me ( 2 bed terrece in next street to me) her rent is £450 and the council meet ALL the rent.. When I asked them why pay full rent on hers and not mine I was simply told they couldn't disscuss other cases..
Please any advice would be grateful. I've been to CAB and they jus suggested writing a letter stating my case which I have done but to no avail.
Anyways I could write and write about this but I don't want you to nod off on me..
Thanks in advance
S

lindsaygalaxy

From what i have found with my housing benefit, they have their own rules ,it never makes sense and any private rent is always more than they think you need for rent.

[Deleted User]

I know it annoys me. I feel like they've right ripped me off!!! I'm stuck in the private rented sector too cos I have " adequate housing " for my needs till my son is 10. I'd neva afford a 3 bed!!!!

hmc

hello

i could have written your letter!!!
i have been here for a year now and was paying a top up of £50 a mth
my rent has gone up and i now have to pay £75 top up
im really struggling
so wrote to them requesting an increase in benefit
only for them to put it down by £10 a week!!!!!!!!
so i have today posted off my appeal but have been warned the rent officer could asess it lower!!

mp was going to be next on my list
should i do it now?
what did you say to him
did you ring ,write or see him in person
any advice you can give me would be great
thanks
h

[Deleted User]

I wrote to mine, you can see them, but it's better I feel for them to see all the figures on paper. My MP was fantastic. Wrote back to me 2 days later with a copy of letter she sent to Cheif Ex at council, then 2 days after that my H.B went up, and despite what the council say I believe she had a hand in geting my H.B payments upped. I think writing to your MP is the best thing to do. It's their duty to help you part of their job and mine was only too happy to help
Good luck. If you don't mind please let me konw how you get on.
S.

patchwork_cat

OK
I was a housing benefit office, but it was 10 years ago and there have been changes since. Housing BEnefit do not make up their own rules there is chapter and verse regulations. The rent officer is not part of Housing Benefit, I am not upto date on discretionary payments, but it will state in the current legislation what is and isn't hardship- have you got your assessment letters?
Please note as I state once again the RENT OFFICER is not part of housing benefit dept.

If you feel that your claim should be backdated take all your info to CAB or if you have a benefits advice service they are better.

It may well be that as a result of your letter a senior officer had a look at your case and reassessed it early or it could be an annual review - was it about a year ago. If a mistake was made that is officer error and as such you would have been backdated.

If you are struggling contact a housing association in your area an dsee if you are eligible for one of their places.

[Deleted User]

I am aware that the rent service isn't part of the council.they are independent and can be called into assess the rent for a tenant not applying for H.B.
I was told that my H.B went up due to an anual review ( it was a few weeks short of a year) but also coincided with the letter from my MP. So I guess I'll be none the wiser who was responsable for getting my H.B put up. But how do i prove that my H.B was wrong in the 1st place?? Al I have is that rents in this area are not as low as £380 ( the rent services opinion) and a friend in exact same curcumstance and in same area same size proprety is gettin full rent paid. Tho now my H.B has been put up I only have to pay £5 a week, for 12 mths I had to pay £95 a month and if that is because of someones mistake i'd like to be refunded..
Again.. Thanks for any advice in advance!!!!

hmc

hello again
well i banged off a brief email to mp to see if he thought he could help me

he has already replied!
said my rent is decided by rent in the area and that cannot usually be altered

but if i send him all the relevant info and letters etc he will look into it

dosnt sound too hopeful does it

what do i send him
the origional decision on rent 18mths ago and the latest rent officers letter?
thanks again
h

hmc

and i have been on the housing association list for 2 years
there are 1000's on the list

and the last time a 2 bed council house round here came up was 1992!!!!!!!!

you woulld think they would be glad to keep us off the council house lists

[Deleted User]

I wrote spelling everything out from the moment I took on the house knowing I'd only get £380 a mth to my askin for descretionary payment bein turned down. I wrote a full acccount off my outgoings and incomings incuding everything I could think of, bills, travel, food, interest on credit card and overdraft cat payments EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK even that I have to pay 30p a day for my daughter to have biscuits at nursery. I asked my MP to help cos i was jus not managing on what I was getting. I didn't include anything else at all.
If your MP sounds a toughie jus ask him/her to ask the council to look into it for you. I don't see why they shouldn't my MP was only glad to help. She asked the Cheif Exect to look into my housing benefit assessment sent him a copy of my letter with incomings etc and asked if there was anyway they could help even if it was jus to advise on any benefits I might not be gettin. does that make sense.
Also I would ask then to query why your benefit has gone down when your rent has gone up.
Hope this helps good luck and keep me up dated
S

hmc

thankyou
lots of things to work out tomorrow then
i will do letter and get it off on onday recorded as they tend to loose things round here,and ill photocopy everything

i will let you know

thanks for your help

i hope you get things sorted too