Is the council right to reduce my Housing Benefit

CrimRain

Hello there.

I've just started an Apprenticeship yesterday which which is supposed to be £373 a month, I've just told council today an a lady told me that basically it'll be reduced from £70pw I get to £55

I've seen plenty of places online before though state that my HB shouldn't be affected as I am not earning enough for it to be reduced.

Factoring in transport costs which is £16per week for bus into town for work and the fact I'd have to now top up my rent by £15 pw
Totalling £60 a month I might be better off but in my opinion being like £14 or so better off than what I was on Jobseekers seems a bit off in my opinion.

Is the council 100% right on this? because I know my landlord is going to have a right misery fit over this seeing as I am on Direct Payments to him an he was getting paid weekly an now I'm gonna have to pay him the rest at ther end of each month to which I doubt he's gonna be massively happy about after being so used to getting that full amount direct every week

missbiggles1

The more money you earn, the less you get in benefits - how else would you expect it to work?

pmlindyloo

CrimRain wrote: »

Hello there.

I've just started an Apprenticeship yesterday which which is supposed to be £373 a month, I've just told council today an a lady told me that basically it'll be reduced from £70pw I get to £55

I've seen plenty of places online before though state that my HB shouldn't be affected as I am not earning enough for it to be reduced.

Factoring in transport costs which is £16per week for bus into town for work and the fact I'd have to now top up my rent by £15 pw
Totalling £60 a month I might be better off but in my opinion being like £14 or so better off than what I was on Jobseekers seems a bit off in my opinion.

Is the council 100% right on this? because I know my landlord is going to have a right misery fit over this seeing as I am on Direct Payments to him an he was getting paid weekly an now I'm gonna have to pay him the rest at ther end of each month to which I doubt he's gonna be massively happy about after being so used to getting that full amount direct every week

Some suggestions.

1) If you have been on income based JSA for 26 weeks or more you may be eligible for a 4 week 'run on' of HB.
2)Ask the council about a Discretionary Housing Payment. No guarantee that this would be granted but worth a try. You may get help with a 'top up' up to your current rent. Worth including an income and expenditure form with your application.
3) Ask your employer if they would be willing to pay your travel expenses or if they have some sort of fund for this.
4) Get a job at the weekend to supplement your salary. You would have to inform the council but would give you a little extra.
5) Any family/friends you can stay with while you do your apprenticeship?

Things will get better but this first year may be difficult financially.

Good luck!

Housing_Benefit_Officer

CrimRain wrote: »

Hello there.

I've just started an Apprenticeship yesterday which which is supposed to be £373 a month, I've just told council today an a lady told me that basically it'll be reduced from £70pw I get to £55

I've seen plenty of places online before though state that my HB shouldn't be affected as I am not earning enough for it to be reduced.

Factoring in transport costs which is £16per week for bus into town for work and the fact I'd have to now top up my rent by £15 pw
Totalling £60 a month I might be better off but in my opinion being like £14 or so better off than what I was on Jobseekers seems a bit off in my opinion.

Is the council 100% right on this? because I know my landlord is going to have a right misery fit over this seeing as I am on Direct Payments to him an he was getting paid weekly an now I'm gonna have to pay him the rest at ther end of each month to which I doubt he's gonna be massively happy about after being so used to getting that full amount direct every week

Yes. After a disregard of £10 for every extra £1 you earn over £57.90 your Housing Benefit is reduced by 65p per week.

Where does it say online that your Housing Benefit won't be affected?

tomtontom

I've seen plenty of places online before though state that my HB shouldn't be affected as I am not earning enough for it to be reduced.

Can you link to these please? It would be useful to get the sites corrected.

BigAunty

CrimRain wrote: »

Factoring in transport costs which is £16per week for bus into town for work and the fact I'd have to now top up my rent by £15 pw
Totalling £60 a month I might be better off but in my opinion being like £14 or so better off than what I was on Jobseekers seems a bit off in my opinion.

Try to see your Apprenticeship as a springboard into a better position, being paid to learn, higher income than studying at college, etc. Your salary may easily double or treble or more over the next year or two.

I can see why you are factoring in travel costs when working out your disposable income, they are real actual costs.However, those on JSA never have any major transport expenses compared with employees, most of whom will always pay transport costs to get them to work. So that's a bit like comparing apples with pears. Travel costs are just something to lump.

CrimRain wrote: »

Is the council 100% right on this? because I know my landlord is going to have a right misery fit over this seeing as I am on Direct Payments to him an he was getting paid weekly an now I'm gonna have to pay him the rest at ther end of each month to which I doubt he's gonna be massively happy about after being so used to getting that full amount direct every week

Do you mean the council paid the HB to him directly? Most HB claimants receive the HB directly themselves and pass it onto the landlord. Only those who are considered vulnerable in some way and unable to manage money are supposed to have landlords who receive the HB directly from the council.

Do you have any way of borrowing some money to ensure you don't get into rent arrears with your landlord - from friends or relatives, from an overdraft with the bank? Rent arrears are a serious issue and can lead to the landlord serving notice on the tenant. The Shelter website has good information about how to prevent and deal with rent arrears.

BigAunty

CrimRain wrote: »

I've seen plenty of places online before though state that my HB shouldn't be affected as I am not earning enough for it to be reduced.

The Turn2us online benefit calculator has a good reputation for accuracy so long as the claimant enters correct data. What does that say? Does it correspond with the sum you've been told that your HB will be reduced by.

I must say that I've never seen any online information that says 'x' income means 'zero' rent to pay and that this magic 'x' figure means HB will cover it all. It's always been sensitive to income, the age of claimant, area, room entitlement and other factors, quite a complex benefit to calculate.