Housing benefit?

waz1989

hi guys, im in need of some advice/information. i will get straight to the point. i am a single, under 35 male, with no disability, no children, and i am currently claiming job seekers allowance benefit. i am looking for a council flat for myself. (1 bedroom) the thing i want to know is. how much housing benefit will i be entitled to towards the rent each week? also is this amount different if i was to go for a private rented property? or would i get the same amount for both a council property and a private rented one?

Caz3121

Does your council have a large surplus of properties, how long have you been on the waiting list and what priority do your have?
Without a priority banding, the wait is often many years
Payment would be different. Housing benefit should cover the full rent on a one-bed property whilst in private rented the payment would be based on the LHA rate for the area and your circumstances.
If you search "LHA rates" you can check the shared accommodation rate for your area. You can choose to live in any size property but anything over the LHA rate would not be covered so would need to come from your JSA. - your council may have a list of landlords that accept benefit claimants (many don't)

waz1989

thanks caz for getting back to me. yes my local council does seem to have a large supply of properties in and around the area i currently live in. im awaiting my final response from the council that will then tell me what band im in. i do understand its a long wait also. and there is bidding process etc. and highest bands get priority. but i just wanted to know some information before hand. yes ive been looking at private rented properties, but i am only allowed the shared room rate. (56 pounds p/w) but the bit im confused about is, what is the maximum housing benefit if i was to go for a council property? i ask this because, there are many properties available on my local council website. they all range from 55 pounds per week. up to 290 pounds per week. i obviously dont want to seek out a property if im not entitled to a certain amount. is there anyway of finding out just how much i am entitled to ?

Housing_Benefit_Officer

The maximum Housing Benefit in a 1 bedroom Council property would be the rent you are charged - if it was £100 per week they would pay £100 per week.

The maximum Housing Benefit in private rented would be you shared room rate LHA rate of £56.

waz1989

thank you so much, that clears it up for me now

p00hsticks

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

The maximum Housing Benefit in a 1 bedroom Council property would be the rent you are charged - if it was £100 per week they would pay £100 per week.

The maximum Housing Benefit in private rented would be you shared room rate LHA rate of £56.

I don't know the details but I believe that one of the items in Wednesday's budget was a proposal to cap the amount of housing benefit paid to those in social housing to the same level as the LHA paid to private tenants

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/hb-for-social-tenants-to-be-capped-at-lha-rates/7012918.article

paddedjohn

p00hsticks wrote: »

I don't know the details but I believe that one of the items in Wednesday's budget was a proposal to cap the amount of housing benefit paid to those in social housing to the same level as the LHA paid to private tenants

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/hb-for-social-tenants-to-be-capped-at-lha-rates/7012918.article

I certainly hope that's true.