Advice on moving out.

victoryordie

Hi all, sorry if this has been asked or answered else where but I'm a little lost and could use some advice. I currently live with family and I'm nearing my thirties, I would like to move into my own place but I don't know where to begin, I know about housing benefit but I am currently in the work group on ESA and I don't know if I would be eligible to claim it. I have no partner nor any children and would be moving alone. Can anyone please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

Assuming your intention is to rent privately and not buy, you need to find out what your LHA rate would be. This is the maximum that you'll be given towards your rent. Check your LA's website. As you are under 35 the maximum you'll be entitled to (in my area, as an example, yours might be more or less depending on where you live) is £90.64 per week so you'll be looking for a room, not 'your own place' unless you can afford to top up the rent.

You'll need a deposit and generally some rent in advance. As you're living at home you're in a good position to be able to save.

HappyMJ

victoryordie wrote: »

Hi all, sorry if this has been asked or answered else where but I'm a little lost and could use some advice. I currently live with family and I'm nearing my thirties, I would like to move into my own place but I don't know where to begin, I know about housing benefit but I am currently in the work group on ESA and I don't know if I would be eligible to claim it. I have no partner nor any children and would be moving alone. Can anyone please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Yes you are eligible to claim it.

It's not much though. As above you need to look up LHA rates for your area and see what you can get with it.

My area the LHA rate is £60.04 a week and that gets....a dump. An unliveable energy wasting dump. You might need to spend some of your ESA to get a half decent property.

No matter what though you're going to need the deposit, rent up front and enough to cover any fees before you even consider moving.

Your other option is to consider social housing. Are you on the waiting list? It might take a number of years to get one but having benefit income only you might prefer the security of a tenancy with a housing association.

victoryordie

Social housing is what I am considering, I looked at renting privately but thought it might be far to expensive. Is it possible to apply to multiple housing associations in different areas other than the one I currently live in? Thank you for the replies.

Pixie5740

There's nothing stopping you applying to multiple HAs although they sometimes prefer it if you have some tie to the area.

Upsidedown_Bear

This is the link to find out your Local Housing Allowance rate:
http://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Search.aspx

pmlindyloo

Are you receiving PIP or DLA?

elsien

Some areas have one portal on the council website which is used to apply for all social housing in that area. You also need to be aware that you will only be eligible for a one bedroom place, and these can be few and far between. My local councils also specify you need a local link to improve your banding. You can go on the list without a local link but you'll be at the bottom for a very long time.
As you are on ESA you may be able to improve your banding on medical need but it could still be a long wait. All the information about bandings etc should be online.
Some councils also offer help with deposits, depending on your circumstances.

victoryordie

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Are you receiving PIP or DLA?

No I'm not currently receiving either.

I have had a look on a few social housing sites in the past hour and noticed that a lot offer "choice based lettings" and aren't overly strict on if you have no connection to the area.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

By all means apply, but I think you'll be waiting a very long time for social housing. Without local connections and not having priority need you'll be very low banding and could be bidding for many, many years. To put it in perspective, I have a local connection to East Anglia. I've been added to the list and bid every week. However I am band E and am always outbid by 200+ people in a higher band than me. Unless my banding changes i am unlikely to ever be offered a home.

victoryordie

Lioness_Twinkletoes wrote: »

By all means apply, but I think you'll be waiting a very long time for social housing. Without local connections and not having priority need you'll be very low banding and could be bidding for many, many years. To put it in perspective, I have a local connection to East Anglia. I've been added to the list and bid every week. However I am band E and am always outbid by 200+ people in a higher band than me. Unless my banding changes i am unlikely to ever be offered a home.

Are the bands universal or are they different per housing association? Is there nothing you can do to be placed in a higher band?