Self employed HB claim

Angus_Olivier

I'm self employed and I've made a claim for housing benefit. I provided everything that I need to provide. The reply that I got said that I need to show them income and expenses for a period of time that includes a previous claim during which I was also self employed, and during which I got housing benefit until it stopped 3 months after due to my income being very low.

If I tell them what they're asking, they're going to see that my income was very low between the start of the previous claim all the way until now. And then they're just going to say no. I feel like they're going to judge my eligibility for housing benefit on the past, not my present circumstances.

That doesn't seem right. Can they do this?

Craig1981

they will judge you on your criteria as you stand now.
as you have been on a previous claim, they may not have had your income details, so need to address the old claim on that, which will result, i assume, in an overpayment if your income was higher on the old claim than originally stated,

any overpayment will be deducted weekly from any ongoing entitlement

but no, they wont base eligibility on the past, only on current circumstances, but they have a right to back date as needed

Angus_Olivier

But they already have my income from the 3 months that I was claiming before. They asked for it at the end of the 3 months and I sent it to them. They already have it. That's what I don't get. I don't know why they're asking again.

Are you sure they're going to judge it solely on present circumstances? I don't know, it seems to me that if they're that keen to go back that far, that it is relevant and that they're not going to pay housing benefit based on a low income from the past.

In fact, in their reply to me, they say that if I have not earned significant income since the start of the previous claim, then I may not get housing benefit. So basically they're saying that they are going to judge it based on the past.

And that is what worries me. I don't think this is fair, and maybe the person dealing with this is in the wrong and not doing their job properly. I say that because if they know that there was a previous claim, then they would also know why it ended (too low an income), and they would know that I already sent them income and expenses details for that period of time.

What I'm saying is that they are being very sloppy. I don't believe they have looked at this properly. In fact, in their letter they are also asking for proof of ID. This is ridiculous, I have already sent them a utility company letter with my name and address, and bank statements, which according to them is valid as ID.

Again, I think they are in the wrong. I think they're going to not pay me housing benefit because of low income from a previous period of time that has nothing to do with now. I think they're putting me in a position where heads I lose and tails I lose.

pmlindyloo

Which local authority are you in?

I believe that some local authorities are applying a minimum income level for the self employed after an initial period allowed for a start up business.

Does this fit in with the reason you were disallowed Housing Benefit last time? (when it stopped last time because your income was too low)

So how long have you been self employed? How many hours do you work? Do you claim working tax credits?

WillowCat

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Which local authority are you in?

I believe that some local authorities are applying a minimum income level for the self employed after an initial period allowed for a start up business.

This is only the case for council tax support, not for housing benefit. The housing benefit rules continue to be set nationally and don't include any element of minimum income floor or similar.

sheramber

Is self employed your income is based on your previous tax year's accounts. (i.e 6 April - 5 April.)

If you have not been self employed for 12 months then it is based on a lessor period. In your case it would appear that period is from when you previous claimed until now.

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Self-employment-and-benefits/How-do-I-calculate-my-earnings#guide-content

pmlindyloo

WillowCat wrote: »

This is only the case for council tax support, not for housing benefit. The housing benefit rules continue to be set nationally and don't include any element of minimum income floor or similar.

Thank you for that. I did wonder if it only applied to council tax reduction.

Perhaps the OP misunderstood the letter and it was only referring to CTR as I believe the local authority assess both at the same time.

The only other thing I can think of is if the OP was (is) receiving working tax credits because of low income and this payment removed his elgibility because WTC is counted as income for HB.

Angus_Olivier

WillowCat wrote: »

This is only the case for council tax support, not for housing benefit. The housing benefit rules continue to be set nationally and don't include any element of minimum income floor or similar.

If you can get housing benefit on low or nil income, how come I'm being asked what I've earned?

I can understand them asking someone to tell them what they have been earning during a period in which they have been getting housing benefit. Obviously they'd want to know that, so that they can re-calculate hb for the next 3 months.

But this is not the case. This is a new claim, and when I applied I filled in a form telling them what I project for future in terms of earnings. And this is what I did when I applied before, and they paid it. But they're not doing so now. This is what is so irritating.

And just to point out again, in their letter to me they have said that if I haven't made a significant income from [the date that I started as self employed previously] to now, then I may not get hb.

In other words, to paraphrase, they're saying "We don't care what you think you're going to make now, we're going to pay you nothing because you did not make much in the past, and there's nothing you can do about that because you can't change the past".

Surely this is wrong. This is not how it's supposed to be. I've read enough to know that if you're self employed you tell them what you think you'll earn, and then they pay you an amount based on that projection, then every few months they ask you to give them real figures and then they re-calculate, and so on. And this is what they did last time, but they're not doing that now.

Craig1981

if you are self employed and work for 4 weeks and earn £30k, and don't work for 11 months. then yes, this will count against you, as it is based on a yearly average (in simple terms) of your income

but what you are saying is that you hardly have any earnings/income, so this would not be an issue

calcotti

I don't think you are correct about this. If you have just started self employment when you claim housing benefit then the award is based on a projection following which it is recalculated on actual earnings.

If you have already been self employed then it is based on past earnings over the previous 52 weeks so you have to provide the information in order for them to calculate your entitlement.

This does mean that if you make a good income from self employment but then hit a bad patch you will not immediately get housing benefit - effectively you are expected to put money aside during the good times. I realise, from your post, that this may not apply to you but just trying to explain how the system works.

pmlindyloo

Why did your housing benefit stop before?