Mislead-Housing Benefit& tax cannot be backdated!!

[Deleted User]

Deleted. Thanks

calcotti

[quote=[Deleted User];discussion/6036850]I lost my job few months ago and still trying to find a new job at the moment. Not yet applied for JSA (still relying on my saving)[/QUOTE]

There is no point delaying claiming benefit and running down your savings unless you prefer not to have to comply with DWP work search requirements.

Unless your savings are over £16,000 you can claim Universal Credit. Any savings over £6,000 will reduce you entitlement.

Alternatively, of you have a complete NI record between April 2016 and March 2018 you can claim new style JSA which is not means tested and therefore not affected by your savings.

JSA is only payable for a maximum of 26 weeks. UC is payable for as long as you meet the qualifying conditions.

[Deleted User]

calcotti wrote: »

There is no point delaying claiming benefit and running down your savings unless you prefer not to have to comply with DWP work search requirements.

Unless your savings are over £16,000 you can claim Universal Credit. Any savings over £6,000 will reduce you entitlement.

Alternatively, of you have a complete NI record between April 2016 and March 2018 you can claim new style JSA which is not means tested and therefore not affected by your savings.

JSA is only payable for a maximum of 26 weeks. UC is payable for as long as you meet the qualifying conditions.

Hi Calcotti,

Many thanks for your prompt reply!

I now have only 1k left! This is why I really want some support for the housing and hope that the benefit can be backdated to the date I left my job. If I was told when I first called what the council needed was simply a change of circumstance form we would do that straight away. But in my case I was told something completely different. And just because I trust them we now lost our entitlement to the support for 4 months. And that's a lot of money for us.

I'd look into the options of UC and JSA tonight and hopefully I would be able to put my claim in this week.

calcotti

You can claim both UC and JSA but the JSA will be deducted from your UC so given you have no housing costs yourself (I assume you are not on the tenancy) there will be no UC entitlement if you claim JSA because they are worth the same.

There are online benefit calculators you can use, for example https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

Sorry I have no advice to offer regarding dealing with the council in respect of your father’s benefits.

[Deleted User]

calcotti wrote: »

You can claim both UC and JSA but the JSA will be deducted from your UC so given you have no housing costs yourself (I assume you are not on the tenancy) there will be no UC entitlement if you claim JSA because they are worth the same.

There are online benefit calculators you can use, for example https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

Sorry I have no advice to offer regarding dealing with the council in respect of your father’s benefits.

Hi Calcotti,

Please, do not say sorry! You already help me a lot! Thank you very much for your help and time in this matter!

ceecee1

I think that you are talking about a non-dependant deduction on your dads Housing Benefit claim.

You need to make a claim for DWP benefits for him to be exempt from this deduction - see link for info.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/housing_benefit_deductions_when_living_with_non-dependants

sheramber

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/housing-benefit/help-with-your-rent-housing-benefit/

Getting Housing Benefit backdated

You may be able to get some Housing Benefit for a period before you make your claim if you could have claimed earlier. Getting benefit for a period before you claim is called ‘backdating’. You can get backdated Housing Benefit for one month if you can show you have a good reason for not claiming earlier, for example, you were given wrong advice. You also have to show that you were entitled to Housing Benefit throughout the period of backdating – that you were paying rent, and your income was low enough. You will not usually get any backdated benefit just because you did not know that you could make a claim. You should explain on your claim form that you want to claim benefit from an earlier date, and give your reasons for failing to claim earlier.

The rules are different if you or your partner have reached, or are over the qualifying age for Pension Credit and you are not claiming Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. In this case, you do not have to have a good reason for making a backdated claim. The period for making a backdated claim for these people is three months.

If you want to claim backdated Housing Benefit, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at your nearest Citizens Advice. To search for details, including how to get advice by email, click on nearest Citizens Advice.

[Deleted User]

ceecee1 wrote: »

I think that you are talking about a non-dependant deduction on your dads Housing Benefit claim.

You need to make a claim for DWP benefits for him to be exempt from this deduction - see link for info.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/housing_benefit_deductions_when_living_with_non-dependants

sheramber wrote: »

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/housing-benefit/help-with-your-rent-housing-benefit/

Getting Housing Benefit backdated

You may be able to get some Housing Benefit for a period before you make your claim if you could have claimed earlier. Getting benefit for a period before you claim is called ‘backdating’. You can get backdated Housing Benefit for one month if you can show you have a good reason for not claiming earlier, for example, you were given wrong advice. You also have to show that you were entitled to Housing Benefit throughout the period of backdating – that you were paying rent, and your income was low enough. You will not usually get any backdated benefit just because you did not know that you could make a claim. You should explain on your claim form that you want to claim benefit from an earlier date, and give your reasons for failing to claim earlier.

The rules are different if you or your partner have reached, or are over the qualifying age for Pension Credit and you are not claiming Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. In this case, you do not have to have a good reason for making a backdated claim. The period for making a backdated claim for these people is three months.

If you want to claim backdated Housing Benefit, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at your nearest Citizens Advice. To search for details, including how to get advice by email, click on nearest Citizens Advice.

Thank you both for the advice!!

@ceecee1 Yes I would definitely try to claim either JSA or UC ASAP, just to gain some some additional supports. Thank you!

@heramber Even if the council is willing to backdated just one more month that would be really great. Over the last 4 months I always paid the rent on time and in full. I was not submitting the form in time only because I was told they only need my p45 and I just managed to get it very recently.

We want the support all the time. If I was not mislead (even last week when I called and spoke to the council tax officer everyone from the council let me believe everything is fine, and my father's claim for both housing and council tax should be re-calculated from the day I stopped working).

Only now when I rang again this morning I was told I was wrong. I just done what I was told. I personally do not have much knowledge about how the benefit system works so I called to ask, and they are the benefit officers so I trust them. Now it turns out they can say whatever they want over the phone and people who listen and trust them have to suffer?? I just don't get this? How this is even fair?

I talked to one advisor from Citizen Advice this morning but he simply said to me maybe make a complaint....

calcotti

As I understand it you are not trying to claim Housing Benefit with backdating. You are not the claimant. You are trying to get your father’s award revised following a change of circumstances and the issue is around when the council will accept they were informed of the change.

[Deleted User]

calcotti wrote: »

As I understand it you are not trying to claim Housing Benefit with backdating. You are not the claimant. You are trying to get your father’s award revised following a change of circumstances and the issue is around when the council will accept they were informed of the change.

Yes you are right. Sorry I think I am a bit emotional right now. Sorry for any confusion caused!