Moving house, more expensive rent. Will I get more UC?

Stockholm88

Hello,

We are due to move in April and are currently getting UC which covers 85%-90% of our rent every month. Only my partner is in work as I am home looking after baby atm.

We are looking at places with 2 bedrooms and they obviously cost more and my question is, will we get the extra 200 GBP a month through UC to cover the rent (current rent is 900) or will we have to pay up an extra 200-250 a month?

Caz3121

your housing element is based on your bedroom needs rather than the rental amount
assuming private rental - Your current payment should be based on a 2 bedroom rate even though you are living in a smaller property so would be unchanged if you moved to a larger property (in the same area)

Stockholm88

Really...

That does sound odd tbh. Our LHA is (for a 2 bedroom) £228.37 per week but we are getting about 770 a month for our 900. So it doesnt quite add up.

KatrinaWaves

Stockholm88 wrote: »

Really...

That does sound odd tbh. Our LHA is (for a 2 bedroom) £228.37 per week but we are getting about 770 a month for our 900. So it doesnt quite add up.

You say your partner works, so their wages will be factored into the calculation no doubt.

Caz3121

I believe they use the actual rent figure if it is lower than the LHA so they may be using £900 in the calculations currently but if your rent would be higher than the LHA they would use the £990 LHA figure...so you may get a bit extra (up to £90?)
hopefully someone can confirm that is how it works in UC (as it did in housing benefit)

poppy12345

As you have a dependent child then you would be entitled to the work allowance, which for you would be £287 per month. Any earnings during your assessment period that are over this amount and your UC will be reduced by 63p for every £1 over.



Putting your details into a benefits calculator may help, providing the details you put in are correct they are quite accurate.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

calcotti

The thing you need to look at is not the amount of UC actually received because this will be affected by your wife's income.

You need to look at the make up of your UC maximum entitlement. If your LHA is £228.37/week you would expect the housing element to show as £989.60/month. If you rent is less than this the figure will be your actual rent but the housing element will not be more than this regardless of how much your actual rent is.

weavedribbon

Did you inform them when the baby was born and have you checked they're now awarding you the 2 bed LHA rate? Was just wondering if they've left you on 1 bedroom entitlement.