Housing benefit help

mandjaz06

Hi everyone. 
Not posted before so hope I'm doing this right. 
I am trying to make sense of my housing benefit calculation. I have 3 children. All born before the 2 child limit in April 2017. I am only getting from what I see, applicable amounts of 66.90 for my older 2. My youngest who is almost 4 and born in April 2016, there is no premium or applicable amount for him. It says £0. 00 next to his name. Am I right in saying I should have 3 child additions and my entitlement has been completely wrong since claiming Dec 2018?
Any advice would be great as I'm getting no sense when calling the local council office. 
Thanks in advance. 

Caz3121

were you claiming housing benefit on 05/04/17?
https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/benefits/housing_benefit/benefit_rates/benefit_rates_201920/applicable_amount_201920#_edn1
have a look at note 1
If you did not claim until 2018 then the 2 child cap applies (even if children born before the change)

mandjaz06

Hi thanks for reply. 
I have been claiming housing benefit since Dec 2018. I am confused if I'm reading your link correctly. I've been claiming working tax and child tax credits since my eldest was born 13 years a go. Each child was added on at birth. Does that 2 child limit still apply to housing benefit? 

Caz3121

I had skipped the second part but it does look like
(2) three or more children are included in the assessment of the claimant's child tax credit (CTC)
is an exemption...hopefully someone with more knowledge will be able to confirm :-)

mandjaz06

Ah, I'm glad someone else can see what I see. Council office keep shrugging me off, telling me that someone will look into it. If it is the case then I guesstimate that I could be due a couple thousand underpayment. Not sure how far back they backdate underpayment? 

calcotti

If you have three children included on your Child Tax Credit award you should be able to have three children included on your Housing Benefit award.
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Benefit_Changes_April_2017

You could refer your local local authority to this Housing Benefit circular https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/606547/a5-2017.pdf

Robbie64

mandjaz06 said:

Ah, I'm glad someone else can see what I see. Council office keep shrugging me off, telling me that someone will look into it. If it is the case then I guesstimate that I could be due a couple thousand underpayment. Not sure how far back they backdate underpayment? 

Any underpayment should be backdated to the date of claim. It's not a backdating claim (which is usually requested by the claimant and is time limited) but rather a revision of an existing decision. If the decision is wrong because the HB department incorrectly applied the law then the original decision will need to be revised.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/benefits/housing_benefit/underpayments_of_housing_benefit

mandjaz06

Wow, that's a bucket load of money they owe me then! I'm so glad I noticed as I've never really understood the letters when they arrive. I also have a query about the LHA rate they have been calculating from too. Suddenly from July this year went from 109.62 which is the accurate amount to 103.85. Not sure why so will be at them about that too. Thanks for all your replies.