Applying for social housing

suki1964

Stevedeadly said:

calcotti said:

Stevedeadly said: as we both recently started our businesses we don’t qualify for any government help

And

Stevedeadly said:

Yes we do get universal credit but it’s not enough to live on

So you are getting government help.

Have you claimed Council Tax Reduction too?

I’m talking about all the help for businesses who were told they had to stop

What was your business because I can only remember the gvt saying work from home if you can, go to work if you cant. The only businesses that were forced to close were personal services and hospitality 

calcotti

Stevedeadly said:

calcotti said:

Stevedeadly said: as we both recently started our businesses we don’t qualify for any government help

And

Stevedeadly said:

Yes we do get universal credit but it’s not enough to live on

So you are getting government help.

Have you claimed Council Tax Reduction too?

I’m talking about all the help for businesses who were told they had to stop

There have been numerous replies to your original post suggesting you could claim UC and you only now let us know you are already getting it. If you want informed advice it helps if you provide relevant information.

Stevedeadly

Yes we get UC but we didn’t get any of the self employment compensation.

the amount of UC we get is tiny because of the benefits cap, we have young children and live in a three bedroom house, we can’t afford the rent on such a small amount.

i though we could go back to work on 4 July but it seems we still can’t don’t know when the restrictions will be lifted for our businesses which involve very close constant with peoples faces.

i hope the benefits cap will be abolished due to these unprecedented times we live in.

huckster

From what I have read, the Government have no intention of changing the Benefit Cap.

If you are in financial hardship, have you contacted the local Council Authority ? If you do not have enough money to pay the rent and essential bills, perhaps you need to seek more local help.  Have a look on your local Council Authorities website about Discretionary Housing Payments. Is it worth asking about this ?  

Have you looked at every item of your household expenditure ? Can you reduce payments or cancel any ?  Satellite TV or Cable TV ? Mobile phone contracts ? Gym membership ?  Etc etc. Seek to negotiate reduced bills for any of these and cancel if you have to. 

This Coronaviris situation is likely to go on for another year.  So you need to plan on having reduced income for a lengthy period.  Can you obtain a Supermarket job for a period, as you will always be better off under Universal Credit, if you have some employment income. Earn £604 in any assessment period and the Benefit Cap does not apply.

calcotti

Stevedeadly said:  the amount of UC we get is tiny because of the benefits cap, we have young children and live in a three bedroom house, we can’t afford the rent on such a small amount.

The amount you get may be less than you need to maintain your existing commitments but to describe the benefit cap amount as tiny is somewhat inaccurate.

The government have so far made it clear that they do not propose to amend the benefit cap despite lobbying by various groups for them to do so.

KatrinaWaves

huckster said:

Have you looked at every item of your household expenditure ? Can you reduce payments or cancel any ?  Satellite TV or Cable TV ? Mobile phone contracts ? Gym membership ?  Etc etc. Seek to negotiate reduced bills for any of these and cancel if you have to. 

No they haven’t done that. In fact they have sought to increase their outgoings by having a ‘lockdown baby’ something which was described as ‘inevitable for all those stuck at home’ 

I find it unusual two people who recently quit paid employment to start their own business truly had nothing better to do during lockdown. There are a million and one things to do for your business whilst not trading, and none of them result in a baby you can’t support

poppy12345

I don't believe the benefit cap is the problem here for the OP because of the 9 month rule. I remember from the previous threads that their rent is about £1,700 per month and their UC is just over £2,000. I'm just going by what was stated in the previous threads.

KatrinaWaves

poppy12345 said:

I don't believe the benefit cap is the problem here for the OP because of the 9 month rule. I remember from the previous threads that their rent is about £1,700 per month and their UC is just over £2,000. I'm just going by what was stated in the previous threads.

Their problem is they seem convinced the benefit cap will rocket so much this rent will become affordable, because they seem to think there are going to be millions of people having baby number 4 in 9 or so months whilst unemployed. 

Ostrich moment 

poppy12345

What i meant was, they are not affected by the benefit cap. When it is applied then their situation could be even worse than it is now, unless they return to work in the meantime.  Seems like the rent money wasn't used to pay any of the rent.

On the other hand, most children are still off school...

Stevedeadly

poppy12345 said:

What i meant was, they are not affected by the benefit cap. When it is applied then their situation could be even worse than it is now, unless they return to work in the meantime.  Seems like the rent money wasn't used to pay any of the rent.

On the other hand, most children are still off school...

you make it sound like people could just choose to return to work just like that?