housing problems please help

single_mother_needs_help

hi there.

im a single mother on benifits (at the moment,) my son is 9months old.

im in a basement flat at the moment with my dog. and its 1bed.

i need a 2bed place so my son can have his own bedroom.

the housing benifit has a new system, and they say that they only pay for a 2bed place for me, which would be fine, but i have finaly found someone who will rent there house to me, but it is a 3bed.

ive been searching for ages for a 2bed place, but no one wants to rent to someone like me here (devon)

is there anything i can do?

the council wont help me, as im not facing homelessness.

getting really dis-heartened

many thanks

Scarlett.1974

Hi there,

You might be better off posting this on the Benefits board

Housing Benefit has recently been replaced by Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and you're right, they will only pay for the costs of a 2 bed property for you and you will be expected to pay the rest yourself

There is a website that you input your postcode into and it tells you how much LHA you would be entitled to, depending on your needs, but I can't remember it unfortunately. They'll know on the benefits board though

single_mother_needs_help

oh ok, i will post this on there then thanks

Scarlett.1974

single_mother_needs_help wrote: »

oh ok, i will post this on there then thanks

No problem. Good luck

50plusabit

Hi
There is nothing stopping you paying the extra between the 3 bed and the 2 bed, if you can afford it, Its called a top-up. Council will not pay for a larger premisi that you need.

Gorgeous_George

I'd suggest getting rid of the dog. I don't like to see them where young babies are around. Without the dog, more properties would be available to you.

Let's say that the difference between a 2 bed and 3 bed is £100 per month. Wouldn't you be able to find something better to spend that on?

And I love dogs. I'd like to have one myself but sadly, I work and often spend nights away on business. I'll have a dog when I retire.

GG

SquatNow

LHA is about to give people on Benefits, and Landlords renting to people on benefits, a right good kicking.

Housing Benefit would simply pay your rent/mortgage interest. LHA pays you an allowance based on your circumstances... if the allowance doesn't cover your rent/mortgage tough titty... you have to make up the difference from your other benefits!

For a single male, HB would pay for a one bed flat... under LHA it will give him enough money to stay in a hostle or to rent a bedsit or a room in a shared house.

A lot of BTL landlord who were crowing about plans to put up rents are about to find out that they can't... under HB they could just raise the rent and the DSS would pay up... now they are about to find the tennants demanding a rent reduction because their LHA doesn't cover the rent!

Asking rent and achieved rent are 2 different things... BTLers with rising loan repayments may demand more money, but the ability for people to pay just dropped and the availability of budget accomodation just skyrocketted.

Combined with the huge number of people looking for a lodger to help pay the mortgage, the bottom rung of the rental market just got pulled out. Rents are about to dive.

dmg24

SquatNow wrote: »

LHA is about to give people on Benefits, and Landlords renting to people on benefits, a right good kicking.

Housing Benefit would simply pay your rent/mortgage interest. LHA pays you an allowance based on your circumstances... if the allowance doesn't cover your rent/mortgage tough titty... you have to make up the difference from your other benefits!

For a single male, HB would pay for a one bed flat... under LHA it will give him enough money to stay in a hostle or to rent a bedsit or a room in a shared house.

A lot of BTL landlord who were crowing about plans to put up rents are about to find out that they can't... under HB they could just raise the rent and the DSS would pay up... now they are about to find the tennants demanding a rent reduction because their LHA doesn't cover the rent!

Asking rent and achieved rent are 2 different things... BTLers with rising loan repayments may demand more money, but the ability for people to pay just dropped and the availability of budget accomodation just skyrocketted.

Combined with the huge number of people looking for a lodger to help pay the mortgage, the bottom rung of the rental market just got pulled out. Rents are about to dive.

I have never seen such a load of rubbish!

Perhaps you could go and learn about LHA and then come back and correct your post?

cats!

Can you ask the baby's father to pay money towards your rent so that you can have a decent place??

SquatNow

dmg24 wrote: »

I have never seen such a load of rubbish!

Perhaps you could go and learn about LHA and then come back and correct your post?

OK, let me correct my post. The local council pays the HB/LHA, not the DSS.

The rest is 100% correct.

dmg24

SquatNow wrote: »

LHA is about to give people on Benefits, and Landlords renting to people on benefits, a right good kicking.

Housing Benefit would simply pay your rent/mortgage interest. LHA pays you an allowance based on your circumstances... if the allowance doesn't cover your rent/mortgage tough titty... you have to make up the difference from your other benefits!

Wrong. Housing Benefit would pay an amount called the eligible rent. This was the maximum payable for a certain size of property in a specified area. If the Rent Officer deemed your property not to be worth this amount, you would not get the full amount. If your rent was more than the eligible rent, you would pay the shortfall.

For a single male, HB would pay for a one bed flat... under LHA it will give him enough money to stay in a hostle or to rent a bedsit or a room in a shared house.

Wrong. For a single male under 25, HB would pay for a room in a shared house. For a single male under 25, LHA will pay for a room in a shared house. For a single male over 25, HB and LHA will both pay for a one bedroom flat.

A lot of BTL landlord who were crowing about plans to put up rents are about to find out that they can't... under HB they could just raise the rent and the DSS would pay up... now they are about to find the tennants demanding a rent reduction because their LHA doesn't cover the rent!

Wrong. HB would only pay the extra if the rent was still within the eligible rent.

Asking rent and achieved rent are 2 different things... BTLers with rising loan repayments may demand more money, but the ability for people to pay just dropped and the availability of budget accomodation just skyrocketted.

Combined with the huge number of people looking for a lodger to help pay the mortgage, the bottom rung of the rental market just got pulled out. Rents are about to dive.

Maybe you should get your facts right before scaremongering?