Job has finished, on contributions based JSA but my rent is more than Housing limit

lexa34

Help.

Trying to find new contract/ job so signing on mean time. The housing benefit system has just changed and am worried as it seems that my local area maximum weekly amount in Greenwich is £150 but my rent for my flat is £750 a month. A £100 or £150 a month short fall depending on how you work it out.

What are you supposed to do! Not eat out of the £60 a week they deem you can live on??!

Is this right or can I just not make sense of this new system?

Thanks in advance.

TonyLisaP

They have a maximum amount that they will pay in HB.

Consider the situation we are in. I lost my job at the end of January and they will pay nothing towards our mortgage at all and we have two kids and are facing repossession. It is a hard fight being on JSA

lexa34

That is an awful situation to be in.

TonyLisaP

lexa34 wrote: »

That is an awful situation to be in.

Yet if we were renting a house for £800PM they would pay it, it is madness. Give me the £800 and I can stave of repossession. Fortunately I start a new job tomorrow.

Good luck with getting something sorted out, have you checked to see if you qualify for any tax credits?

lexa34

Don't you have to be a family to get those?

Congrats on job; must be major relief.

real1314

lexa34 wrote: »

Help.

Trying to find new contract/ job so signing on mean time. The housing benefit system has just changed and am worried as it seems that my local area maximum weekly amount in Greenwich is £150 but my rent for my flat is £750 a month. A £100 or £150 a month short fall depending on how you work it out.

What are you supposed to do! Not eat out of the £60 a week they deem you can live on??!

Is this right or can I just not make sense of this new system?

Thanks in advance.

They have to draw a line somewhere, otherwise people on HB would be claiming half the GDP. Inevitably HB ends up below most private rents. In your case it's £100 a month, however if you've not claimed HB in the last 52 weeks you should have 13 weeks full rent paid as it's protected.

lexa34

Errm, sorry to be dumb but what do you mean protected?

real1314

If you've been able to pay the rent yourself and have not claimed HB in the past 52 weeks, the LHA (or previously the Rent Officers decision) is not supposed to be applied for the first 13 weeks. I haven't actually been able to get hold of any guidnace to confirm this under LHA but it was applicable under HB rules up to April. I'm fairly certain that it's going to be there somewhere under LHA.

lexa34

real1314 wrote: »

If you've been able to pay the rent yourself and have not claimed HB in the past 52 weeks, the LHA (or previously the Rent Officers decision) is not supposed to be applied for the first 13 weeks. I haven't actually been able to get hold of any guidnace to confirm this under LHA but it was applicable under HB rules up to April. I'm fairly certain that it's going to be there somewhere under LHA.

Hi

I have had a look and I cannot see anything anywhere about this. Have you had any luck?

Thanks

SuziQ

TonyLisaP wrote: »

Yet if we were renting a house for £800PM they would pay it, it is madness. Give me the £800 and I can stave of repossession. Fortunately I start a new job tomorrow.

quote]
I posted about this the other day,seems very unfair to make people wait 39 weeks (10 months!) to get help with a mortgage-I am caught in this trap too. So glad you've found a job-lost mine in April and have to fit round a child who doesn't fit into childcare easily (autistic) so not easy but I am determined to get into amployment again,hate relying on benefit and it's not enough to rely on anyway (although I am v v grateful to be getting it!)

Batty_3

lexa34 wrote: »

Help.

Trying to find new contract/ job so signing on mean time. The housing benefit system has just changed and am worried as it seems that my local area maximum weekly amount in Greenwich is £150 but my rent for my flat is £750 a month. A £100 or £150 a month short fall depending on how you work it out.

What are you supposed to do! Not eat out of the £60 a week they deem you can live on??!

Is this right or can I just not make sense of this new system?

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately this is right. I'd get £88 a week for a 2 bed house (despite the fact I live in a 3 bed one) but my rent is £137. when my eldest turns 16 he has to have his own room, but the rent for a 3 bed is only £92 so I'd have to find about £45 a week out of my £60 JSA/IS

Thank goodness I don't need to claim yet, but when I do I'll struggle.

Looking at LHA rates around the country it seems that the rate they pay you is approx what youd pay for social housing and so they wont pay any more. It's supposed to make you budget for a better place so you can manage your money, but you cannot rent for under £500 here and that's for a 2 bed place.

I know this doesn't help much, but there is a thread somewhere in this forum for eating on a budget, that might help tide you over. I've been living on £30 a week food budget for years now thanks to the debts I have. You just get used to going without until work picks up

The main thing is keeping that roof over your head, because here's no leeway with landlords if you default on the rent.