housing benefit help please!

sophlowe45

hi

i started claiming housing benefit in April and claimed JSA from March, my housing benefit was alomst all my rent per week until i asked them if they could backdate my claim to March which is when i started claiming JSA. They agreed but my rate of housing benefit has gone from £116.69 to £80 a week!!!

I don't understand - they said the overpayments made will be wriiten off but from now i will get £80 a week and also £80 a week for the backdated period.

I'm really confused - can anyone help?

Batty_3

LHA was introduced in April and the rates are less than HB, that could be one reason, you get paid for the bedrooms you require not the house you live in, unles you're in social housing in which case you'll still get HB.

This might be linked to your JSA - have you been to CAB about this?

sophlowe45

but thats just it i got 116.69 per week from this April 2008 so if LHA is less than HB, then surely i should be getting more than that if they've backdated my claim to March so now i dont fall under LHA anymore and fall under the previous Housing Benefit scheme.

LHA covered all my rent but 2 pounds a week but the HB is only 80 per week, i got the letter through the post today so no havent been to a CAB.

dmg24

Firstly you need to check how much the LHA is for your area, at least then you can ascertain that is what you are claiming (I don't think it should be). You can do this here.

How long have you been in your property, and have you claimed HB previously?

Do you live with anybody else?

There should have been a breakdown of how they reached the £80 figure - can you give us this information?

sophlowe45

max i can claim is 116.69 under LHA for a single room in a shared flat/house, all the maximum rate's were detailed on the letter i received in April, think it went upto 550 a week for a 5 bed house.

it comes up as 118 on that website though...

been in the property for over a year, never claimed anything before. Its a shared flat and no breakdown whatsoever of how £80 was reached on the letter.

dmg24

It sounds like £80 is the maximum amount under HB, not LHA, and this is the correct system for you to be on due to the backdating request.

As you have been in the property for so long without a previous claim, you should be able to claim the full amount of your rent for the first thirteen weeks (I am trying to find an authority for this but can only find things from several years ago - is it still accurate?).

real1314

I'd agree with dmg re the 13 weeks full rent, as long as you haven't claimed HB in the last 52 weeks. Haven't got a concrete source on this either though

As for the amount being paid, where exactly do you live (which borough)? You can get hold of the older HB figures that should have applied through the rent service website (www.therentservice.gov.uk I think)

sophlowe45

thank you for your replies.

should i just call up the housing benefit department and ask them about the first 13 weeks rule?

i couldn't find the older HB figures but will keep looking.

I have to say wish i hadnt ask them to backdate, the LHA is so much better and fairer.

dmg24

sophlowe45 wrote: »

thank you for your replies.

should i just call up the housing benefit department and ask them about the first 13 weeks rule?

i couldn't find the older HB figures but will keep looking.

I have to say wish i hadnt ask them to backdate, the LHA is so much better and fairer.

I would give them a call, and if you can get them to quote a source for it, please let us know! Even better, if you can email them (always good to get things in writing), and specifically ask them to quote the relevant legislation. If you don't get anywhere give me a shout and I'll email mine for you. My council dread my emails about 'hypothetical' situations ...

I think LHA works for some, and HB for others. If I had to rent, I would be much better off on the LHA figures, but others are considerably worse off. Swings and roundabouts! x

mjwatts59

I agree- mention the 13 week rule and assuming you were paying the rent before you made your claim, you should receive the full rent for the first three months.If you are still claiming after 13 weeks, your benefit will reduce to the £80 again. However, you could consider the following:You are allowed to stop your claim for a week. You can then make a new claim - you must apply at least a week later. The new claim will be treated under the LHA rules, which mean you will get the £118 amount.You will lose a week's money, but if you lose one week and but your benefit award goes from £80 to £118 this will pay for itself.It does sound like playing the system, but when the system is this manifestly unfair, even the DWP has said you can do it.http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/news/newsletter/bulletins/2008/g10-2008.pdf paragraph 13-14(also, the LHA rates will be different on the website because new ones are set each month, so they might have increased by the time you got your decision letter)

mjwatts59

BtwThe actual legislation is regulation 13, paragraph 14 of the Housing Benefit regulations 2006- chances are though, if you mention the "13 week rule" you are more likely to get a positive reaction!