Help with housing benefit

Just to say at the start of this post- I'm not casually ignoring the request not to post on this thread but have assumed that this might not include posts made where a CAB response has already been given but it's felt there might be something genuine to add? Please accept my apologies and delete this post if this assumption is mistaken. Some of the additions aren't HB related but can't really be extricated.


Hello,

Me and my girlfriend both recently graduated from university. We're currently living with her parents and have an appointment for Job Seeker's Allowance next Monday
Full time students aren’t able to claim JSA so the date you can start claiming will depend on the end date of your course. The university decides this date (it’s not necessarily related to the date you last attended but given it’s august now you should be clear to claim unless you sat/will sit any exams in the re-sit period.)

We're both looking for work, but in the meantime I'm working on a web-based business idea which will take a few months to generate any income.

One of the things you need to show to qualify for JSA is that neither of you is in ‘remunerative employment’. This basically means work done in expectation of payment whether you have been paid or not. If you work over 24 hours a week it might exclude you both from JSA. As you say that you are working on a ‘business idea’ I’m assuming that you aren’t trading yet and so it’s unlikely that they would consider you to be in work at this stage of the business but bear it in mind. If you are over 25 and you are trading and working on the business for 30 hours or more you can claim WTC instead of JSA if your annual profit is low enough. See here for tax credits how they look at self employed work:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/claiming/income-hours/work-out-hours.htm

As you seem to be in the early stages of setting up your business the New Enterprise Allowance which might help with this later would be useful for you to be aware of:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/programmesandservices/DG_198864

We would like to move out from her parents' home, for both their sake and ours. Is there anything stopping us from simply finding a house, paying the deposit and first month's rent, and then signing on to Local Housing Allowance?

You have implied that you have a money available for a deposit and rent in advance but see the CAB reply re help with deposits if not. To find out about schemes in your area see here:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/rent_deposit_and_bond_schemes
You should be aware that a lot of landlords won’t accept anything other than cash so schemes that look to guarantee/underwrite would limit your accommodation choices.

Are there any rules about time in the property to prevent people doing that?

There are no rules about time in the property but you would only be considered for payments of housing benefit from a date related to the date you put in your claim. Housing benefit can only be paid for a period before you claim (ie ‘backdated’) if there are very good reasons for not claiming earlier- there’s no indication from your post to indicate that backdating would be possible or required. In order to get Housing Benefit from the first day of your tenancy you must make your HB claim in the same week your tenancy starts so don’t delay.

I’ve researched that the one bedroom rate in this area is £121.15 per week, so if we find a house that falls into that boundary, would we be ok?

For a couple if you move into self- contained accommodation it’s the one bedroom rate which applies. If you move into accommodation in which you share a living room, bathroom or kitchen with others the ‘shared room’ rate for your area would apply instead.

If you have no income other than JSA you would get housing benefit to meet rent up to the level of the LHA rate which applies and no more. The possibility of Discretionary Housing Payments shouldn't really be taken into account as on the basis of the info you have given you are very unlikely indeed to be given these payments and they are often given temporarily whilst you find accommodation within the LHA rate.

Once you find somewhere you like you can ask for an estimate of the HB you would get before signing up to a tenancy (ask the council about a 'pre tenancy determination')

Is there any reason we might not be accepted?

If your only income is JSA then us you should get Housing benefit up to the LHA rate which applies.

Also, how long do housing benefit claims usually take, from first applying until actually receiving the money?

They should make a decision within 14 days of having all the information and evidence from you that is needed NOT 14 days from the date you claim. You should pre-empt the information needed and send it all in with your claim form to allow a payment to be made as soon as possible. See here for info on what you will need to supply (it’s not exhaustive but is likely to cover everything needed in your case) http://www.medway.gov.uk/housing/housingbenefit/evidenceforclaims.aspx

I currently live with my mother who is unemployed and claims housing benefits.
I am working full time with an employment agency where my basic wage which includes my holiday. So for example my £10 an hour wage includes a percentage of my holiday pay. This forms part of my Gross income, but before the gross income gets taxed they deducted the holiday pay which I will get back when I actually take a holiday. Due to my mum's housing benefits I have to pay rent and council tax based on my income. So right now I am paying rent and council tax based on my gross income which includes my holiday pay. But when I take a holiday from work I'm still required to pay the same amount even though I worked less hours and not making the same amount of money.
So mainly what I am trying to say is that according to my gross income including holiday pay and my (gross) income after holiday pay are two different figures and therefore for I should be paying less than what I have been paying for the last 3 months. Right now my rent is based on my gross income including holiday pay. Is that correct? or should I be charged my gross income after holiday is deducted?

Adding more detail.
So payslip details are as follows
Gross income: £xx:xx
holiday deducted £xx:xx
Tax £xx:xx

Hi, my friend's landlord is selling his home so she will no longer be able to rent the room she currently pays £350pcm for, which includes bills.

She's 54, single, British and works 42hrs+ a week in a care home, and earned £12,991.92 before tax last year (to 5/4/2012).

Most studio flats in Worthing, West Sussex start at £400pcm with Bills on top of this.

Is she likely to be entitled to housing benefit?

Any advice would be very much appreciated - I'm posting this on her behalf as she doesn't have access to the internet!

Many thanks!