Urgent Help Required

Keeksta1976 · 10th March 2008, 13:49

Hi

My sister in law is in the process of getting Housing benefit.

The council have agreed to pay for a private rental for her and are paying the bond however she has been told that she has to find the first months rent as 2 months rent are due upfront and doesnt have the money.

The council are saying they cant help and we are not in the position to help financially either as we are moving house and area next week.

What can she do about this otherwise will be homeless

Rooster-UK · 10th March 2008, 13:55

I'm not clued up on this subject, but what about Social Services.
I believe under some circumstances it may be possible to get an emergency loan.

If anyone has anymore suggestions for help, please post.

Regards, Rooster.

Keeksta1976 · 10th March 2008, 14:25

Thanks Rooster.... am hoping that it turns out that they should pay it anyhow.

Thanks

S&C · 10th March 2008, 23:01

She may be entitled to apply for a budget loan from the DWP which she could use towards her rent.

Keeksta1976 · 11th March 2008, 11:09

Hi

As she has only been claiming benefits for a limited time she isnt entitled to an emergency loan from DWP. The housing side have given her an emergency loan for the Bond however this doesnt take in to effect that she has to put two months up front and she doesnt have the money.

Is there anything she can do as we are moving house and area and we need to ensure that she and baby arent homeless.......anyone

M_A_A_B · 11th March 2008, 14:30

If I were her I'd go and speak to the CAB....they will probably have more of an idea of what she might be entitled to and might even be able to help her claim for it.

I'm surprised that she cant get help from the DWP....they have several different loans/grants from the social fund and I would have thought she'd be entitled to one of them!

The only other option might be to try and find a place where they only require one months rent up front.

good luck

Keeksta1976 · 11th March 2008, 14:49

Cheers M A A B, we've tried CAB and they havent been much help to be honest.

She has had an emergency loan which the council has secured for the bond on the rent and then the other problem is we live in a really small town and the only agents in our area which are taking on DSS are the ones she is using and they asked for 2 months upfront on all their properties.

The other issue is we move out week after next (over 100 miles away) and its taken her 2 month to find this property which the council would pay the whole amount on.

We're just at a dead end and really do need help on this, I cant understand how the council cant help further as surely they must have cases like this all the time.

Thanks

M_A_A_B · 11th March 2008, 14:56

Can you SIL get council housing?

Shame that the CAB weren't much use

I dont know what else she could do really...is there anyone else, friends/family that could lend her the money? I'm guessing not

You could try contacting shelter

shelter

They have a phone number for their helpline on the website and you can email them....lots on info on the site as well...maybe they can help (finger crossed)

Keeksta1976 · 11th March 2008, 15:09

We tried that too... the council have no spare places and waiting list will be 6 months.

We will try Shelter though see if they know of anyway round it, we even tried the estate agent to see if they could ask to do just one months rent and said no. Thanks for that.

We're not in a position to lend any money as we are moving house and all that expense with it, parents have just recently bought a house which they are doing up so no spare cash from them either as both no longer work.

Cheers

M_A_A_B · 11th March 2008, 15:16

hopefully shelter might have some ideas for you...good luck with it and let us know how you get on

MCBIRNIE25 · 11th March 2008, 17:35

Hello Keeksta,
you have been misadvised. You are allowed to apply for a crisis loan in this situation. You can apply for a crisis loan even if you work, and there is no qualifying period. After all, you cant ask a crisis to come back in 2 weeks when you hit the qualifying quota. Go to the Jobcentre Plus website at Jobcentre Plus and click on a-z of benefits, then crisis loans to get the forms. Many of my clients have qualified for help this way. Have a look at this :
Crisis Loans

What are they?

Crisis Loans are interest-free loans you have to pay back. They may be available to anyone, whether or not they get any benefit, who need help to meet expenses in an emergency or as a consequence of a disaster.
Are they for me?

If you are aged 16 or over and cannot pay your basic living costs (or some other essential cost), and this could put the health and safety of you or your family at risk, you may be able to get a Crisis Loan.
Any savings will usually affect how much you can get.

Ron Baker · 12th March 2008, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keeksta1976

Cheers M A A B, we've tried CAB and they havent been much help to be honest.

She has had an emergency loan which the council has secured for the bond on the rent and then the other problem is we live in a really small town and the only agents in our area which are taking on DSS are the ones she is using and they asked for 2 months upfront on all their properties.

The other issue is we move out week after next (over 100 miles away) and its taken her 2 month to find this property which the council would pay the whole amount on.

We're just at a dead end and really do need help on this, I cant understand how the council cant help further as surely they must have cases like this all the time.

Thanks

Were was this CAB office,as they should have explained about the crisis loan criteria as my fellow scouser MCBIRNIE25 has posted,if they never mentioned the crisis loan criteria,then once this has been sorted.... then put a complaint in to this CAB office.
Ron

Keeksta1976 · 12th March 2008, 17:02

Hi guys

My understanding was that they have given her a crisis loan for her Bond and that was all she was allowed but thanks for this I will get onto her about this now.

Thanks for that

pauld56 · 16th March 2008, 10:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keeksta1976

Hi

My sister in law is in the process of getting Housing benefit.

The council have agreed to pay for a private rental for her and are paying the bond however she has been told that she has to find the first months rent as 2 months rent are due upfront and doesnt have the money.

The council are saying they cant help and we are not in the position to help financially either as we are moving house and area next week.

What can she do about this otherwise will be homeless

you can apply to the Social Fund on a Crisis Loan for Items for Rent in advance (Normaly 1 month will be awarded but can be 2 months) you will need a tennancy agrement from your landlord.

Hope this helps

Keeksta1976 · 17th March 2008, 13:14

Thanks for that, we'll give them a call

LastGoodbye · 14th November 2008, 16:27

HELP NEEDED ASAP!

I have recently just finished university and I am now applying for job seekers allowance. I have an interview on tuesday at the job centre about my claim but I was told to bring my P45, as I have never had a job because of studying I dont own a P45. Will the job centre be ok with this or will this be a problem. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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