Housing support for young people READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/housing-support-for-young-people

Hi i am self employed on a low income and claiming Housing Benefit on a 1 bed (2 room) flat in an inner london brma. I have been renting one of the rooms out to a lodger on a permanent basis and receiving the 2 bed rate minus income deductions from the lodger. I would like to begin renting the room occupied by my lodger on a less permanent basis, to paying BnB visitors for weekend. Is this possible and what would be what is the best way to go about this without creating a change of circumstances every weekend that I have a paying visitor? All i can find is that there isn't any distinction at all in the regulations between a lodger and a temporary BnB guest - a 'lodger' is defined as 'someone who is liable to pay you or your partner rent, on a commercial basis, to live in your home'. There's no clarification on what 'to live in your home' means, and this means that it's quite possible that any paying weekend guest will be treated the same as any other lodger, and this may potentially mean that I have to notify the council of a change in circumstances frequently. Could i incorporate the business' under my self employed umbrella that does not interfere with my award which would be single occupancy with 1 bed LHA.? Would really appreciate any concrete info please. Thanks in advance.

A terrible thread title but its as good as i could do Im trying to help a family member out with advice. I've told them to make an appointment to see CAB and also their Occupational Therapist but wondered if anyone on here would have any clue on the subject... So they are husband and wife and live in a 3 bed council house. The wife is on numerous disability benefits mainly for a degenerative bone disease (has x amount of crumbling/broken vertebrae and numerous other related problems) and the husband doesn't work and is the carer. The marriage has broken down and the husband isn't doing any of the caring. The wife wants to split and move out but the husband doesn't and they are both on the tenancy. Because he doesn't want to move or split up she cant ask the council for a move to a one bed place. husband and wife are constantly rowing and there has been violence and its also very likely to happen again. It sounds a bit boring to me now seeing it written down but in reality things are really boiling over and the wife is at her wits end. She OBVIOUSLY has the option of leaving but not only would she lose her house but the council have also said they would not be able to put her anywhere else. To me the best outcome would be if the council would swap the 3 bed house for 2 single flats but as im writing on behalf of the wife she is obviously more worried just about her. It seems the husbands refusal to accept a failed marriage has anchored her in a kind of limbo. Any advice please?

Government moves towards a shake-up of broken housing complaints system READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-moves-towards-a-shake-up-of-broken-housing-complaints-system

Hello. I am a single mother with a just turned 18 son. I have been notified that my Housing Benefit will be stopped as my child is now 18. He is still at sixth form college until the summer, then hopefully will go to University near home. I received a form from the Council now saying because he is 18 we are not entitled to housing benefit and he has been assessed as earning £9999 a week. Yes you read that right. In fact he earns nothing and is still studying his A level equivalents. I have produced evidence to show this but they say it doesn't matter as he is not a dependent now. Has anybody else encountered such a problem and what do I do? I work part time on minimum wage and will still get child benefit and tax credits to make up, but without the housing benefit and council tax rebate will be difficult to survive. Hopefully someone can help here as Croydon Council have been extremely unhelpful. Thank you in advance.

Hello, I just received a PCN from private parking firm NTC (the worst of the worst). The communal garage door was broken meaning I had to use a visitors spot and display a ticket. I had a clearly displayed valid ticket except that the I forgot to put the reg. number on the ticket. The past 5 entries had the same correct reg. number and CLEARLY this was a valid ticket but I had just forgotten one inane detail. Here is the evidence they have: imgur dot com/Q4q1GFN The prelude to Christmas has rendered me broke and the ruthlessly exploitative nature of this conniving company is making me pretty reluctant to pay them the 'discounted' sum of £60. Just wondering what you all think is the best way to proceed? Thanks, Jude

good evening, today when I came home, I had received a letter from the council about an overpayment of housing benefit for 487.59, from over 5yrs ago. the period 02.04.12 to 07.10.12. it was created on the 09.10.12 due to tax credits and start of higher paid job, notifications letters were sent to you informing you of this. they have said that they are going to send out an invoice for this over the Christmas period and to please call the office to set up an arrangement for a payment plan. I phoned the council as this was the first I knew of this overpayment. I spoke to a lady who brought up the account seemed surprised it was so long ago she confirmed that I hadn't received any letters about this, only notification letters. I presume they mean by notification letters, they mean award letters. thank you I have received nothing else from them and pay my rent in full and council tax, in fact have only got 26.00 left to, pay on my council tax. I have written an email to them complaining, which is what the lady advised what I would like some advise on whether you anyone thinks I have a case or if I will have to find the money which I don't have.

Hi started claiming ESA on 1st November this year filled in housing benefit claim form. The reply came today saying l'll have to wait 39 weeks for them to help pay my mortgage! Can anyone help with this problem?. l have no savings l am so worried Thanks in advance

Short version : Just looking for the rules when it comes to claiming housing benefit. I have been on benefits for years and am desperate to get away from them so I started a business a few years ago. I am the director of a ltd company, and pay myself min wage at just under 16 hours a week. What I want to know, is at what point am I no longer entitled to housing benefit? They are requesting a copy of my accounts now and I have to keep sending in pay slips to prove I am only taking min wage for 16hours a week etc. I don't know what other qualifying info you would need to help determine when the point is that I need to stop claiming, let me know if there is anything you need to know. I look forward to any replies. Let me know if you really wanna hear the long version, trust me its long! Thanks in advance for any help!

I have been helping my friend try to sort out his housing benefit. He is a vulnerable person who is on ESA. Originally he had no-one to help him sort everything out when he found a new accommodation around two months ago. He was looking for somewhere to move to and I was not available during this period. When he moved in he paid a two weeks deposit and weeks rent and received, keys. He never was offered a full tenancy agreement. Later on he was told by the landlord that he prefers to rent rooms out with just a cash deposit only a one-two weeks’ notice. He doesn’t give tenancy agreements as it saves paperwork, he has made it clear that he has no shortage of tenants so does not need to offer full tenancy agreements. The person that helped him originally stated that this would not be a problem as a tenancy agreement is not required, just a proof of rent and tenancy letter. I also phoned Haringey council and was told the same information along with and the criteria needed. After getting in touch with me I filled in the online form for him and managed to get him to ask the landlord for a proof of rent/address letter from the landlord (after persuading him it was for another matter). It has all the correct information etc. which was then submitted with a passport scan for ID. This is where the problems began as Haringey council became persistently awkward. WE were told in a letter/ and phone call we had to do the following:- 1 provides a birth certificate which i eventually was bought and sent! 2 send them proof of ESA. we managed to persuade his old civil solicitor to get it FAXED straight away (We even managed to get a strong legal covering letter from the firm stating that he had been a vulnerable CLIENT for two years and to help him as quickly as possible. After a week they then sent him a letter stating that the proof of tenancy letter was defective because it was unsigned by him (even though it was from the landlord) and to….. 3….. to RE-SIGN it and send it back in 4 to write a letter stating why he didn’t have a tenancy letter to begin with. This in-depth letter was then written and both documents were resent. * These documents were then taken in. I took all documents and acted on his behalf. at all times. * all of the above was done and then resubmitted to them EXACTLY as they had requested and asked to do at different periods…hence reason that so much time has passed. He then got a letter stating that they had decided against him. that they require a tenancy agreement to prove ‘liability of rent’ I don’t understand how they can demand this when it says specifically on the Harringay website that a proof of rent letter will suffice. He has been given until 30th November to produce a tenancy agreement. Which his private landlord will not do. He also does not accept dss. According to Harringay website they accept proof of rent letters, i fail to understand what has gone wrong, especially as before refusing him they asked him to jump through all these hoops to do all of the REQUIREMENTS ABOVE. Is there any anything we can do to more easily remedy this situation WITH THEM? without having to jump through multiple/legal hoops with CAB - which is a complete nightmare. any help you can offer i would be extremely grateful; I spoke informally to his civil solicitor and she implied Harringay council KNOW they should accept the proof of rent letter and that they are 'trying it on’ I also spoke to someone other legal entity over the phone CAB and they think that Harringay are purposely obstructing the claim? he has been using his ESA money to cover rent and is owed approx. 10-12 weeks rent. I have been helping him also. this situation cannot continue. We have until 30th to provide a tenancy agreement which wont be forthcoming, even though this is not legally required. Obviously, I want to get the claim started and get him paid so does he have to stay there in the same accommodation to fight / appeal the claim? at the same time paying out rent he cannot afford? 1 Or can he move out and still appeal this claim as he is owed money. But he cannot keep continuing to pay out his esa like this. 2 how do we appeal/ fight/ win the claim/ how long will this take? 3 how can Harringay demand a tenancy agreement when they instructed me to do all these things and then refuse my claim. I had to buy a birth certificate. He will not be able to get a tenacy agreement also the private landlord does not accept dss. 4 how do we fight this? 5 can they legally close the claim on the 30th Nov.? due to lack of tenancy agreement? Thanks for your help – we are desperate. Thanks p.s from haringay website:- ‘If you are a private tenant, you need to provide a tenancy agreement or a rent book or a letter from your landlord confirming how much rent you pay and what is included in the rent.’ EDIT UPDATE!!!!! the rent letter we originally supplied was a letter which contained all relevant info name address of landlord, signed, rent amount, times its paid, when he moved in, bills included one room etc and it had name and address and was dated and signed by both parties. it also stated that the rent was currently up to date, so its legal.* there has been an update. We got a legal adviser involved who contacted the council on Wednesday. She explained the situation and asked to speak to the decision maker or at least his department. the call center were helpful, the adviser explained the landlord wont give a tenancy agreement and isn't obliged to. she also explained that we had done everything the council had asked which implied that we was going to get a successful outcome to the claim. and that according the council website a rent letter is acceptable. So why the insistence on a tenancy agreement. The dept. asked if the tenant could get one and she said no way. They have agreed to re-examine the claim, the same decision maker. he actually wanted to speak to the tenanct but she said he suffers from anxiety so to contact me (the advocate) they said no one was on the system, which wanst true. I wasn't there at the time. she also followed this up with an in-depth email afterwards saying that tenant was vulnerable and has been paying his esa to his landlord and that we can supply medical evidence and that the situation is affecting his health. we wont see her until next Wednesday. I phoned on his behalf on Friday and it hasn't been looked at yet. Does this look hopeful, they seem to have backed down a bit since the legal adviser phoned? or do you think they are just fobbing us off? is there anything we can do in the meantime? we have re-uploaded all documents (just in case any of the originals weren't looked at the first time around.. .. is there anything else we can do????

I am a single mum working part-time and receiving a some housing benefit. Recently my 17 old daughter who is a full-time college student has started a part-time job. Will her earnings affect my Housing Benefit?

Can anyone point me to where it says that HB will only get backdated 1 month? It seems as if all Local Authorities apply this rule, but I am finding it hard to locate the exact legislation permitting them to do so. I would be very grateful on behalf of one of my helpees.

We recently made a request to our housing association to be re-housed due to health problems and my wife suffers with mobility issues. My wife's doctor also provided a supporting letter to the housing association to verify that there were health problems. The housing association arranged for their own independent occupational therapist to assess my wife's mobility issues and to provide a report to the housing association. The housing association agreed that there was an urgent need to be re-housed although the property must have a number of major adaptions in place and the housing association has very limited stock of adapted properties and a very long wait is expected. We could not understand why the assessment outcome was for all of these adaptions to be in place. The housing association provided me with a copy of the occupational therapist report and most of the information is inaccurate and way over the top. I have complained to the housing association that the occupational therapist report is inaccurate which has resulted in us unlikely ever to be re-housed. I have contacted the occupational therapist's firm to see why they have made so many errors on their report and they will not comment. My legal question is that I wish to challenge the findings of the occupational therapist's assessment (which was organised by the housing association by their independent OT). Do I challenge the housing association who arranged the assessment or the occupational therapist's firm? Thank you

Hi, I don't know if I'm posting this in the right place but I need help. My daughters boyfriend has just received an eviction notice, stating the eviction will take pkace a week on Thursday. I'm currently sketchy on the details but it's all due to problems with housing benefits etc. Hes had a nightmare of a couple f years, he was persuaded to take a 16 hour a week job because he was on DLA and could claim working tax credits, he also kept his housing benefit. He then lost his claim to DLA when he had to change to pip and so lost his working tax credits. He also lost his housing benefit but that was reinstated. Currently he has a total income of £120 per week and is supposed to be paying towards his rent as his housing benefit doesn't cover it all. Now he's buried his head in the sand, my daughter had just phoned me to say that he's being evicted and the eviction notice was delivered on Saturday morning. He has tried to contact the council today to see if there is any way he can stop the eviction and they have said no not unless he pays all of the arrears. I don't know if the amount they are wanting includes all of the costs that will have been added to the debt outstanding. Is there anything at all that can be done to help him keep his home or are we looking at a lost cause?

Hi I could someone please help. I have someone that I used to help with their benefits ESA, etc. Unfortunately I had to leave area for over a year and could no longer aid them. I recently returned and as the person in question is extremely isolated due to their issues, they need my help again. Thing is because I was their only ‘port of call’ they have made their situation far more complex. They forgot/ failed didn't have the capacity to inform HB of their new address. Luckily the scope of the room id address approximately soon after I left to a similar property i.e. single room. And the rent and the housing benefit is exactly the same. But last week it would seem that it has been stopped. We are not 100% sure yet as we cannot phone until tomorrow but evidently the rent should have gone in on Friday but hasn’t. They suffer from severe agoraphobia and similar and are completely disorganized etc. Before I left the area I did all the paperwork for them. If it has been stopped what is the procedure and what can we do to get it updated etc. Would HB have written to him (at his old address) to update details and because he didn't reply stopped it? Should we phone up and explain the situation? It’s not like the person in question has stolen any money, as the rent (same amount exactly) has been paid to the new landlord each week) His medical records prove his temperament etc. which the dwp have. I’m assuming HB as least would be sympathetic to this? The amount that is being paid is the exact same amount that would have been if re-assumed to the new address? he had no-one to act on his behalf, until now. Its a nightmare that could have been avoided had he some kind of support network. Can someone explain the best approach etc.? I’m quite happy to write a statement that I was the single person that always acted as their advocate and that without me etc. they were helpless/ useless etc. I believe that a next door neighbor acted on behalf with the move but failed to help him inform/ fill in new HB paperwork etc. And evidently because the new landlord doesn’t accept dss (he felt it impossible to sort out the situation himself and instead just kept paying the rent to the landlord) Can someone offer advice sympathetically (these forums can be harsh sometimes) thank you very much.

I have number of plastering defects around the flat that i rent from Radian housing association. Im a complete failure when it comes to anything diy related so have asked if they would do it as i feel it falls under their responsibility as quoting from their online documents i would only be responsible for 'filling minor cracks in plaster'. The defects are several 'plaster pops' where the head of a nail/screw protrudes out the wall with a head of plaster on it giving a kind of roundish raised head of cracked plaster which protrudes when any weight is put on the wall. you cant just plaster over it it has to be excavated, re-screwed then plastered over. Also lot of joins in the plaster where one or both edges move independently creating an unsealable crack unless the boards are fastened properly and then re plastered. They have ofc said that this dosent fall under their responsibility which from experience they always say when they feel they will get away with it anyway Should i chase them up on this? Thanks.

Hello For 10 years I had a quarter share in a HA flat. I always paid my occupancy charge (rent on the three quarters owned by the HA) on time. When I moved in the HA actively had a list of people suited. I got the impression that several people looked at the flat and it was sold quickly however by the time I gave up the tenancy in December last year I was told (this is not in my terms and conditions) that I must sell my share on the open market. Hopefully the contract will be complete any day now but in addition to the mortgage on my house I was told I must continue to pay the occupancy charge. I did so at first understanding that it would take a while to sell but 8 months on it's making me penniless. Is there anything that I can do? I also feel that the HA have made it harder to sell. They've discouraged enquirers (to the point the estate agent had to contact them and ask them to desist). Please help. We're talking thousands of pounds.

I am currently unemployed and receive full housing benefit, my 19yr old son left school in June (repeated a yr due to disability) and starts college full time in August. Over the summer period he has not claimed for any benefits or worked. I received a letter from the council saying that I have been overpaid housing benefit since June as my son is now a non-dependant and are asking for £126 to cover overpayment, they are also asking for £12pw towards rent. They also wish to see his student loan payments confirmation letter. I'm at a loss here as everything I have read about housing benefit states that non dependants students living at home would not pay rent, I have even competed the council's online benefit calculator which shows we should not be paying rent. Are the council right?

HI I moved to a private flat-share around a few months ago. The agent at the time didn't want to give me a full tenancy agreement. I wasn't really fussed as i was working and paid my rent on time. Unfortunately I recently lost my job and have been forced to claim esa. The landlord does not usually accept people in full time employment and i have no intention of risking my accommodation . I need proof of address as i am allowed by law to apply for housing benefit and i am under no obligation to tell him i am unemployed anyway, BUT i need proof of tenancy What possible reason can i give him to ask for proof of tenancy? I have also been told by housing benefit that i do not actually need a tenancy agreement just proof of residency etc. SO i assume for housing benefit just a letter stating when i moved in and how much rent i pay and what room i live in etc Can someone offer me some advice? Im only staying here for four months and I'm recovering from an illness i have no option but to stay here at the moment. What reason can i say that i need proof of tenancy other than for housing benefit? thanks

Statutory intervention in Wellhouse Housing Association - June 2017 Can be downloaded here: https://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/publications/statutory-intervention-wellhouse-housing-association-june-2017

Hi guys, long time no see. I've a bit of an issue and don't know where I stand on this and hope someone can give a little insight on what i should do. A few weeks ago my partner moved out. He was my full time carer and claimed carers allowence. I notified housing and DWP as you should albeit about 10 days after he moved out. Which I hold my hands up to, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the time. ( I had just found out my landlord, who was also my friend had suddenly passed away) So also have the worry about my housing situation. Another issue I may need help with. It was all very amicable and we are still very close, we just made the decision that we just couldn't live together any longer. Now I know that I couldn't discuss the carers allowence with that department because he claimed it so they cannot discuss with me. However this was over looked on his part and it wasnt deliberate either. I received an e-mail from housing benefit that they couldn't take him off my claim until I gave them an address where he was living. 1. I felt that it really wasn't my place to tell people where he was living and 2 to be honest I wasn't exactly sure where he was living. All I know is that he is staying with a couple of friends and sofa surfing until he finds something more permanent. I did state this to HB and they came back with he is still claiming carers allowance still at my address. I told them I would deal with it. I did ask him to deal with it which he said he would but just genuinely forgot. However only a couple of days later I got a visit by 2 compliance officers demanding to come into my home. It was 10am and had not long woken up and still groggy from my pain meds so i refused to let them in. Again he demanded to come into my home and again i refused. I'm very hard of hearing and registered deaf and disabled. I hadn't had time to put in my hearing aids (my dogs let me know there's someone at the door) So I really couldn't understand why he wanted to come into my home. He wasn't exactly being very friendly. He just shoved his ID in my face and wanted to come in. I felt incredibly intimidated and very anxious at this point as I still had no idea what he wanted. I asked if he had a warrant and he said yes this is my warrant and showed me his ID again. :???: I again refused to let him in and told him I didn't understand what hevwas wanting from me and he just said that my partner was still claiming as living here. Which I said he wasn't and he said he is claiming carers from my address. At this point I'm really getting very anxious and couldn't hear what he was saying so I told him I'm very hard of hearing and didn't understand what hevwas going on about and if he needed to talk to my partner then he should wait until he signed on to contact him as to why he was claiming it still. As soon as I said that he turned and started to leave saying something which I couldnt hear. I asked him if he still needed to come in and he said no I then got in touch with my partner to ask if he had contacted carers allowance and he had totally forgotten. So I got him round to do it online as he couldn't get through on the phone. My issue here is, can these men demand to come into my home knowing I'm a vulnerable female on my own? I had already explained via e-mail the situation. I'm registered deaf and disabled with Essex county council. Surely they would of known that and should of at least made an appointment, which states in their customer code of of practice. I have made a complaint, however, now worried I'm going to be sanctioned. It's bad enough that I'm worried sick about not knowing whether I need to move or not which they were aware of but now this. Any advice would be really great guys thank you

My DLA was recently stopped (didn't even bother to try or PIP as I know I had no chance). Well today I got a "revised"calculation of my housing benefit due to my DLA being stopped, and it's gone down by over £30 a week? I'm confused by this. I didn't think DLA was means tested and I don't understand how I'm expecting to pay more now that I'm worse off? Does anybody have any knowledge on this that can help please?

Hi Don't know if this is the right place but wondered if anyone could help me and let me know where i stand. Today i received 2 letters from my local council about overpaid housing benefit . First one is for £366.90 from 2005 and the second for £241.77 from 2008. As these are both over 6 years old do i have to pay them?

Hi everyone, I would appreciate your advice on this matter. I received a letter from Newlyn about a month ago regarding an overpayment of housing benefit from Newham Council, amounting to around £2200. I contacted them straight away asking for details, as the council has never written to me at my new address. Newlyn said they didn't have any details, as they had only held the account for several days. I then started getting phone calls every couple of days. When I couldn't come to the phone, they would leave me a voicemail and I always returned their calls. I explained the situation again the second time I spoke to them and the lady told me which period the overpayment was for to which I replied that it was still insufficient information, but she said she didn't know any more. I've contacted the council, requesting to know why they think I owe them money and asked for a statement of payment from them. I've spoken to Newlyn at least twice after this and explained on every occasion that I've contacted the council to enquire about the situation but have yet to receive a reply. The people on the phone said they were unable to 'hold' the account, even though I've done everything I can and they're not providing me with a reason to pay. I have received an automated response email from the council stating they have received my enquiry and they will respond to me in due time, but Newlyn won't leave me alone. In the past few days, they have sent me a letter that was addressed to 'the occupier' requesting for a forwarding address for me even though, I've contacted and spoken to them many times. I don't know how to proceed. I can't pay them - I don't have the money, but also I don't see why I should pay when I haven't been given reason to. They've said "you owe this much, now pay up" and that's pretty much it. I'm really stressed out about how quickly this is escalating and I'm really frustrated as to why I'm expected to pay when they haven't even explained to me why I owe them money. I'm struggling to cope with this and I feel really trapped. Thanks in advance to anyone who responds. Zoe

How to fight / complain about a council Norwich city council / Norfolk county council (both names on letters) that you believe are idiots and or committing fraud Actually in credit (£35) with rent account and council tax as we pay shortfall ourselves... but I'm a carer for 1 of 2 of my autistic daughters and my missus works for fixed salary with no chance of overtime ever.. so you'd think h/b and c/t benefit would be fixed. Not a chance when missus worked 5 days a week we got around £10 per week h/b, now same job but 3 days only, as original job holder has come back from maternity. we got just £1.10 a week ... no sense or reason. Asked for written explanation from council, both verbal over counter and via telephone, 6-8 weeks later no response. we have done and have receipt for change of circumstances from November ( 5 to 3 days work ) from council. now April time and suddenly we got a letter from housing officer with projected housing benefit from council (not the council ) saying they would be paying £55 1 month, £97 the next month and then £45 the month after that.... problem is we have a paper debt of £538 rent arrears. This I sorted myself and it's purely a computer error from projected h/b to actual h/b received (i.e council say gonna pay £100 but only pay £40 so a -£60 debt occurs on paper but not in account as we pay short fall) I've done the letter requesting a detailed written breakdown of all housing benefit since claim beginning - ignored ( 6- 8 weeks now) asked for a review of it - nothing but recalculates showing different amounts every week! ( just the standard letter -no explanation ) I've phoned and read from council letter saying please ask for a detailed breakdown made very clear this was what I was asking for - the response was I can only print off letters you have already received !! how do I fight someone who basically knows its wrong but wont admit it? who is the person to complain to in charge of h/b or higher? would SAR's and / or L.B.A ? be next step?