I left my Job on the 07/08/2015 and claimed JSA along with housing benefit and council tax support. I received a letter two days ago from the benefits office saying that as I left my job voluntarily they would not be paying me any money until November. I then decided to sign off JSA as I am starting a new job in three weeks time anyway. I visited the council offices to inform them that I still needed to claim housing/council tax benefit as I was/am not working. My wages were paid in two weeks after I finished work. They called this ' residual income' and said that as I had income I would have to pay rent. I have not earnt any money since the day I finished work. I was paid afterwards for the work that I did up until and including the 7th august. So surely I have no income. I never even received any payment from JSA. Should I be entitled to housing and council tax benefit? Thank you.

Hello everyone I am new here the time has come for me and my girlfriend to apply for a mortgage for our first home together. We have a meeting booked with a mortgage broker next week, and he asked us to get credit reports ready for the meeting, my girlfriends came back fine, but I've found a CCJ was issued on mine from 2011! After a lot of phone calls I've found out that this CCJ, for £94, was from an over-payment of housing benefit when I was unemployed for 2 weeks in 2010. Wigan Council paid me for 4 weeks when I was only due 2 weeks. Because I was in financial hardship at the time I ended up moving out of the council house I lived at and moved in with my dad to get back on my feet. This CCJ was issued way after I left that property and for such a small amount its infuriating it could hamper my plans to buy a house. I've done some research and I want to attempt to get it set aside. Wigan Council have been very unhelpful currently, I sent them an email asking about what had happened 2 because up until this point I have been completely ignorant of this - I've never had a problem getting credit (credit cards, DFS finance, phone contracts etc) so I have, probably naively, never felt the need to check my credit report. The rest of my report is immaculate, no late payments, no defaults etc. Because it was so long ago, and I was 20 at the time, I don't have any paperwork from leaving, proof I told Wigan Council I've left, even any paperwork from when I signed on for 2 weeks. I'm hoping I can get this by sending an SAR to Wigan Council and them giving me the info, but god knows how long that takes. From little bits I've read online my only possible defence I can fathom is the following: I did not reside at the property when the court papers were sent. I did not recognise Wigan Council as a creditor as the over payment was in error. If I legally owe the money, I have no issue paying it back. And that's about it. I wasn't out of the country, my dog didn't eat it, I have no decent excuses just the truth which is I had no idea this was happening! Do I have a leg to stand on? I'm aware ignorance isn't a defence really but without meaning to be dramatic I am scared this is going to ruin my chances of getting a mortgage for 18 months until it disappears and all for a measly £94. Any help or points in the right direction would be much appreciated! P.S. sorry if this is in the wrong forum!

as the above says. I'm posting this on behalf of my neighbour who has just got back from tameside magistrates regarding her housing benefit, in 2014 I helped her fill out the form HBCT1 and that was sent off, nothing was heard for several months, then after those months passed, still nothing, so I contacted them on her behalf, needless to say she had to fill out another HBCT1 form and was awarded housing benefit. New Charter had said that she owes them a total of £3000 she was taken to court today and ordered to pay £70 every monday, Bearing in mind that she gets £62 carers allowance and her income support. so out of her benefits she has to pay £270 every month. Because she had already applied but there was no acknowledgement from the revenues sector, is there any way to claim a backdate for that period that they say she owes them... Any help and advice would sincerely be appreciated.

hi, I have recently started the dreaded work programme, however I have been offered a P/T job, 20 hours a week, which I found myself.. now I don't want my work programme provider to know anything about this, I want to just sign off and forget all bout the JSA and the work programme, however I will still need housing and council tax benefit, can the work programme provider stop me getting this if I just ignore them and not keep in touch with them? thanks

Hi Before I speak to my local council tomorrow I wondered if you could help me with a question. I received a housing benefit review letter with two form. As a sole trader I have to fill in my expenditure form-no problem. The other form is an A/B/C form. Part of the form is asking me to send in 5 weeks pay slips or 1 month payslip. I don't have either as I am self employed and don't have pay slips. Thanks

i have just received a letter say i owe the council near 3 Grand for over payed housing benefit. me and my partner moved to Scotland was homeless and had no job. last year i got in to work placement through job center and then got a job. i informed the council of everything and they said i didn't need to pay rent because i was working my bf benefits got stopped. my partner got agency work that lasted a couple of weeks and then they phoned up giving him some more. the council phoned up asking questions and i answered and she was like i will report it on system everything ill be fine you wont have to pay. i thought that was strange but though she knows best cos sh works for council. now i have this bill i don't know what to do and ive been reading forms about how they will do me with fraud i am so scared i am only 22 first every house and i do know what to do. i have suffer from bad depression any how and this is sending me over the edge.

I have an issue with my housing association. But I can't see where to post about it?

Circle housing are known for being terrible when it comes to repairs. I've just moved into a new flat a couple of days ago, I found 7 faults, 2 of which I fixed myself (loose waste pipes / light starter). but the other 5, are a bit more complicated. Window very loose and doesn't close properly, leaking copper pipes (only when water is flowing), toilet doesn't stop filling up (I turn this off at the valve when not needed), outside light turns on and off, and a heater doesn't work. I have reported the faults, and listed the issues, explaining that the water doesn't leak when the taps are off and I turn the toilet off with the valve. How ever I came home yesterday and found that they turned the water off for the entire flat. No notes or calls or anything. I tried to call but got the out of office hours message. The trouble is, that the repairs are only done mon-fri between 9am and 5pm. The exact hours I work. I was only given the flat because I am in full time employment! I have no idea how I can ever get the faults fixed. No one can tell me when they will turn up. I literally have to take two weeks off work as they can turn up any time. Not to mention my boss is being difficult and will only let me have half a day to sort out everything. I am stuck in this situation. I have no idea what to do about it.

I came across this petition whilst on FB this morning and feel it should be shared. https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-michael-fallon-mp-ministry-of-defence-to-make-carillion-amey-accountable-for-the-substandard-housing-they-provide-for-service-personnel-and-their-families?recruiter=350457576&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-reason_msg&fb_ref=Default If it turns out that Carillion Amey are not fulfilling the terms of the contract, out they should go.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone can give me any idea about my current situation. I am 39 years old and have just got a job after previously being on ESA, I live with both my parents who are both in their 60's they are both retired and my mother gets her state pension and also they get pension credits and claim housing benefit and council tax benefit for the house they rent. My question is this, this is only a 12 week temporary job and obviosuly regardless of that my parents will have to notify the council about the change of circumstances about me getting a job. Does anybody know how much their housing benefit will change? they already deduct £20 per week off their housing benefit because I live with them, even though I am not on the tenancy agreement it is just my mum and dad that are. Will I be expected to contribute a lot of money towards the rent now I am working? Even though the house is rented by my parents only? The job is full time and I make £295 a week. Thanks if anyone can help

Hi all. I'm new here but I'm hoping that I can get a little information as it seems a bit of a grey area. I recently had my benefit stopped for housing and council tax benefit as after being requested for my company accounts for last year I did so and have been told that because the profits are above £16,000 (the threshold), I am not entitled to any benefit. Is this right? I ask because this money isn't mine, it's the company of which I am a director of. Hoping for some facts please as I'm still building my business hence the profit that was retained in there. Many thanks in advance. Dom

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33353318 I have a better idea - how about we start actually controlling private rent levels, which is what is driving the increase in housing benefit. But no, let the well off keep the money and penalise the poor instead.

Hello good people, I'm receiving ESA, the higher element and am also living in a property supplied by my local London Borough costed as Temporary Emergency Housing since my break down in 2012. I've been offered a 'break', a holiday of sorts in Broadstairs on the Kent Coast next month for five days. No cash just a stay outside of town no remuneration. Although I've seen little activity regarding the Council, Brent, checking on my personal occupational life, in Haringey, I don't want to give the paying authority for my HB any excuse to cut me off at the knees! Help and advice would be welcome, Peter. PS should probably have posted under a pseudonym but I'm trying to stay above the radar.

Hi Guys, wondering if anyone can help me/provide some advice. A couple of years ago my landlord (Housing association) applied for a possession order. At the time my rent arrears were around 2k. I agreed with the judge to pay back the arrears at the rate of around £15 per week. I have recently had a period of unemployment and as such fell behind with my agreement, and for the last 6 months or so have only worked sporadically, usually not applying for HB when I havent been working. As the arrears have risen to about 2300 I recently called my landlord to let them know I had secured an 18 month contract at a new employer - and was able to start making weekly payments of £30 per week on top of my rent to start clearing the arrears. I have stuck to this since the agreement though unfortunately one of the payments went missing (since turned up) & they have now sent me letters and are saying they are applying for an eviction warrant. Is there anything I can do, In an ideal world I would like to continue paying the £30 per week on top of my rent to reduce arrears - my current arrears are just under 2k and at a push I could probably get my hands on anything up to a grand to get them halved. Any advice would be much appreciated

Hi all, Please go gently on me I am new to benefits and now find myself in a very unfortunate position with no one to turn to. I will try not to waffle but some background may help. Please do read this even though it’s long as I really do need some help, desperately. I’m male mid 40s and have held down well paid high pressure employment all of my life. Over the past 6-7 years I have had several mental struggles. I tried a sabbatical of three months Dec 2013 - Mar 2014 and took off traveling. This was without claiming any benefits. I returned in early March 2014 to full time employment and it soon became clear to friends and family I was not well. I have only recently realised the magnitude of this. I was drinking heavily and during a moment of madness (totally out of character) was arrested for drunk driving! This cost me my job, home and everything. Whilst I have much remorse for this episode I actually believe it was a blessing in disguise. Fast forward to several doctors and DWP interviews and I am now on a waiting list for counselling. My mood is generally pretty down and I am a shadow of my former extrovert self. I suffer depression, anxiety and fear strangers. Sleep is not good and I lack any motivation. I am the person I would have always said pull yourself together to, however I just can’t seem to… Before my breakdown and loss of employment I had a friend (female) who was buying a flat in South Wales. She had suggested I rent from her, as it was more affordable than where I was currently renting and would also cut down on much of my driving, and associated stress. This I agreed. She (unknown to me at the time) was also concerned for my wellbeing. I moved into the flat and she would stay over the odd night. The rest of the time she was off doing her own thing. I paid a month and a bit up front, however she did not require a deposit. We did not have a formal rent agreement in place at the start. All utilities inc. council tax were in her name, and I paid a fixed monthly all inclusive rent. This was fine for the first few weeks, then everything went horribly wrong for me, and thus my landlady. Cut a long story short I received dual occupancy HB, and no help regarding CT. This was because I explained at my initial HB meeting the landlady was a personal friend, and occasionally stayed over. It is a one bedroom flat and she would sleep on the sofa. The council then hit her with a backdated demand for CT from the date I moved in saying we both lived there! This she paid as her protests fell on deaf ears. I also receive ESA plus PIP enhanced care, no mobility. My friend the landlady has also become my carer and honestly without her help I would be lost I feel unable to go anywhere without her present. She does not receive money for this as her earnings are too high, something like anything over £105 a week? She does however offer me incredible support.. This may seem a dramatic thing to say but honestly without her I am not sure I would still be here. My landlady was investigated on a totally separate issue by trading standard sometime before Christmas 2014. Her laptop was taken and whilst there was no case for her to answer the officers had seen some emails between us regarding a very unfortunate event which happened before I moved into the property. They added 2 + 2 and came up with something well over 90 and decided my claim for HB was fraudulent as they believed (very wrongly) we were in a relationship! They also had copies of texts we have sent eachother and we often sign off love you or such but I used to do that with my rugby mates it’s simply an expression. The council interviewed my landlady but not me as they would not allow her present for support in my interview and did not arrange anyone else. My current situation which has been since Dec 2014 and the council are fully aware of is I live in the flat and my landlady and friend is my carer. She is here now 2-3 nights a week as she looks after me. However they stopped all my HB about three months ago and when I asked for a statement of reason they say it is non-commercial. We did however draw up and sign a rental agreement, however they said they did not need to see it at the begining, and have not asked to see it since. They also sent me conflicting letters as to why! They also say my landlady said we were in a relationship when they interviewed her, this she absolutely did not! There is a huge age gap and she wants marriage kids etc. I can’t have more children (I have one) and as for marriage, never again. Apparently as of 1st June 2015 my ‘case’ has moved from the council to the DWP, and I have heard nothing. I feel incredibly guilty for my landlady as she is in an impossible position. I feel the only hope is for her to make me homeless and then seek help elsewhere, however I am afraid of losing her much needed support. I have done a lot of research and even as joint occupancy, in our particular circumstances I believe we should only pay 50% CT as I am classed disabled and she is my carer. I believe the council have a legal duty to engage with people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, identified as being relevant to the policy? This would include in my particular case a person who has a mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. You can get a 50% discount off your bill if you and all the other occupiers are disregarded. For a full list, see the Disability Rights Handbook. Those who are disregarded include people who are considered to be ‘severely mentally impaired’ and carers. My biggest concern however is HB, as without it I lose any hope I have of rebuilding in the future. Please could someone offer me some advice in this matter as to say I am going out of my mind would be an understatement. I just want to put this whole thing behind me and get on with sorting my life, however I simply cannot. There is no contact from council or DWP and I am left in limbo not knowing if/when this will be resolved. In addition my landlady has bills which I am concerned for, however she is also very sympathetic, and as such I am not sure she would say I have to leave. Perhaps I should just sleep downstairs in the lobby and have her phone the council? The really stupid thing is they would most likely pay full HB and help with CT if I rented from another person. This seems contradictory to both my care needs and their (plus you’re the tax payers) best financial interest! I hope the above makes some sense, really hope someone can help. Thank you.

Until a year ago my father was living in sheltered housing provided by Hanover Housing. He had to leave and go into a care home following a fall. While he was living in sheltered housing he was paying for one hot meal a day which he very rarely had. He didn't want to eat in the canteen as he found it difficult to walk ther e and preferred to keep his own company and the staff refused to bring him hot food. As a result he dramatically lost weight and was very unhappy. When he left there Hanover sent a final bill for the costs and as we were unhappy with what he received we refused to pay the cost of the food. Hanover Housing and the local authority have refused to accept this and have continued to pursue my father for the remaining cost of £343. They have also instructed a debt collection agency Medina Credit to follow up on the debt. My father has dementia, has no money or assets above the pension that pays for the care home because he was made bankrupt 4 years ago, partly due to the dementia. Medina Credit are now threatening legal action if he doesn't pay. I'd be grateful for any advice.

(Please move to a better place if there is one. I could only find a homelessness forum, not a general housing one). Hi There, I am moving into a new property(1st floor flat) in a housing association on one of these new 5 year fixed term tenancies, with a 1 year starter tenancy first. I currently live in a council property, in which I have a lifetime tenancy. I have 3 cats(indoors) and the copy of the tenancy agreement they sent me states I need prior written permission to have pets. They have given verbal permission but say as I am not a tenant they can not provide anything in writing until I am a tenant (have signed the agreement and taken possession of the keys). They have also said they allow a maximum of 2 cats in a property, unless otherwise authorised(again, they have agreed verbally) although that limitation is not in the tenancy agreement. They said that we are allowed 3 cats with the provisio that if anyone complains we will be told to rehome them. Now these cats are not only a part of my family, but to lose them would cause my wife great distress(she has mental health issues and the cats are greatly theraputic). Does anyone know where I stand legally on this? Thanks

Hi, I'm a little confused about the "disability premium" which I asked the council about. I've seen it mentioned before and they seem to keep fobbing it off. The local Housing Allowance in the area is £450 per month (£103 / week), and they're paying £110 towards my rent. They seem to think that it's worked in with my Housing Benefits, but looking at the breakdown I don't see any mention of it. In the HB breakdown, the worked it out as: £90.08 used as my income (after DLA being disregarded and a bit of my Tax Credits disregarded too). They said in their letter (Entitlements Letter) that, the law says that I need to live on "£165.35" per week and as they word it: Income used in this calculation: 90.08 Less how much the law says you need to live on: £165.35 Where exactly do I find the "exact" value out, as they don't seem to be able to point me in the direction to where I can find it. Scouting around on the web, I notice that pretty much most councils have Disability Premium listed on their pages, but not mine... Any idea as to how I should approach this? Cheers, A

Hello there, I'm new here and this is my first post, so my apologies if I'm not up-to-speed on how this site works. I was playing music in my flat today at around 11.30am this morning and turned it off after about an hour or so. After about another hour I had a woman who identified herself as being from the Housing Association (HA) knocking on my flat door, shouting through the letterbox and telling me to "open up the door!" There was not only a woman from the HA, but another woman outside my door, and my neighbour across the hall was talking to them and they were all waiting for me to answer. I was utterly intimidated and did not answer the door, but instead listened and watched them through the peephole. They left after several minutes of knocking and shouting through the letterbox. Can they do this? I thought they had to give at least 24 hours notice to visit your property, and not turn up unannounced. Back ground: I have had one previous noise complaint from a neighbour below me about two years ago for playing music one night, which was dealt with extremely harshly by the HA. They monitored me and finally closed the complaint after no further complaints. I have had to call the police about the neighbour who complained about me for harassment (long story); I believe he complained out of spite. I have lived here for just over three and a half years. Any advice would be most welcome as I'm fearful of what they might do next. Best wishes, Amanda Joyce

Hello all, I have been claiming JSA and have been referred to Ingeus just recently so far i have avoided signing any paper work as to not fall into their trap. luckily enough i have now found a job that i am due to start so i need to stop my JSA claim however as i will be paid monthly i would really need the housing benefit 4 week run on for help with rent and c.tax. what is the best route for me to go as i really do not want INGEUS contacting my new employer as it is rather annoying plus i haven't signed anything so dont feel it is fair if they did. can i tell the job centre that i have simply just found a job without giving them the actual details? and give the local council details of my job in order to get the run on or will the council tell the job centre my details and they then pass it on to ingeus? any help is much appreciated. thank you. Dean

Hello ladies and gentleman... My mother has a pension of £665 per month and my sister that lives with her earns £16.000 per annum and she has her student loan which is accumulating interest(it is)... The rent is £133 per week and council tax of £73 per month... My mother has £13 per week housing benefit..... So my question is if anyone knows how it is calculated and does the council tax and housing benefit awarded seem correct... A big great thank you if anyone can help..

Attended a Tribunal Yesterday regarding a very large overpayment for each HB and CT. The tribunal listened to My partner and myself and the reps from the local authority. We have been told we have won the appeal on the grounds of the testimony provided by myself and my partner and the fact that they could not prove their allegation that we were living together for the period in question and the written evidence we submitted along with the local authority. My question is can the LA appeal the decision that has gone in our favour.

hi can someone tell me if I have to pay rent my daughter is starting work and her wage is £18000 per year,iam on dla middle rate and esa,I get£125 esa and £305 per month dla all in I get £201 per week ,my daughter is 22,and I was told she would have to pay my full rent and council tax,my rent is £69 per week

Hi there, help please, I took a job last July, i had been unemployed for 18ths, all good you would think, except DWP keep decreasing the amount of support they give, on Housing and Council Tax Benefit. The problem being at three month intervals i get 5 weeks pay, but HB have been taking my monthly figures diving by 2 and setting my income as correct for calculation purposes. End of March i had my P60 i averaged out my pay, (39 weeks) or 9 months apx £136 pw, currently they are assessing me on £171 pw. So 21st April i wrote them to reasses my claim, - they replied saying i owe them money and are going to stop me xx amounts until it is repaid, further that if i continue with my claim i will owe them even more... I quoted The Decision Makers Guide at 15452, and directed them to "Identifying a recognisable cycle" 15453 example1: regular cycle of of three weeks ( months) thus average earning of xxx DWP say that if i want to continue with claim i need evidence, today work have printed a calendar of monthly fluctuation in pay in regard to Number of paid weeks in our pay cycle. Q) Does anyone think i should carry on or am i loosing a battle here? Thanks in advance.

hi all, and thanks for any advice in advance. I've lived in a housing association house for 12 years. 10 weeks ago i received a kind of threatening letter instructing me that the boundary is to be moved and to move all of my belongings. there was no consultation, and the housing association had been in negotiations with the private developer for a minimum of 7 weeks, without saying a word to me. and they ere running around in my garden without my knowledge measuring up. housing association then said it has never been part of my garden. but the boundary hasn't moved in 77 years, 1945 aerial photo shows boundary in the correct position. 1948 councils maps show boundary in the correct position. 2003 council maps given with the tenancy shows boundary in the correct position. 2003 council records confirm boundary in the correct position in. 2004 the maps used to sell the properties to housing association from council show the boundary in the correct place. 2004 land registry maps show boundary in the correct position. 2007 or 9 survey map of the plot, that has been given part of my garden shows the boundary in the correct position. 2009 the housing association entered my garden and measured up without my knowledge and confirmed the boundaries. (housing association states they have never surveyed my property, emails confirm they did.) 2014 the housing association entered my garden and measured up again, without my knowledge, and came back with differing number. satellite imagery shows the boundary in the correct position. Photos show the boundary in the correct position. The has been no proof provided in any shape or form that the boundary should be moved. in fact the housing association now refuse to answer questions. or provide any proof. or explain at what point in the last 77 years the boundary has ever been in the new possition. the only thing that they have supplied is an unsigned lazer survey showing the boundary and the proposed move. (supposedly done by a boundary specialist, but it isnt signed off) to be honest, its a little confusing how it couldn't be part of my garden. I signed a tenancy agreement for all that was offered, as accepted by both parties. has the tenancy conditions changed under duress? (the threatening letter) Breach of tenancy, because they failed to consult? I have been informed that as i have the right to buy, they cannot asset strip my property. as they are a registered charity, they cannot cut price sell property, at a guess that also includes giving it away. would i be in my rights to withhold the rent until they properly address the problem? what would be the next steps? Its really strange having an 70 years plus old garden path leading into another property....