Housing Benefit Question!

[Yellow160]

Hi,

 

My ex received a letter from HB regarding her claim but its not very clear as to what they will pay. The current rent is £580 (Private landlord) for a 4 bedroom house, She lives there with 2 children.

 

The letter states Gross Rent £133.85, Eligible Rent £50, Rent Allowance £50. Can someone shed some light on what HB will be paying towards the rent? The above is per week.

 

The £133.85 x 4 weeks only comes to £535.40 which leaves £44.60 short.

 

Regards

 

Yellow

[steven4064]

£133.85 * 52/12 = £580. But I think they are only going to pay £50/week ie £216.67/month

[Yellow160]

not sure how its worked out though, I have looked into this for her and the council website say they dont include the first £25 if your a single parent and they dont include the first £15 of CSA payments. If that is the case they are saying she can survive on £24 per week if she has to pay the extra £363.33 towards the rent aswell as feed (herself and 2 kids), cloth and heat the house.

[steven4064]

£50/week does seem low, maybe its the elligible rent plus the allowance they pay (that would be £433/month) I have some stuff from Housing Benefits but I can't see anything that corresponds - it's probabaly a different authority and they all seem to do their own thing - Wigan MBC gives £85/week for a couple with a child and £77 for a single person - for comparison. You need to get her to ring up and find out exactly.

[Yellow160]

now see the £433 seems sensible when you put the eligible rent and rent allowance together which would leave £147 for her to pay. I will ask her to ring them and i will post back here once i find out if she needs any further advice.

[gizmo111]

It is most likely that she is considered to be overhoused in a 4 bed house, she has one bed more than she needs and HB will reduce according to the benefits formula.

[Yellow160]

that would make sense but surely it wouldnt reduce it that much? Seems like people get penalised for trying to make a better life for their kids IMO. PM for full story if you need to know it.

 

Also they are paying full Council Tax benefit, would this not be adjusted like the HB?

[AuntiePink]

Eligible rent is the amount they will pay for a family of that size renting a property in that area so she'll get £50 a week in benefit and have to pay the rest herself.

 

If the children are fairly young and the same gender the council will only pay for a two bedroom property, if they are brother/sister and over a certain age then they'll say she needs a three bed but there's no way they'll pay fully for a 4 bed.

[sallysas]

There is also the possibility that the rent officer has put a limit on the rent if it is higher than the average for that area. This is to prevent unscruplious landlords charging a silly rent just because the council is footing the bill.

 

There is a formula used by all councils that shows the amount each family needs to live on by law and this also takes any excessive income into account. All sorts of family/single parent premiums can be factored in to maximise the HB/CTB claimed but if your ex wants the working out of the rent explained the CAB or Neighbourhood Office can help. But yes the obvious one is the fact she has 2 children in a 4-bedroomed house. Has she thought about looking for somewhere more affordable - though this is easier said than done.

[21stcentury]

Hi Guys, the council will pay £100p/w housing benefit which equates to 4.333 weeks per month so you will receive £433p/m

 

The reason the council are paying so short is because the property is being classed as too big for you and your family. You only require either a 2or3bed maximum dependant upon household makeup.

 

You can apply to the local Housing Benefits office for a DHP = DIscretionary housing payment, which makes up the difference between housing benefit award and rent to be paid.

 

Worth a bash, not guaranteed though.

[shywazz]

If the lady in question cant afford to pay the differance, it might be sensible for her to down size to a dwelling that the goverment/council will make full allowances for/to...

A 4 bedroomed house for herself and two children is okay in pratise, but when it becomes unaffordable, then it is practicale to down-size, the council will most likly pay rent in full to a dwelling of a smaller size....

If cutting back on items such as heating/food etc just to stay in the large house, then she really needs to move and give the extra money to the up keep of the things she might have to cut back upon....most large familys would love to be able to rent such a large house, but money becomes a factor and payments become a struggle, resulting in further damage down the line....ie arrears even reprossions/evictions etc

[davethorp]

Indeed, if more people downsized into properties of a suitable size for their family perhaps me, my gf, our son and our unborn child could get out of the 1 bed flat we are in and into something of a suitable size!

[The GodMother]

David you three are in a one bed flat.

 

I hope that is not a council/ housing association property as once that baby is born you are BREAKING the law buy living there and your Local Authority or housing association landlord are breaking the law buy allowing this to carry on. I have this in writing from the goverment website.

 

Chrissi