looking at possible help from housing benefit

[joox]

i have recentlry noticed a homeless person around where i work. i know there are many people sleeping rough in london but as i see this guy everyday, his situation does bother me quiet a bit. i have not spoken to him yet but i will nvery soon to find out about his situation but i do not want to sound insensetive towrds his stuation and to be honest dont really know what to ask him.

anyways i want to know how does a homeless person not quilify for housing benefit or how can the social serives help his current situation.

 

he is sleeping beneth a modern block of flats which i know for a fact that many of its residence are [causing problems] the housing service andcliamimg upto £800 per week.

 

i have decided to write o the local MP and the local housing benefit office as well.

thanks a lot and hope to recive lots of help here.

Edited January 26, 2010 by joox

[ErikaPNP]

He won't receive housing benefit if doesn't have a home for which he has a legal agreement to pay rent. That is what housing benefit is for.

 

If he secured a tenancy and had a legally sound tenancy agreement which was not contrived he could then apply for housing benefit.

 

There is absolutley no way people are receiving £800 per week for their flats. A council or housing association would not charge £800 per week and local housing allowance calculations would not allow for it if they are private rentals. The sum of rent payable has to be proven, benefit sections don't just accept whatever people tell them is payable.

 

In regard to JSA he can receive this providing he satisfies the conditions of claim. He doesn't need to provide a residential address, he can give a correspondence address or use the local jobcentre as a C/O address. Social Services can only intervene if he wants their help. If he does want their help they can assign him a case worker who can see if they can get him into a planned resettlement programme.

[joox]

thanks i will try to speak to him and will do my best to try and help/ maybe contact shelter.

 

with regards to housing benefit, belive me peopl are getting away with huge amounts of rent in westminster. depending on number of children and indivual circumstances, i know people cliamimng £1600 per week.

[loopinlouie]

If you know people claiming what the shouldnt 'getting away with' insinuates something wrong then report it.

 

If its a matter of thats how much the rent is and its legitamately being paid by the housing benefit as in the case in the paper then thats them to judge wether to pay it or not.

 

It wont be a matter of getting away with what entitled to or allocated if judged as so by housing benefit, as frustrating as it it. Rent where I am is 79.00 a week:Dgoing rate so thats what paid.

 

Housing benefit wont just pay out an ammount without tenancy agreement.

 

Once again if you are sure fraud is taking place then report it, if its a matter of hear say then be careful you dont judge others on such.

 

good luck with helping the homeless man, sounds like he could do with a friend. Dont be too schocked if you are rebutted though, some are set in ther ways, but at least you tried to help.

[joox]

i have a few questions regarding housing benefit and need some sound advise. basically i am currently employed full time, as with many industries we are also having a hard time and i am under huge pressure by my MD who indirectly is telling me to quit as she believes i am not performing well. it is a commission based job. due to the vibe in the office i am not having a great time at work and hate going in every day, i have been looking at other jobs but nothing has come up so far. am also looking to start my own without any capital which is very very hard. now what i need to know are the following:

 

1. if i quit will i be entitled to housing benefit ?

2. if i change jobs and get a part time job, will i be entitled to housing

3. can i just apply for housing benefit only instead of applying for any other benefits?

 

the perfect scenario for me is to have a part time job, do my own thing and have some help with my rent.

 

sorry about the long post and look forward to hear your thoughts

Edited August 23, 2010 by joox

[Aviva]

Housing Benefit is a means tested benefit so whether or not you will be eligible will depend on your household income and your savings and any assets you have. So no one can say definitely whether you would be eligible without knowing more about your finances.

 

As far as I know Housing Benefit has no sanctions for people who have left their job as there probably would be if you applied for JSA. So if you are on a low income/low amount of savings then you should be eligible for Housing Benefit if you left your job or got a part time one.

 

You do not need to be on any other benefits to get Housing Benefit as it is based on your income - you can apply stating your income is nil. However, if you are not working there will be a lot of questions about where you will be getting money for food, etc.

 

If by "doing my own thing" you mean attempting to start up your own business then you need to be aware that if you do claim Housing Benefit you will need to let the Council know that you have done this and let them have the appropriate financial information.

[joox]

hello

I left my previous employment over a months ago and now i may be looking to start my own business ( with a partner) will i be entitled to any housing benefit and what are the criteria or requirements and no no's

 

any income coming in will of course depend on how the business does. but 1st few months there may not be any salary.

[joox]

can anyone advise plz?

[watchinginvestigation2011]

Sorry youve not had any advice yet.

 

Have you tried the job centre re poss of start up grants if available/ council offices re housing benefit etc... and told them of your plans, they might offer you help of what you can claim, what you need to provide etc...

 

Do look in here again now youve bumped it up, you never know someone might answer when about if in the know.

[jadeybags]

Unfortunately it's really not easy claiming benefits when self employed. You'll need to give a rough figure of profits to the LA, then about every 13 weeks (may vary with each council) you need to take your accounts down there & your claim will be updated. If you're going to be working more than 30 hours a week (single person no kids) you could claim tax credits too. Once again you need to give them a rough figure of profit.

[Madge67]

Hi Joox, Jadey is right, its not straight forward when claiming benefits when s/e. This does not mean you cant claim. Make sure you put a claim in for Tax credits as well. You are not going to be able to provide account if you havent been trading, but you can give a projected amount and provide you first few weeks worth of accounts. You will be given a short benefit period and asked to provide more accounts so that they can get a better idea of what your income is. If your income increases significantly after you have been awarded hb, let them know. Better to do this than end up with a large overpayment when thery find out 12 months down the line that your income was a lot higher that was used to calculate the claim

 

Its impossible to give an idea of amounts of hb without knowing what your other income is and what you eoxect your self employment is, what you household make up is and what your rent and council tax is. If you can provide this, I will be happy to give you an estimate. Council websites usually have a benefits calculator as well where you can see what you are likely to get. Remember your Self emplyed income used for benefit purposes is net of allowable expenses and less tax and NI.

 

good luck and get thgat clai in

[jadeybags]

Be careful though by the way, my single parent of 1 friend is self employed claiming housing benefit, but because she earns so little, she gets all her rent paid. She's just done her first tax return, doesn't owe any, & it actually shows she is minus 1500 pounds in profit for the first year! Which isn't unusual when you first start out, but for housing benefit she always put down that she got 50 pounds a week profit. Now her landlord has put the rent up by about 60 a month & the council are saying she has to pay the extra, due to the fact she earns 50 a week Even though her years accounts show she doesn't!

So not sure it's even as simple as I thought.

[sadone]

May I ask why se was telling the council she was earning £50 a week when she wasn't? I mean If she's having to submit her accounts quarterly to them surely they would realise this and adjust accordingly?

[jadeybags]

May I ask why se was telling the council she was earning £50 a week when she wasn't? I mean If she's having to submit her accounts quarterly to them surely they would realise this and adjust accordingly?

 

Yes they were, which is why she never had to pay rent, but for some reason they are basing the rent increase on her earning the 50, so assumably they'll still pay all of it, but not until the next 13 weeks are up? You have to give them a rough idea of your earnings when you apply for housing benefit, & when you're self employed it's guess work. She only realised when she had to do her tax return that she had actually made zero profit for a year lol it would actually be less hassle if she was employed in a supermarket or something but she has a young son & wants to be there for him at home.

[sadone]

Considering how few full time jobs there are at there right now, and the fact many job centers seem to be encouraging the long term jobless to go freelance, you'd think they'd make it easier when it came to calculating housing benefits wouldn't you?

 

God knows what It's going to be like after 2013 when all local councils will be run separately and be allowed to 'do their own thing' so to speak. It worries me to death I'm afraid.

[jadeybags]

Oh gosh I didn't know that. They can be bad enough as it is now!

[sadone]

I'm afraid It does pay to try and keep abreast of what are the current proposals for welfare reform and Universal Credit. I'm sure come the next couple of years some people are going to be in for a very nasty shock indeed.

 

And of course by the time the general public do wake up and smell the roses It will be far too late. It's not just 'disabled bashing' that Cameron's up for, but demolishing anyone who needs any kind of benefit, be it HB, WTC or sickness and unemployment. It's a disaster waiting to happen imo.