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

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.

Hi there, I am hoping for a quick bit of advice. I move into a new property of Monday, and the housing association have told me the following - 1. They want to take photos of myself and my wife for "their records". I am not particularly happy with this as I dislike cameras in general. It makes no mention in my tenancy of this. 2. As we are on Housing Benefit, they want us to start paying £10 a week in anticipation of Universal Credit, so we can build up a credit on our rent account. I have not had to do this with my current council place. Again it makes no mention of this in my tenancy. I am moving from my Council Property with a secure tenancy to a housing association on one of their starter tenancies. I don't want to rock the boat too much as my tenancy will not be a secure one. What can I do? Has anyone else had these issues? Thanks

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.

I wanted to know what the new rules are with regards to withdrawing consent for the WP to share your info/contact people on your behalf/claim their fat payment for my hard work when I get a job .. as I am sure I read it had changed since last year, also coincidentally each time I attend a review meeting I get loads of spammy job/credit emails in the weeks after which seems a little timely!! Am getting increasingly fed up with the WP provider, by and large I have had a year of having to attend weekly job clubs with slow computers and the like but since I hit the year mark it seems to have ramped up big time, I have a good work history with good companies and a degree and the minute my latest advisor saw it his eyes lit up and I have been pestered left right and centre. I was upped to two job clubs a week and also appointments/training sessions/interview techniques etc on one or more additional days a week and it was getting silly and made me ill so I had two weeks off with stress symptoms. I then had more blinking appointments and changes to my job clubs and was told a few weeks back at 1pm on a Monday that I was to stay after job club that day for extra sessions looking into agencies and applying for more jobs for 2 hours each day that week (mysteriously my letter had 'got lost in the post' telling me this), I kicked up a bit of a stink as I am a single parent and said I had to pick my son up from school at 3 so those times were unsuitable, so with a bit of looking at bus timetables he relented to sessions from 1-2.30 each afternoon that week which was still pushing it as am reliant on public transport which is never the best, I attended the first and then had enough, got upset (I am on antidepressants and suffering severe anxiety at the moment relating to a thyroid condition I have just been diagnosed with) and I decided to get another doctors note for 2 weeks. During this two weeks I had a letter from them saying I had to come in during that time and I politely told him NO, the day my sick period ended there arrived a letter saying I had to attend a review appointment in 2 days time and I just knew he was going to mess me about, sure enough on the Friday afternoon at the appt he says I need to up my attendance to daily sessions of 4 hours, which means dropping my son at school, a 45 min bus journey there, then getting back in just enough time to pick him up, I protested that I had a PC at home and why did I need to do all this on their premises and he said I might 'get distracted' at home (as opposed to their noisy office of course!!), that I had appts to arrange and so on which were being neglected due to them calling me in all the time willy nilly saying they are mandatory and have to attend, and he said as I was a jobseeker I should jobseek during those hours, I have no prob doing this, my JSA agreement says 5 jobs a week and they say 10 which I do easily and have never not done, he is also pressurising me to do full time work/get a better off calculation for FT work, which my JSA flexibilities say I don't have to pursue due to being a lone parent, there is no mention of any beneficial training, and any suggestions for that or clothing for interviews have been shot down in flames, its just flaming jobsearching in their offices every day, presumably so I can't attend any interviews without them knowing and that I get fed up with the arrangement. Its not as if I am not trying to get a job, I have had about 6 interviews in the last few months but none successful, am really fed up with the situation with the WP and its making me feel worse, we are reviewing the situation tomorrow after my session and I know he is prob going to suggest the same again next week when I have 2 inset days at my sons school, I really just resent the fact that they think they can pressure me like this and assume I have no plans for the week or anything else to do, and then get a nice big payment for MY efforts at the end of it all so want to know what my rights are, unfortunately at the beginning I signed all their docs as I was being too blinking nice!! PS. Sorry this is a bit of a rant having looked at it, but felt good to vent!!

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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....

On a recent gas inspection i was told that my CO sensor was wrongly placed and as soon as a new one was placed in the correct area it immediately started beeping. My gas was ofc condemned and turned off and has now been repaired. However its likely by boiler was leaking CO into my flat for anything upto 8 years! i have oddly enough been suffering with occasional attacks of breathlessness on several occasions the last 3 years or so which i or my doctor could fathom out. Can i take any action against them? Thanks for reading.

This thread is an informational post to see if people are aware of the new rules regarding Housing benefit Council Tax fraud. This only applies to those that have been CONVICTED of these benefit frauds at the moment. (This may change) "Higher rate deductions via Direct Earnings Attachment for Housing Benefit overpayments where there is convicted fraud – new legislation from 6 April 2015 New legislation will come into effect on 6 April 2015 which will increase the rate of deduction that can be made by a Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) for debtors who have a debt for which they have been successfully prosecuted. This must only be used in cases where the claimant has been convicted of fraud for that particular overpayment. This cannot be used where the claimant has accepted an Administrative Penalty." For further information read the attachment or see here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hb-direct-april-2015-issue-158

Hi I'll try to do this briefly. Nov wife's aunt died, December MIL died, my wife is administrator of both estates There was about £7,000 of life insurance paid out, which went into a new bank account in my wife's name. In the meantime I left my job 31st Dec due to poor health I have now been put into the support group for 3 years for income based ESA (without an assessment BTW) We declared the money in the bank account to the district council and sent copies of the death certificates to prove that's what the money was for. There is way more debt than cash so been trying to talk to all creditors to reach an amicable resolution, unfortunately most of the creditors have ignored her letters (worst was Argos refusing to talk to her at all and sending out default notices to the MIL address). So we haven't been able to pay them because of this so the money is sitting in wife's new bank account. Thought no more of it because we'd done the right thing and told the council immediately when we started a housing benefit claim in January. Today had a letter stopping our housing benefit primarily because they claim im now receiving contributions based ESA (i'm not confirmed by DWP THREE times!!) and also they want to count the MIL estate as OUR money and reduce our housing benefit and council tax benefit accordingly. Is this correct? I know it looks like the money is ours because of this new account with the money in but I can clearly demonstate it's not but we can't get rid of it due to ongoing negotiations. County council has accepted that we're on IB ESA as given the kids free school meals, DWP say we're on IB ESA but district council won't accept it. So I suppose questions are: 1. Is there really no way of handling the estate money without it affecting us? 2. How can I get the council to accept that we get IB ESA so I shouldn't have to fill out another 30 odd page form, plus produce ID, bank statements and travel 25 mile round trip to visit them? Thanks for reading this far, apologies if it's in the wrong place or if i've rambled on stress like this makes me really really ill on top of my usual "problems"

Hello all. I am wanting to move out of my current property where I live with my parents and rent. I am currently receiving JSA but job hunting like crazy. My question is - if I rang the local council, would they be able to give me an accurate idea of what contribution of Housing Benefit I would get if I had a property in mind? The reason I ask is that I need to know if I can afford it or not before I commit myself, I dont want them giving me a maximum/approx contribution only to find it was inaccurate. The online calculators that are on the councils website are completely useless as my parents (who are retired) used the housing benefit calculator and it was way off and now struggle with their rent as a result of this. I know the easiest answer is to ring and find out but I dont really want to waste money on a phone call if its a waste of time. Any help/suggestions? Thanks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05s99p1

Hi, I have a query regarding housing benefit and possible repayment of 2 years worth of housing benefit. I am writing on behalf of a family member. Due to extreme circumstances at the time, she left the marital home and was deemed homeless, having stayed in a hostel and a couple of other properties before a council property was found for her and her son. The marital home she left was bought and was in her and her husbands name. As an amicable monetary settlement could not be reached,(she was offered £16,000 cash if she took her name off the house that was jointly owed by her and her husband), it was then decided that the property should be sold. The house is now in the process of being sold and a buyer has been found. I would like to add that this family member has been unable to work due to a lifelong illness and was in receipt of Incapacity Benefit for the past 30 years. This has now changed to ESA(Income Based) but will save that for another thread , lol. Basically this family member is concerned that she will have to pay, off the sale of the marital home, all the housing benefit and also all the benefits she has had, for the past two years, ie when she became homeless. I would like to make it clear, she is not in for a windfall of money, indeed, having to borrow from family and friends at the start when she had nowhere to live, no possessions etc, she was basically left with the clothes she had on and has had to build up everything again for her and her son. She is only receiving her half share of the sold home, nothing else. I wondered if there were any people in the forum that would be able to advise or has been in a similar situation, thnx

Hi I am on grounds 10, 11 of my tenancy as i have dyspraxia and dyslexia. At times i have had irregular payments due to temporary jobs. I had a payment plan which is meant to be monthly but due to hardship i payed weekly including the arrears, but i asked if this was acceptable if not i would consider changing. they automatically applied for a suspended possession at court on the 21 April this year , are they in breach or wasting the court time or are they correct. I had told the reason I could not make full payments last month due to not receiving a full pay cheque and applied for housing benefit, also i have started a new job and i am in debt as well. Need help