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.

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"

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

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

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

Discretionary Housing Payment What is a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)? Each Local Authority is given a pot of money each year to help people who qualify for Housing or Council Tax Benefit, but are having trouble paying their Rent or Council Tax. The Council decides who should be given the payments. When the money for the year runs out, no more payments can be made. What can a Discretionary Housing Payment Cover? A discretionary housing payment (DHP) may be used to pay for: Ø Rent deposits. Ø Rent in advance. Ø Rent arrears (but not if you were receiving enough housing benefit to pay all of your rent at the time the arrears built up). Ø A shortfall between housing benefit and rent. Ø Reductions in housing benefit, after changes in April 2013 known as the 'bedroom tax'. Ø Reductions in local housing allowance resulting from changes from April 2011. A discretionary housing payment cannot be paid if the reason for shortfall is that your housing benefit has been reduced to recover an overpayment or because your other benefits have been reduced, for example, because you left your last job voluntarily. What do the Council take into Consideration? The council will usually take into account any special circumstances that contribute to your financial difficulties, for example, if: Ø You have to pay child maintenance. Ø You have to pay legal costs. Ø Your heating costs are high as you spend a lot of time at home because of sickness or disability. Ø You have additional travel costs because you travel to a doctor or hospital or you care for a relative or friend. Ø Your work-related travel costs have increased because you had to move as a result of cuts to in the local housing allowance. Ø You are likely to become homeless if a payment is not made. How can you Claim Discretionary Housing Payment? You will need to contact your Local Councils Benefits Section and request a Discretionary Housing Payment Application Form and complete it and return and await decision. The criteria for the Discretionary Housing Payment and the Application Form is set by each individual Local Council therefore the criteria from council to council will be different throughout the UK. What Information may you be required to send with your claim? You may be asked for details of your Income and Outgoings. You could send copies of relevant bills or bank statements. You should also provide any information about your circumstances that make things difficult for you financially. Can you Appeal if you don’t get a Discretionary Housing Payment? There is No Right of Appeal to a tribunal if the Council say it will not give you a Discretionary Housing Payment, but you can ask the Council to have another look at its decision. If that fails, the only way to challenge the decision is in the courts using judicial review. However, this is not always possible - get advice from a local advice centre about this. Check with your Local Council to get an Application Form as each Councils form is slightly different Note: Please also check Post #4 as it has Sources of Interest on DHP

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

I am currently paying my rent and everything myself. In December 2014 I took out a tenancy on a new house, moved from old place as had too many bedrooms and spent ages trying to find a suitable two bed property not a flat I had to pay the whole six months rent in advance at the time of signing the tenancy. (Through an estate agents). Because i have no guarantor as both my parents are dead and no siblings this is now the norm it seems. I have money to pay the next six months in advance in June I can set aside, which will then leave me with around £9,500 to date. I am not getting any benefits since July 2013 as I inherited some money. How will this affect a Housing Benefit Claim as I believe you can still claim despite having paid in advance? My remaining £9,500 after June tenancy set aside will entitle me to some Housing Benefit minus a £1 per £250 deduction. I am struggling to find a job as I am 50 and was a full time carer to my father for the last 8 years so have a very patchy CV which gets me turned down all the time even for supermarket work. I am worried about keeping a roof over our heads if the norm is 6 months in advance.

My friend is on Housing Benefit and ESA ( CONTRIBUTION BASED). He gets a small amount of Housing Benefit and is at present paying off a large overpayment at £10.89 a week from his HB. His ESA finishes in 2 weeks and he is probably going to claim carer's allowance ( cause he is going to look after his parents) and take a small job he's been offered. Now he wants to come off HB but is wondering how he does it. He only gets £15.00 per week after the overpayment is taken out and would rather stand on his own now. Trouble is he is at present being investigated because of the overpayment ( which was large) and made be prosecuted. Also he gets a occupational pension and once his ESA finishes he will pay no tax on that so his income will rise. So should he say his income will rise because of the tax, he is going to claim carers allowance and will possibly get a small job as well. Would he need to provide evidence of all this ? All he has at the moment is the letter saying the ESA is finishing. He suffers with his nerves and the investigation etc is wearing him down and he has realised that he can manage without the HB ( even if he's entitled) and would rather walk away. Can anyone help?

I've been in PSL for too long and I've just been offered a house somewhere else, far away. They want me to take up residence and pay rent from Tuesday, even though I only got the offer yesterday. Is that above board? I'm bartering and stressing. I have rental obligations here and i can't just up sticks and move like that! I could give it my best shot, but let's be reasonable. Whateth say ye oh knowledgable ones. For I have an illness, one that afflicts my ability to deal with general lack of common decency among certain organisations.

There has been a new guide issued in relation to Housing benefits and the recovery of any and all overpayments it was issued on the 27/02/2015 and this can now be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-overpayments-guide This guide covers all aspects of Housing Benefit overpayments, including: what is an overpayment classification and recovery of overpayments calculating overpayments recovering overpayments decision notices appeals courts and civil proceedings the legal requirements This guidance is not intended to be an authoritative statement of the law. The law is set out in the: Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 Social Security Administration Act 1992, as amended regulations and orders made under those acts

Hi I am on on a low income JSA I have one child living at home, another returns at weekends and holidays from university, and am living off £80 a week. My husband deserted us and in divorce proceedings court ruled that the house is trust property. Although property is still in both his and my name.Can I claim housing benefit? Thank you

Hi there, Back in November I applied for ESA and housing benefit over the phone with the jobcentre. We had to go through a Habitual Residence Test. However, the council wouldn't take any info off us until the HRT had gone through. We didn't know the HRT had been fine until after Christmas (it went through 19th of December). We had actually been turned away from their office on the 19th of December because we still didn't know about HRT. Then their office was closed until 5th January Now every time we go to the council they say they still have one month, it's now been 3 months rent we paid so far. When mentioned to them they say only one month. We are worried that they are only counting it from January so when it finally goes in it will be much much less. We do tell them about the HRT, and that they wouldn't take any of our proof or anything until after.

Hello Looking for some advice please. My sister and her partner lived together for a year in a property rented in her name. They split up a few months ago. My sister's partner is disabled and due to his disabilities she has agreed that he can stay with her until suitable accommodation is found for him by the council but this may take some time due to their waiting list for social housing. The landlord agreed that my sister could sub-let a room to her ex-partner and an agreement was drawn up and submitted to the Local Council along with a claim for housing benefit. The council initially advised they were not willing to pay housing benefit because she was a close relative. This was under section 9. 1. (b) then they changed it to 9. 1. ©. This regulation states that Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as not liable to make payments in respect of a dwelling (i)to his former partner and is in respect of a dwelling which he and his former partner occupied before they ceased to be partners; or (ii)to his partner’s former partner and is in respect of a dwelling which his partner and his partner’s former partner occupied before they ceased to be partners; Has anyone every successfully challenged this regulation? I think if the landlord rented the room directly to him rather than it being sub-let for my sister he might be paid housing benefit going forward. Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi there last August I started working 16 hours a week was a very stressful time as I lost my dad and stepmother within a month of each other. I thought i would get full housing benefit which I didn't only got 200 a month so had to pay 100 a month. A work colleague told me that as long as my basic wage stayed the same I could do overtime so have been doing quite abit every month. Have had a letter from my local authority asking to see my last 2 payslips and after looking on their website realise I should have told them about working the overtime. It worksout I have been overpaid 1800 pounds do you know what will happen once they get my payslips? Any feedback would be appreciated

Hi, im think in the wrong forum so sorry if I am, I just wonder if I can get some advice, the council has decided that I owe £2000 in overpayment, despite having EVERY change of circumstance reported to them, I have all evidence of this, so very worried about this as im not sure what they will do next, I am paying back £10 per month as this is all I can afford, they have refused this and sent me a statement of means and said I have to pay £50 per month, any advice would be very helpful even if you not really sure on advice

Dear All, I made a formal complaint to my housing assoc. about excessive noise made by one of their cleaners (who cleans the communal stairs in the flats where I live, and who I've asked not to make noise before). When I asked the cleaner to stop making such excessive noise, she was rude toward me and I was a bit shaken up about it. When making my complaint to the housing assoc., they suggested that I complain to the police about the cleaner if I thought they'd been aggressive. I declined and said that I thought it was unnecessary to involve the police and that complaining to them was sufficient. Two days later (today) I have been visited by two police officers, who claimed that the cleaner had now said that it was me who had been aggressive ! They advised me that should she be noisy again not to speak to her directly and to contact the housing assoc. I asked if I was being charged with anything, and they said not. I also asked why it was deemed necessary to send the police, when an email from the housing assoc. would have been sufficient?! I feel utterly intimidated by the whole thing, and believe that the housing assoc. are abusing their power and authority. Can I be arrested/prosecuted for this specious complaint? Anyone know what my rights are? Or if there's anything I can do about this? Best wishes, Milly (worried)

Stressed and looking for some kinda help. I forgot to tell my council my rent had been reduced from 70 from 75 for a while (literally because had so many things going on and my budgeting is crap, medicines on making me foggy and basically my mental health problem) now I haven't been over paid I would have got £62.62 either way. I got a letter through today saying they are now going to pay me £75 so I've called them (my partner has) told them it went down but literally forgot to do it at the time. He's going down to the council to talk to them for me basically asking them to reinstate it, I will pay the £50 over payment on my card so I still get the money through that was backdated, it goes down to 70 and it is all sorted hopefully. I'm panicking that I've messed up big time my anxiety is through the roof and just wondering if anyone can help by confirming I've not done anything wrong and not going to get in trouble as I haven't been overpaid until they decided to put it up which I willing pay back today to get my housing benefit unsuspended, and get it all sorted as I am paying back what I have technically now been over paid. I know I drafted a letter but can't remember if I sent it as was on so many meds at the time and still am. I am currently on ESA, PIP (which is why housing benefit has gone up as just recieved it), housing benefit and council tax support. So sometimes I find it hard to keep up who I've told what etc, because of my mental health problem and medication. If this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move it as weren't sure where it should go.

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone here could know the answer to this question. My sister and I currently live with my parents in a 3 bed house which they are privately renting, as they receive pension credit they made a claim for housing benefit, which they got a letter today saying they will get £311 per month, they have taken money off that as I (over 25 years old and currently claiming ESA) and my sister (over 25 and currently receiving JSA) live with them, there is still a lot of rent to pay between us all and I was wondering if anybody knows if we would receive more housing benefit if my sister and I were on the lease and making separate claims for housing benefit, currently just my parents are. Thanks

Hi, So I received a letter telling me my HB was being over paid to the tune of £3.5K to my shock. My income has not changed at all and I had a review in the Autumn and they confirmed I was getting the right amount. Now they are saying they have received information from HMRC and have reduced my entitlement and told me I have to pay the money back. However I'm certain something is wrong somewhere. I have not had a pay rise for years and the gov.uk website HB calculator confirms I was getting the correct amount based on my income not the amount the council are claiming I should have been receiving. My benefit was stopped last year when they said they had received information that my earnings had increased but once I sent proof it was reinstated. The letter they sent said it is reasonable to assume that I knew I was being overpaid but that's rubbish considering my money has not changed and I only had it reviewed last Autumn. It goes on to say that paying back the money will not prejudice any further action they may take. I'm hoping they have made another mistake here but it's a bit worrying as I assumed they had calculated correctly and I don't want to end up in court when I have done nothing wrong because of a reasonable assumption basis. I've always been straight up with them and not lied or with held information. Any ideas or anyone with experience with this? Thanks

Am 60 and on ESA. I sold my house for £51,000.I have moved in with my daughter and partner and paid them £45,000 to house me for the rest of my days.Because of my change of circumstances I am filling in ESA3 and a form for council tax help. We are seeing a solicitor to draw up our arrangement legally. But I don`t know what form this should take.I am in danger of being accused of gifting her the money. Do I go for a Declaration of Trust, a lease or tenancy agreement or what ? I have spoken to 2 solicitors on the phone,one who just told me to go elsewhere, and a Welfare rights solicitor who told me to deal with it at a tribunal.Surely there is some way I can satisfy Benefits. I want something to prove our arrangement for my own peace of mind too.

Hello, I have a query and it would be wonderful if anyone can offer me their thoughts! I currently claim housing benefit based on my self employed income (also claim working tax credit), which I am asked to declare every 6 months. I'm moving area shortly, and will have to cancel my current claim and make a new claim with my new local authority. Now, my question is this. A large chunk of my recent income has come from a job based here that I will lose when I move area. So when I make a new claim, and am asked for my previous 6 months income, it will not reflect what my future 6 month income is likely to be (it will be much less, as I'll have lost my regular job). Do you know if there is any provision made for this? Or if I will just have to accept I may get a reduced amount of HB? Thanks for your help!

Hi, some time ago we had notification that the housing association who own the house next door were going to remove the existing single dropped kerb between our properties and "give it to next door". I have downloaded a deed plan and property register of my property and the boundry puts the joint access on the housing associations side but the register states A: Property Register This register describes the land and estate comprised in the title. 1 (15.01.2001) The Freehold land shown edged with red on the plan of the above Title filed at the Registry and being (the propertY. 2 (15.01.2001) The Conveyance dated 4 January 2001 referred to in the Charges Register was made pursuant to Part V of the Housing Act 1985 and the land has the benefit of and is subject to such easements as are granted and reserved in the said Deed and the easements and rights specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 of the said Act. 3 (15.01.2001) The Conveyance dated 4 January 2001 referred to above contains provisions as to light or air and boundary structures. Looking at he section of the act it seems to say that I am entitled to the same rights of use I had as when I was a tenant of the local authority. Would this include the dropped kirb and can it be taken away without application to the land registry to alter the deeds of my property.

I have an assured tenancy in a housing association flat. I first moved into the complex in January, 1994. Due to my disability stairs were a real problem, so in February 2001 I transferred down to this flat which is on the ground floor. If I came into some money would I have to leave my flat? The amount wouldn't be enough for me to buy my own place and I wouldn't get a mortgage as I am not working due to disability. This flat has been adapted for me and can be adapted further should I need to use a wheelchair in the future. I would stop my means tested benefits and would then be paying my own rent direct to the HA. I'd welcome any info/advice. Thanks