Housing Benefit claim/DLA

[NC nohare]

Please could somebody give me some advice?

I have recently made an application for housing benefit. This is my first claim,due to a change in my circumstances.

In this claim I advised them that my son had received DLA but due to the DWPnot sending the renewals pack out in time I am currently not receiving paymentwhile they process the claim. He had previously received DLA at higher ratecare and lower rate mobility for six years and his conditions had not decreasedin fact they had got worse, so I am confident (and so is his consultant) thathe will continue to get it again at the same level.

My LC have now calculated my award for Housing benefit and refused toacknowledge that my son as a disability and will not make an award to includethe extra premium for having a child with a disability. Without this premium,the Housing Benefit claim is minimal and I can no way pay my rent. My wageseach month are about £900 and my rent £830. They are offering me £23.39 pwtowards my rent. If they were to include the premium for my son we wouldreceive around £100 pw.

What can I do? I really can't afford to pay my rent.

Last time I made an application for DLA for my son it took 9 months to sortas I took it to tribunal.

Thanks

N

[gregbythesea]

Please could somebody give me some advice?

I have recently made an application for housing benefit. This is my first claim,due to a change in my circumstances.

In this claim I advised them that my son had received DLA but due to the DWPnot sending the renewals pack out in time I am currently not receiving paymentwhile they process the claim. He had previously received DLA at higher ratecare and lower rate mobility for six years and his conditions had not decreasedin fact they had got worse, so I am confident (and so is his consultant) thathe will continue to get it again at the same level.

My LC have now calculated my award for Housing benefit and refused toacknowledge that my son as a disability and will not make an award to includethe extra premium for having a child with a disability. Without this premium,the Housing Benefit claim is minimal and I can no way pay my rent. My wageseach month are about £900 and my rent £830. They are offering me £23.39 pwtowards my rent. If they were to include the premium for my son we wouldreceive around £100 pw.

What can I do? I really can't afford to pay my rent.

Last time I made an application for DLA for my son it took 9 months to sortas I took it to tribunal.

Thanks

N

 

I think you have answered your own question.

 

Last time I made an application for DLA for my son it took 9 months to sortas I took it to tribunal

 

Are you hoping or suggesting that the LA assume that he will get the award? What happens if he doesn't? How are you going to pay back the overpaid HB?

 

Surely the LA is entitled to only pay a benefit that is based on current known criteria.

 

If the LA or indeed the DWP paid a benefit on the hope and anticipation of you receiving a benefit in say 9 months time, everybody would be asking for the same.

 

I might get every benefit that is known to man if I make a claim, so give me the money now please?

[ErikaPNP]

Hi.

 

I'm afraid that this is one of those cases where there isn't anything that you can do to enforce your local authority to pay a disabled child premium.

 

The relevant law dictates that such a premium is dependent on that child being in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. There are exceptions for children who would have been in receipt of DLA but are in hospital, children who are blind or in some cases where the child has recently died and the premium is effectively a 'run on'.

 

You can ask them to backdate a disabled child premium if it is awarded at a later date but you cannot insist that they pay it in anticipation of a decision.

 

You can apply for a discretionary housing payment. The guide that Local Authorities use when considering a DHP is contained here in the CAG library. It would be useful to have a good read and select the parts that you think would assist in your application.

[NC nohare]

Thanks for your reply,

I think you have missed to point of my question.

My son has received higher rate care and lower rate mobility from the day hereceived his original diagnosis over six years ago. He has had additionalconditions added as time has gone by. He requires 24/7 supervision and cannever be left alone, so I think there is a pretty fair chance he will get DLAagain. I am sure I am not the only person on here who has taken DWP totribunal. Forums on here are full of people fighting for what they believe inand challenging inaccurate decisions made by pen pushers every day.

If you believe that you fit the criteria and "might get every benefitknown to man" make the claim. It will make no difference to the question Iwas asking. I am only trying to claim housing benefit due to the fact I cannotpay my rent.

[NC nohare]

Thanks for the advice.

I will look into it tomorrow.

[gregbythesea]

Thanks for your reply,

I think you have missed to point of my question.

My son has received higher rate care and lower rate mobility from the day hereceived his original diagnosis over six years ago. He has had additionalconditions added as time has gone by. He requires 24/7 supervision and cannever be left alone, so I think there is a pretty fair chance he will get DLAagain. I am sure I am not the only person on here who has taken DWP totribunal. Forums on here are full of people fighting for what they believe inand challenging inaccurate decisions made by pen pushers every day.

If you believe that you fit the criteria and "might get every benefitknown to man" make the claim. It will make no difference to the question Iwas asking. I am only trying to claim housing benefit due to the fact I cannotpay my rent.

 

Total household income £900 a month - rent £830 a month?

 

Your rent seems very high. Is it just you and your son in the hosuehold?

 

Are you living in a too expensive property or area, is the home too big for your needs?

 

Maybe part of the answer is to move to a more manageble property.

 

What is the max HB that you can have given your circumstances and age?

[NC nohare]

Yes it is just my son and I. We live in a two bedroomed social housing property. This is the house the council made us take otherwise I would of been taken off the housing list. I do not live in a posh area. NW Kent but £800-£850 is the going rate for a two bedroomed place.

Moving is not an option as my son needs to be near to his school and I need to be close to my work. He is settled in school and would not cope with moving,anyway I would struggle to find another job.

The max the council will pay round here for a two bed property is £190.pw as mine is £191.

So you see there is precious little I can do. I have to have two bedroom's but I dont have the income to pay for it and I can't get much help.

It's a depressing situation I find myself in but at least I have good health and good friends around me so I'm cash poor,life rich

[RaeUK]

I'm sorry I can't advise, NC, but are you sure you're in social housing? If so, you may want to speak to your housing association for further advice/information. In 2011 the average housing association rent in Kent was £91.96 per week highest (source: Shelter). Even allowing for variation, this is a big weekly difference to the £191 per week you say you pay. I live in a two bedroom property rented from a westcountry housing association. The rent I pay per week is above the average for here and akin to a three bedroom property. It is still only £115 per week...

[NC nohare]

Yes I can promise you I rent through social housing. The house i am in was advertised through the home choice website.

I rent my house through Town and Country Housing Association. I think the rent is so high as 80%+ of their tenents are on full housing benefit so the local coucil pays all the rent and the max rent they will pay around here is £190. There is precious little I can do about the rent. I just wish my local council would revise their decision to not include the disability element. Without that I fail to see how I can pay my rent. I have looked at DHP link on here. I do not know if I will get it but I will have a good try.

Thanks for comments and advise

[Nystagmite]

I just wish my local council would revise their decision to not include the disability element.

 

They can't. Unless you meet the criteria.

[RaeUK]

That is shocking rent, NC, at least to my mind. I'm sorry I don't know enough about Housing Associations to give you good advice but, from what I've looked at online, Town & Country Housing doesn't appear to be like my Housing Association. Rents are usually capped - nothing to do with Housing benefit recipients - and there is a strict formula in place. There are also regulators to complain to and ways of having the rent reviewed. I would say, by comparison, my rent is about 40% cheaper than the average private rental. Something doesn't sound right to me but I'm sorry I can't point you in the right direction. Maybe there is a forum on CAG that specialises in rent and Housing Associations...

 

... this is the best I could find here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?65-Residential-and-Commercial-Lettings

[jackieandwayne]

Op, how long have you lived there and do you have an assured SHORTHOLD tenancy? Or is it a standard ASSURED (basic HA tenancy agreement).

 

I ask so I can determine what type of HA this actually is. I suspect they don't own all their own stock, and you may have got this property at a time when you were homeless, or seriously facing homelessness. I have a reason for asking! Am I right so far?

 

Am popping out with dog now but will check back later.

[NC nohare]

Morning,

Sorry I have not replied sooner. Horrendous night with myson. Finally got him settled at 4.15 and he woke up again at 8!

Thank you ReaUK and Jackieand wayne for your reply.

Right answers to questions. I have an Assured shortholdtenancy. We moved in last June .The rent has always been high but it actuallyhas gone up £20 pw in one year. The rent they charge is obviously the max forHB purposes but is also the going rate for private rent of a two bedroomedhouse in this area. Private rental is not an option as I can’t keep moving and upheavelingmy son.

Prior to moving here we were in temporary accommodation fornine months after loosing our home. So yes Jackieand wayne you were spot on. The local council were getting really fed upwith me as I would not bid on any old property ( I was actually told by them tojust bid and turn down properties I did not want) .I would only bid on propertythat met my family’s need’s ,i.e.: not tenth floor in a tower block and with privateoutside space, so as when my son goes into one he has somewhere to let offsteam. The irony of the situation being the temporary accommodation wasconsidered expensive and it had three bedrooms’ (my daughter was living at homethen) and it was £10pw cheaper than our current home!

I will have a look on the forum and see if there are anyoptions available to me.

Once again thanks for you help and advise

[jackieandwayne]

Ha, so, although you are a tenant of a Housing Association, you do not have a social housing tenancy. And I bet they could never give you one because I expect they don't own the property you live in, they lease it from the actual owner. So, they pay the owner, and get it all back from the tenant by way of extortionate rent.

 

My last employer was one of these - all singing, dancing, supporting, god bothering, helping very vulnerable people into high rent properties that they would never have been able to afford of their own volition. So, what happens now 3 years down the line, when the govt is forcing people off benefits, including these vulnerable people, and they can't afford to pay the rent in their home? My employer went hell for leather to have them evicted immediately, because of the huge loss of rent income. Clearly these vulnerable people were placed by the LA (as they all came from the LA by way of nomination to avoid homelessness, and in doing that these people have been placed neatly in the benefit trap.

 

You are not a standard HA tenant. For example, if you wanted to exchange your home for another more suitable one, with a tenant from a proper HA or local authority - you come unstuck straight away because you can't expect them to give up a secure or assured tenancy for your shorthold one, and if their HO is worth their salt they will stop any exchange with you for just this reason.

 

Now you cannot afford your rent, so what I suggest is you go back to the homeless unit at the council and let them pick you up as homeless on the grounds of affordability. It may well mean B & B again, but what if, out of it, they gave you a proper Council or LA tenancy - hmmm? You could also go to Shelter.

 

And never worry about HO's or staff getting fed up with you. They get paid to get fed up with you, and I can tell you a HO is not happy unless she has the usual suspects to get fed up with! Its all part of the normal working day.

 

One other point, this type of HA, as well as a heavy supporting role, have a lot to do with social inclusion (ie., social tenants in well to do areas). Now we have this erstwhile lot of shifters in power, all of that is being undone slowly and surely, and many people are now screaming "social tenant? Not on our doorstep - out with them". Perhaps we should all stop and take a breath over this and give it some serious thought.

 

I hope you get it sorted, as part of any serious homelessness investigation, with your permission, the adviser, in doing all that she can to find a reason not to house you, will contact DLA, to confirm the payment problem. This may well hurry that up for you, and then maybe your worries will be over. Until the next time! XXXX

 

Good luck whatever happens, and I hope you now understand what your landlord really is.

[NC nohare]

Thanks for the advice jackieandwayne,

I must say I am a little confused by yourposts contents.

The temporary accommodation we lived inwas as you described it leased by our landlord and that is why we could notstay there permanently, but I was under the impression that this house wasowned by our landlord.

When I first had a meeting about thishouse it was with Chislehurst and Sidcup Housing Association who incidentallyare owned by T and C and they explained that they house had been recently purchasedby them with the help of £70,000 from the local council and the rest of thepurchase price was mortgaged over ten years .I was told that the rent was highbut after the mortgage was paid my rent would go down by 50% for the remainder ofmy time here (sadly this was never shown to me in writing) That was in June2011,then in September 2011 Town and county took over the running of my houseand promptly put the rent up £20pw!

I hear what you are saying aboutaffordability and going back to the council re being homeless again. This really is not an option as my son could notcope with all of this again. When we lost our home in 2010 he took it verybadly and tried to commit suicide ( He has tried 3 more times .He has had deepthoughts about doing this numerous times) . He was very unsettled and onlyachieved 48% attendance at school that year. He is still very venerable andwithdrawn but he is more settled now and loves living here,his mental state andhappiness has to be my priority. I really in a catch 22 situation

[RaeUK]

Ah, thankyou so much, jackieandwayne, I think I have a better understanding. Crikey, the term 'Housing Association' has certainly changed from when it was first used. Back then, like my Assoc, it was an organisation that took over and continued to provide council housing particularly for those on a low income - I still whinge about how expensive my rent is becoming! The property NC is renting is no different to private rental except that it's run by a supposedly charitable or benign organisation. What parasites! I wonder if Kent has any proper Housing Associations? ...

[jackieandwayne]

Well, they can also buy stock, and then of course that has to be paid for, and who is going to pay for it? The good ole tenant of course. But really, where they own stock they ought to be allowing tenants to have assured tenancies. Even our local council, when they transfered to an ALMO years ago, can only charge so much rent and certainly not the market value.

 

When my former employer got into the private leasing scheme years ago, this social inclusion was a big thing. It is also true that they can and do help the less fortunate (drugs, alcohol recovery, sex trade workers, HIV, violence, ex=criminals, homeless shelter, all that sort of thing). A good name for them would be the Last Chance Saloon.. And of course, at the time, nobody batted an eyelid at the cost of the rents on the properties they were put in - because these people had problems, and the rent WOULD be paid without question. Not so anymore it seems, so my question now is, what happens to those people who the local authority had accepted as homeless and had my former employer house them into these high rent properties? I dread to think what is going to happen when all these people with problems are homeless.

 

Yes Rae, spot on! These tenants are going to end up between the devil and the deep blue sea.

 

I am sorry to hear about all the problems you have with your son, but I am still going to advise you to badger the LA on the grounds of affordability, and THEN add in the problems to your son's mental health should he be uprooted again. If nothing else the Housing Advisor WILL chase DLA for you, and I suspect it might hurry things moneywise.

 

Wish you all the luck you need.

[worried33]

you guys are very lucky to have housing association properties.

 

I was told by my local one they have 16k on the waiting list for just 2k properties.

The one near where my aprents live where I am also on waiting list is 8k properties (covering a bigger area) with 19k on waiting list.

 

Apparently soon people will be pushed of waiting lists to get them down.

 

whats wrong with all this is the LHA calculations are affected by housing association rents which are way below private rents.

[NC nohare]

Thanks Rea and Jackieandwayne and worried33 for your comments

Your advice has been invaluable.

I am going to badger the council about affordability and my son and I willkeep you posted as to how I get on.

On another note. I met up with a work colleague yesterday who I knowreceives HB from the same council I have applied to. She does the same job asme and receives the same salary. Her rent for a two bedroomed private house is£800 pm, so £30 pm less than mine. Like me she is a single parent with one child,but she gets £105pw HB where as they have told me I am only entitled to £23.39!A bit of a difference and she gets maintenance from her daughter’s father.Needless to say I will be contacting the council again to ask why there is sucha huge difference.

Yes Worried33 I do consider myself lucky to be given a Housing Associationproperty. I feel for anybody who is stuck on the continual merry-go-round oftrying to obtain an affordable home.

The situation with property needs here out strips availability is just asdire. I know people who have bid on a property and they are 300th inline for it so they have little or no chance of getting anything .Being in NWKent it is commutable to London so therefore property to rent is extortionate,but those of us working locally we do not attract the London salary thereforeonce again we are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea .

One thing I will say worried33 is that rent in this area for some HousingAssociation properties is in fact the same as private rent. This is thesituation I find myself in.

[Nystagmite]

But is her situation exactly the same as yours? Child maintenance isn't counted for benefits.

[NC nohare]

Nystagmite,

I do not know if maintenance is counted for or not. There was a section on the application form that I had to state if I received any maintenance. I would of thought it would of been as it is an income.

With our Council god only know's what is counted for.