Housing Benefit suspended since March Possession Order now in place.

[aBitofaPickle]

I would really appreciate any help with this.

 

I live in London and have a spare bedroom some of the time. I don't want a permanent lodger but was thinking of renting it out on an occasional basis through crashpadder.

 

I am in receipt of housing benefit and obviously would declare the earnings from this, but cant find any information on the legal implications of doing this and do not want to get into trouble with them.

 

Does anyone know where I would be able to get more information?

[id6052]

Basically you get the first £20, anything above that will reduce your benefits

 

So if you receive £100, they ignore the first £20, they will take into account the next £80 as income

 

 

 

 

 

 

From HB/CTB guidance manual

Income from sub-tenants

 

W2.550 For a definition of sub-tenants, see

C1 Tenants and sub-tenants.

W2.551 It should be noted that in the case of a claimant on IS or Pension Credit, this calculation is not

necessary since it will have been done already as part of the assessment of entitlement to IS

or Pension Credit.

W2.552 When a claimant is a tenant with a sub-tenant, or an owner-occupier with a tenant, living in

part of their home and there is a contractual liability to pay for the accommodation, the income

from each sub tenant has a disregard of £20.

W2.553 The £20 disregard is applied irrespective of whether the charge includes a payment for

heating.

[aBitofaPickle]

Reducing my benefits is OK, but I wont have a lodger or tenant they will be a B&B guest, and my income will fluctuate as I wont have someone every week.

 

I've looked at the rent a room scheme and it seems it is fine to do under that, but I'm not sure how to inform housing benefit of the income when it wont be a regular amount.

 

Also I currently have single status council tax, will that change if I have occasional paying guests?

[id6052]

you are stating B&B, are you providing meals then?

[aBitofaPickle]

Only breakfast, this would be peripatetic rental to different renters.

[id6052]

If you are providing meals, they fall to be treated as boarders, income from boarders is assessed in a different way

 

Income from a boarder

HB Sch 5 Para 42; CTB Sch 4 Para 23

W2.554 For HB and CTB the money a claimant receives from a boarder should be taken into account with special disregards.

 

W2.555 These are

 

• a flat rate disregard of £20

and

• 50% of the excess over £20

W2.556 This disregard should apply to the weekly amount payable in respect of each individual boarder, regardless of

• the number of

- boarders

- nights that accommodation is provided, or

• the frequency of payment, and

• who makes the payments

 

so for example, if you had a guest stopping for B&B and you were charging £100 per week, they would disregard the first £20

 

this leaves £80 - 50% of this would be further disregarded - leaving income for HB/CTB purposees of £40 per week

[aBitofaPickle]

Thanks for that, that's better than I expected, but I still don't know how to inform them, the boarders I have will be very occasional 2-3 nights every 2-3 weeks.

[id6052]

i would suggest explaining situation to local authority and coming to an agreement as to how to advise them

[Life-Goes-On]

i would suggest explaining situation to local authority and coming to an agreement as to how to advise them

 

And get everything in writing.

[aBitofaPickle]

Yeh, it's difficult enough to try and explain odd situations to them. I already work self employed and also a student :/ just have to bite the bullet.

[jadeybags]

You will have to be down there every week with updated figures unfortunately. The main reason I wont bother claiming off them anymore. It's a headache, but the only way you'll be doing it right without gaining over payments.

[aBitofaPickle]

I have been in receipt of HB for over a year. In April I started to take in boarders and notified the benefits office immediately, they suspended payments until it was worked out, (about 8 weeks). I had a housing benefit awards letter June 14th when it was reinstated which failed to disregard part of the boarders income.

I wrote asking for a statement of reason June 25th and received a reply July 11th, it assessed the boarders income as self employed earnings and no disregard was made, further the calculations on this letter do no add up.

I think I went wrong at this point, I should have asked for appeal or something, but I responded with why I thought the decision was wrong and asked for them to look at it again.July 16th, to which I have had no response.

Then 18th August I received another award letter with an increase in my benefit from the 18th April 2011, but also saying I have been overpaid £162 because of a decrease in my income which was notified by me on 10/04/11 and determined on 18/08/11, an invoice has been raised and recovery will be made from current entitlement.

 

I need help with my next steps, I think I should be appealing the decision, but also not sure if they can claim back the overpayment as they took so long to work it out?

[huggys boss]

I am confused............if you are in a position to take in boarders, why do you get housing benefit? If you own your home you would not need to pay rent and if you rent your home then surely the boarder issue would be your landlords responsibility. Are you claiming HB or CTB?

 

Confused.com

[aBitofaPickle]

I don't really want to get side tracked because the income from boarders is not relevant to the issue, except that it has a special disregard. I am in receipt of both.

[aBitofaPickle]

Is there anyone who can advise on this?

[id6052]

can you explain how a decrease in income in your case has resulted in an overpayment?

 

normally decreases in income would have the opposite result, the exception being where reduction/loss of an income results in the withdrawal of a premium or disregard

[aBitofaPickle]

I don't understand it wither, that's what it says on the letter from them.

[id6052]

i think you need to get a statement of reasons explaining the overpayment in detail

[aBitofaPickle]

I have asked for clarification of the first statement of reason which I have not received, but I will ask for another for this.

[aBitofaPickle]

I would like some advice on this if possible.

 

I applied for housing benefit in August, after months of to and fro I had a letter mid February to say that I had been awarded benefit and was owed few £1000's of back payment, at this point I was not in arrears with my rent payments.

 

I had contacted my landlord to say that until I received this payment from housing benefit I would be unable to make my rent payments as I now have no money left. They sent an immediate section 21.

 

I called housing benefit on the 24th to ask why the payment had not gone into my bank to be told that they had suspended my benefit (which meant they could not issue the outstanding payment) because they had received an email from my landlord which requested that the money owed to me is sent directly to the landlord as they do not believe I will keep up with my rent payments now that they have issued a Section 21.

 

As housing benefit will not issue the payment I can not pay the rent and have now fallen into arrears. I think it highly suspect that this is a legal suspension. I have requested that they send out written confirmation of the suspension and the reason for it. I am becoming quite desperate though as I am concerned that my landlords request will become valid as I fall further into arrears.

 

I am about to write to housing benefit with a statement of account from my landlord which shows that as of today I am 3 weeks in arrears of rent, and would like help with how to word it to have the monies which are due to me released asap.

[Helen2264]

I would like some advice on this if possible.

 

I applied for housing benefit in August, after months of to and fro I had a letter mid February to say that I had been awarded benefit and was owed few £1000's of back payment, at this point I was not in arrears with my rent payments.

 

I had contacted my landlord to say that until I received this payment from housing benefit I would be unable to make my rent payments as I now have no money left. They sent an immediate section 21.

 

I called housing benefit on the 24th to ask why the payment had not gone into my bank to be told that they had suspended my benefit (which meant they could not issue the outstanding payment) because they had received an email from my landlord which requested that the money owed to me is sent directly to the landlord as they do not believe I will keep up with my rent payments now that they have issued a Section 21.

 

As housing benefit will not issue the payment I can not pay the rent and have now fallen into arrears. I think it highly suspect that this is a legal suspension. I have requested that they send out written confirmation of the suspension and the reason for it. I am becoming quite desperate though as I am concerned that my landlords request will become valid as I fall further into arrears.

 

I am about to write to housing benefit with a statement of account from my landlord which shows that as of today I am 3 weeks in arrears of rent, and would like help with how to word it to have the monies which are due to me released asap.

 

 

have you owed rent payments before with your landlord? the only way to word it is to say that you need your housing benefit to be released as soon as possible otherwise you will become homeless, put it in your own word and thought as you knows best what's going on, I wouldn't worry anymore about being formal just write the way you think sometimes that work with the authorities. You can always if you don't mind write your letter and post it on here so we can help you better how to word it.

[aBitofaPickle]

I've not had arrears before and been here almost 4 years

[matt v atos]

It always best to have it sent direct to your LL you know its paid then.

[aBitofaPickle]

I've managed to pay it for 4 years! I am quite capable of taking care of my money. But it's not even the issue that they have future payments made directly, it's the outstanding back payment that I am due back from benefits.

[fkofilee]

Pickle... Dont think it was a dig at you at all, But id agree

Having it paid directly takes the onus off you to make the payment