Housing Benefit

Funny how the mention of a meeting with the MP got things moving,my DD had similar when she was left with HB problems after her OH left without informing her they had arrears and the only way she could manage was with HB assistance until she went back to work full time,she had to take a Benefits Advisor with her to the meeting with the Officer dealing with it in order for them to allow her to claim the benefit and challenge their decision.Sometimes you have to shout to be heard if you don't understand the system.Age UK have some very good advisors available for problems like this also CAB.

She will only email them, so I told her to ask for a status of the claim as she needed it for the meeting she had with her MP next week. With a bit of persuasion she did this and hey presto, the next morning, she received an email stating she was entitled to HB and that £x was being paid into her account ithin 10 days and with explanatory letter to follow! Horay, onwards and upwards, thanks all.

Tell her to go to her local Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB). They should be able to help her.

I think the problem is that HB is now administered by Councils, not centrally and the LA are all desperately short of cash so try to stop people claiming by being obstructive.

The capital rule for Housing Benefit us £16000. For Income-related benefits it is £6000

I think anything which can be classed as redundancy affects claims of any sort - I seem to remember them tellin DD but she only got the next month's pay as they were giving them no notice.

Thanks, I wish I could get her to go and see someone about it all rather than just doing it all online. She has £10,000 redundancy money, which she is trying to hang onto, so I am unsure if that is the reason she has not recieved HB, I note on some info its allowable to have £6,000 and other info states £16,000.

Please, please go and ask for help from your MP. The reason I suggest this is because involving your MP usually does get things moving, but also because MP's need to know and understand the difficulties ordinary people are having. My own MP is an Eton educated, out of touch, seemingly uncaring chap, but my little homelessness charity approach him with some of our difficult situations and he then can't avoid the reality of what's happening on his own doorstep. And, to give him his due, he and his team are appalled at the cases we give him and do respond and get things done - even though he doesn't seem to connect the said problems with his own government's policies.

Housing benefit is means tested so if your DD is persevere. She has a right to help for every month she earns under the earnings cut off point. Housing benefit office systems in this area leave a lot to be required. If it's the same in her area she needs to get the name of someone who will assess her every month otherwise her claim will simply be put in a holding basket until an assessor is available. She needs to contact her local councillor as they can bypass a lot of red tape and talk to working/not working depending on that awful zero contract it will vary month to month. She must the people who make decisions.

Tell her she's not alone having to fight Housing Benefit. Of all the benefits I receive, Housing Benefit is the one that causes me the most grief.

My daughter was made redundant a few years ago and discovered she was entitled to so little it wasn't worth the effort of claiming. Fortunately we were in a position to help her but this is why the number of homeless families is growing. My elderly mother receives housing benefit but it still doesn't cover the cost of her rent in a sheltered housing complex run by a charity.

I think the number of fraudulant claims is highly exaggerated .My daughter applied for PIP on the advice of her GP ,she wanted a blue badge so she could take the girls out without having to walk any distance...she has fibromyalgia .She had to keep applying for nearly three years ,then hada tribunal type interview where they said she would be awarded the minimum payment and would have to reapply in 6 months .She did manage to get the blue badge ,now she's been told she may have to hand it back if her application is refused next month.Its shocking how people who are vulnerable are treated by government agencies.The agency dealing with her claim was apparently paid MORE than it would have cost to pay ALL the claimants they rejected last year ...you couldn't make it up.

And the saga continues, still no housing benefit, but many requests for more documents and infirmation including additional wage slips which she hasn't got as she was't working during the summer holidays, her zero hours contract has restarted and giving her 15 hours each week for the next few weeks so at least she can still sign on, she is jumping thro hoops to furnish all the paperwork and documents and proof they want, but she first applied back in March/April, its abismal, no help when its needed, so much for the welfare state, yet you see people manage to lie and fraudulently claim, how do they manage that, when honest people in need are just jumping thro hoops.

I am fortunate enough never to have had to claim benefits (touch wood!), but do sympathise with those who have to negotiate such a complicated system. Like others I have always assumed that when you need help you can get it. I can understand the need for checking someone is entitled but why the need to ask for the same information twice - it is surely on computer somewhere? All I can suggest is as others have said persevere and ask CAB for advice and help, also contact MP, local councillor and as a final resort the press. I sincerely hope your daughter gets the help she needs soon.

Housing benefit is means tested, so it will depend on a persons income.
And yes, they are very long winded! For mortgages, they may pay the interest only, but not for the first three months.

DD has been lucky enough to not need the system to claim for most of her working life - but over the last couple of years has been made redundant twice - children are independent and she lives on her own. First time she was lucky and got a job before her last month's pay ran out. Second time this did not happen. For some technical reason which we cannot understand she was not entitled to any money whatsoever. - not JSA and because she is buying a house said they would not pay any interest at all. They told her to contact the BS and ask if she could have a mortgage holiday. Over the purchase of several houses she has had a mortgage with the same BS for over 20 years and never missed a payment. They said that she was not entitled to any mortgage holiday and neither could she just pay the interest. She had of course explained her predicament. Previously she had managed to have enough money behind her to keep her going for three months bills etc but the last time in the job was too short to do that.
She actually moved 300 miles away to stay with family as she got a job there it continued to look for work near her home - now back in her house as she managed to find a job - which she quite likes.
The system only helps people who know how to manipulate it and not those who are normally self sufficient.

Yes, persist. My son had a very protracted claim, but eventually was paid HB. He also has mental health problems - so stressful for them!

Could be worth getting other agencies involved like the CAB, Councillor, MP and/or anything else you can think of. These people are more clued up about how to navigate the system and it is a fact that if you don't know the questions to ask the information will not be forthcoming. It seems to be those who make the most fuss who are the only ones to get what they need so it is necessary to be persistent. I hope she gets the help she needs very soon.

I don't know the answer to your question, can only say, don't give up, that is what they want you to do.
Persistence is the only way to go.
In a different context I have been told that AA is almost always turned down at the first application, they hope you won't bother again.
Good luck to your D , we have subsidised ours for 3 years now as she works part time and gets tax credits and it isn't enough for comfortable living.
I hate to see my GC not having the life they had before their F left. It isn't their fault.