AIBU to hate the line "why should people on housing benefit live in homes that working people can't afford?"

[standupandbecounted]

"Why should people on housing benefit live in houses that working people could not afford?"

I keep seeing this line being thrown about in the media. Along with stories about families, usually with an average of eight kids, claiming a shocking level of housing benefit.The government is going to cap housing benefit to prevent this. Reasonable, but not the whole story.
A a less publicised proposal is to drop the level of Local Housing Allowance(LHA) from the 50th centile to the 30th centile.Local housing allowance is currently set at the median-middle value- of private rents in your local area. In my area the LHA is nowhere near the proposed cap. The maximum I can claim for a 2 bedroom property (I have 2 kids) is 126.92 per week. For a three bedroom it is £150 per week. Shelter have estimate that the average loss for a for a two bedroom tenant in my area will be £12 per week.( I assume this is based on predicted rent levels)
Loss per area here

I am renting a two bedroom flat for myself and two children, aged 18 months and 5. There is no outdoor space, it is not large and not in an exclusive area. The soundproofing is poor and the tenants upstairs are fond of partying way into the early hours. Hardly luxury housing that working people can't afford. I believe this myth about HB claimants living in the best properties does not represent the reality for the majority of us. I have tried to find somewhere better but most landlords will not take HB or children. I have put my name down on the waiting list for council housing but have been awarded thr lowest priority level. I will never get one with that banding.

The thing that upsets me most is the "working people" bit, a lot of HB claimants ARE working people! Housing benefit is also available to people who don't earn enough to cover their rent. Most low income people cannot access council housing anymore. They are forced to rent on the private market, where rents are to high to be affordable on low incomes. This is the case in most areas, not just London.

So, AIBU to feel angry that people on housing benefit are being misrepresented and subjected to unfair cuts?

Scrounger.

I am one of those, I have a piss easy life. All those working mums with two incomes and a loving partner don't know what they are missing....

this one scared me

talk of absolute poverty- and for children; the people whom we should surely all want to protect for all our sakes?

But you know at the end there's a quote along the olines of insignificant numbers- not so insignificant if you are one of the 100,000 about to get their redundany notice over Christmas I guess.

Festive spirit and all that

And there is going to be absolute poverty- I worked through what would happen if I were a single Mum and ds1 one of the 20% who has their DLA removed in the targeted cuts- assuming he was an only child (a likely picture for many). With DLA its worth ntoing that government stats saay 0.8% fraud claims, 40% underclaimed and they intend 20% cuts.

No DLA= no carers allowance

I'd be placed on JSA (over age 5)

I woudln't be able to attend the work schemes as regardless of what DLA say, he;d still be disabled and unable to acces chidlcare

SO my JSA would be stopped.

No benefit has to = absolute poverty no?

That's not me. It will be some poor bastard.

TSc- are you saying DH retraining at Uni after redundancy is 'properly scrounging' then?

And there was me thinking he was working his ass of trying to build us a future.

I know santa. The welfare state is under a terrifying ideological attack. I don't know why anyone else hasn't noticed...

IMO The "Guardian" is misusing the word "absolute". Absolute poverty as described by Gordon was lack of basic human (we'd hope) necessities - i.e., a roof over the head, sanitation, water, food. Relative does not equal absolute!

It says relative OR absolute AP. But absolute poverty WILL happen- in a very few cases perhaps- in scenarios like the one I mentioned.

Even the homeless accoms run by councils require rent or HB claims to house you.

This country is more 'me' than in Thatcher times.

Housing benefit cut by 10% after one year of unemployment. Jobseekers allowance is £65per week. Making up the difference out of that sounds like absolute poverty to me.

There won't be any absolute poverty, this is ridiculous scaremongering

"What SMA said. What would happen go the person in her example?"

Absolute poverty. That's if anyone can be bothered to analyse it...

Well people looks like we either participate in this 'big society' or watch our fellow Brits find a new kind of poor. I wonder if it will bring back communities or each man for himself.

Bravo to your first post tsc.

Standup - nice try but 95% of this thread has failed to address the question that you posed. Nice to see a bit more benefit bashing on MN for a change though.

Having your LHA cut? Can't afford to live in the house that you do? Oh well, it's ok you can just squat in your current property and await this massive country wide lowering of rents that will now happen

But then if you're claiming LHA you're obviously;
(a) not working
(b) uneducated
(c) to blame for having a child, bad life choices, whatever has happened to lead you to claim LHA.

Someone further up the thread applauded the knowledgeable posts on this thread.

Hahahahaha. That must have been a joke right?

I cannot believe some of the utter bollocks being spouted by the usual suspects on this thread.

"Having your LHA cut? Can't afford to live in the house that you do? Oh well, it's ok you can just squat in your current property and await this massive country wide lowering of rents that will now happen "

But it's all for the greater good MissAnthrope, we must endure squatting and/or homelessness so that one day we might get lower rents.

I copied and pasted your first post to my facebook page it was so funny and spot on thesecondcoming.

tsc But I absolutely will not be rushing into any macjob to keep a roof over our heads (as i am trying to do now) if we lose everything.

What does that mean? That you aren't prepared to do anything or are you being sarcastic?

There are a few embittered people who turn up on every benefit thread to benefit bash.