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?

But who could possibly hope to pay for that privately? Is there actually anyone who doesn't get that paid for by the state if the need it?

We have an adult relative (early 20s) who cannot live independenly, and since 18, he's lived in a 2 bed flat; with a carer who stays in the other bedroom. It's definitely not a private arrangement, and his parents still own their own home. Not sure how it works, but they seem very happy with the arrangement, and the lad seems very contented. He's non-verbal, but obviously the parents pick up on whether he's happy or not.

Ah, I see. So you are avoiding leaving any assets directly to DD, but putting her money in her siblings' names so the government cannot take it into account when assessing her eligibility for state paid care. Why let the government get their hands on more your your hard earned cash than in strictly necessary eh?

That is sounding spookily like some kind of legal avoidance tactic to me.

But hey - who'd blame you? Not me, that's for sure. We all do what we can. Even Philip Green.

Still confused, because I thought you were only eligible for that if you were living alone, or with people who couldn't care for you. He moved out of the family home, and into this flat. Also, I thought the cap on Independent Living Fund was about £700 per week. No way would that cover the rental on a 2 bed flat in the south of England, and around the clock support from carers.

I think being motivated at work by the thought that you can leave your children a lump sum of money when they themselves will probably be well into adult life is quite odd.

I am motivated to work hard because my job matters, I want to give my dd the experience of a almost having a SAHP, I need to support relatives so they can stay in their own homes and I am ambitious.

I have no intention of leaving anything to my dd, I have confidence that she will work hard and will stand on her own two feet

Residential care will always be an option though - people who can't live independently will never be put out on the streets.

Try not to focus on the scare mongering stories though. It's very similar to working parents who use nurseries, childminders or nannies. Your baby can't speak, so you have to a) spend thousands on the best care you can possibly afford, and b) put your trust in the care provider

Yeap, it is.

I loved my job, but to be quite frank, I'd never have had the financial option of giving up even if I'd hated it.

DD1 was three months, and still bf when I returned to work (no luxury long maternity leave in those days). It takes a massive amount of trust, because a baby that small isn't going to tell you much!

RE: Violethills funding querry:
I used to work for a learning disability care organisation.I used to look after two severly disabled ladies who lived in a 3 bed council flat.They needed 24/7 care so i would stay overnight (hence the 3rd bedroom) I don't know the exact details of the funding as I wasn't managment. I do know it was a mix of benefits like housing benefit and income support and disability living allowance.Housing benefit for rent, income support for ordinary living costs,DLA for care and mobility costs.I think on top of this there must have been another source of funding to pay for 24/7 carers, I think that comes from the local authority.

Thanks standup. I kind of assumed that it is probably funded from a variety of sources. And it must cost a fair bit, because I know the overnight rate for the carer sleeping in is quite a lot. Anyway, it seems to work well for our relative which is the main thing.

And here was me thinking society had moved forward from the days when people with severe learning disabilities were dumped in institutions and left to rot.Now able to live in the community and have personalised care via the ILF.

Why is there not a national outcry that these individuals are the soft targets for cuts? Fuck the lot of you.

Pensioners keep their non means tested bus passes and winter fuel allowance.There are large numbers of them and they tend to vote.Political cowardice.Fuck you Dave.

Agree with overstrapped staff having worked in homes as well. This is a big issue. It's a legal requirement to have a certain number of staff on the premises so there won't always be staff available to take people out.

(Fellatio, it was a friend of mine, not Riven, who was avoiding putting any assets into her disabled daughter's name, and giving assets to siblings so that the government can't take them into account when assessing for state help. Riven is doing the opposite, because she has misgivings about quality and security of a residential home. I suppose you could say that what my friend is doing is spookily like tax avoidance.

Dh went to a talk by Brian Rix, who was president or something of Mencap. BR said that if you have a handicapped child, you must not leave them any money, because it would immediately be used to pay for their care. BR had a child with Down's, but this was before it was called Down's.)

Sorry, yes I realised I had got the two confused when I read it back! Sorry Riv.

fellatio. even if you hadn't confused the two posters are you really saying a disabled child being left something upon the death of her parents to look after her is not the same thing as one of the richest men in England, who couldn't spend what he's amassed thus far serving tax.
that is utterly utterly fucked up.

that post should read- a severely disabled childs parents trying to look after her is so so far from phillip greens utter fucking egocentric greed or do you think they're the same thing

It was tongue in cheek. I think you know that. Get over yourself.

i didn't know that,i am happy to apologise when i'm wrong though-so sorry.
some of the views on here though it wouldn't surprise me.

I think they are both tax avoidance/ensuring you get benefits rather than illegal as you've a choice as to whom you leave your money even if it is with the aim of avoiding inheritance tax, ensuring more benefits are paid or whatever. It is very important we allow people to make lawful decisions like this whether they are higher rate tax payers or on benefits. It is a crucial part of our system that everyone can arrange their affairs to pay as little tax as is lawful.