Housing Benefit suspended:pay rent or do Christmas - can't do both!

[NoMoneyMona]

I had to put in a claim for top up housing benefit as my job contract ended in October. DH works full time but rent is very high (£1200 for a 3 bed) and we have 3 DC.

I have been unable to find another job despite applying for at least 2/3 most days, as many want weekend workers/evenings, and DH works weekends/eves anyway so we would have no childcare.

HB started paying about 3 weeks later and shortly after that they sent a letter asking for more evidence and gave me a month to supply it. Part of the evidence requested was a new child tax credit award showing the new award since I stopped working as amount would increase. I still did not have a new award by the time the month was up (and I forgot to chase them) so I contacted HB the day after the month was up to explain.

They stated, quite correctly I agree, that I should have contacted them within the month they gave so they could give me more time and as I did not contact them, they had suspended my HB and it would 3/4 weeks to reinstate it. The next day, I got the award notice and took it in to them but they insisted that I would be at the back of the 'queue' and they may not get to my claim before Christmas so I may have to wait until January as they close from the 24th Dec to 4th Jan.

That was 3 weeks ago. We have not had any payments since 23rd November. DH got paid today and if we use that for rent next week (and direct debits, normal food), we will not have a penny left. I will have £50 in tax credits to come as well which will not cover many extras. I have not bought anything for DC as I kept putting if off hoping for the claim to be reinstated. When I rang today, they said I would be unlikely to get any money before the 11th January! We have no access to credit.

WWYD? Would I be unreasonable to keep back about half of the rent and pay the rest when the HB restarts which will cover the shortfall?

I really wouldn't stay in that house tbh, start looking in the New Year

Oh, she's back. How splendid.

NMM, my point was that the LL is already stretched to cover the house. Without your part contribution she may not be able to make up the shortfall so could get into problems with the mortgage providers. Then you would be homeless. But you don't seem to think that's very likely. Maybe it's not for the sake of 2 weeks. But since you don't know when HB will come through, it could be longer than 2 weeks. But now we're going in circles again.

Nomoneymona, if you are still reading this, if I were you I would not pay my council tax this month, and use that to cover a very modest Christmas. I know ct is a serious payment, but their offices would be closed for the same period as hb, so they wouldn't even notice.

Better still if you can get to the offices, they can offer a discretionary payment, thanks to something about council tax benefit being scrapped.

How old are your children? Instead of quarreling over whether you should or shouldn't pay your rent we are all ready to help with ideas of how to give them a lovely Christmas, and how to help them.

Best wishes for the new year, I hope that you find work soon.

Olivepip-
Please don't judge housing benefit claimants because some spend their money on presents and not rent,
Whilst there certainly are people who will do this, there will also be the ones who do work that will do the same, and in our time as tenants with the same landlord just as many issues have arisen from customers not paying on time than housing benefit (have claimed housing benefit at times- and at others been completely financially self reliant)

I feel so shitty being in the situation where I can't pay my rent in full this month and my daughter doesn't have gifts (not begging!! First year trying to ditch Christmas in favour of JW beliefs) and the massive effect it could have on my landlord.
I've been trying to get loans to clear the rent but it's not looking likely I can pay it back so probably not the safest of things to do.

I do think that people should pay more of a deposit when moving into rented accommodation. Even just an extra month would make a huge difference. It's a buffer that could cause a lot less stress in the long run, something I'm going to see if I can try and sort with my LL to stop this problem in the future. Hopefully he doesn't decide to kick me out!!

Council tax is the one bill you can jailed for not paying. I know it's unlikely but please do not get into ct arrears. Your water cannot legally be cut off, so if you're going to play it fast and loose with non-payments, please prioritise eviction/prison etc correctly.

I guess the non payment of tv licence would be harder to prove illegal, since op might not have a TV.

It isn't prison I'd be concerned about with nonpayment of council tax but the fact that it very quickly gets passed to bailiffs if you fail to pay and then bloats out of all proportion so definitely don't do that!

pay the rent. you can scout around the charity shops for a present or two. stop any luxuries for the adults in the house. look at your budget really carefully. cut out cut back wherever possible. try to eat up food in the cupboards and freezer first. get a value chicken for the meal and make it stretch by bulking out with veg and potatoes.

OP, why are you so aggressive and antagonistic towards the LL and people on this thread, who have given lots of really helpful advice?

People sympathise with the situation you find yourself in, especially at Christmas. No-one thinks you are on here for hand-outs.

The things people have difficulty with, are the idea that you seem to feel no sense of responsibility towards the LL, in terms if meeting the payments - as if it is an optional thing, if it suits you.....at least that's how it comes across. Tbh, I don't really think you do feel like that, and if you had the money wouldn't question paying. I think you are so defensive and suggest no responsibility towards the landlord (despite clearly having a legal agreement to pay) because you feel cornered in your situation at Christmas. Your pride tells you that the most important thing is to give your kids a big Christmas. You don't want to be seen on here, as someone who wants handouts of presents for the kids and you don't want others around you to think you can't afford to give your kids the big Christmas. And you don't want your kids to think you can't give them the big Christmas either.

I can see it is disappointing,if you were planning to do this and if you are one of those people who want to spend hundreds and hundreds on Christmas (that in itself is a different debate to the one in this thread) but you need to put aside that pride thing and focus on what is actually important in the longer term, beyond one day. By splashing the cash on Christmas,mi stead of the rent, you will have one big fun day (although how you'd be able to enjoy it, knowing the cone quenches, I really wonder) but you will then be in debt and have the possibility of being evicted or not having your tenancy renewed. How will you and your kids feel a few months down the line if this happens? That is what you need to think about now, rather than the short term issue of Christmad (and you say yourself that whatever happens your kids won't be with nothing at all)....and if you go ahead and spend £600 on Christmas and there are later consequences, you will have to acknowledge that you yourself contributed significantly to them.

It is sad that you can't have the big Christmas you'd like. Lots of people can't actually....that includes people in your situation, and also people who work and don't receive any HB.....not being able to afford a big Christmas is just a reality most people live with. They still have a good time. They are still with their families and know it's not about the amounts we spend.....we don't get our value from our families because of the amounts we spend, but because of the fact we are their Mums.

There is a moral element, about responsibility towards the LL. However, for you I wouldn't think too much about that, but instead the moral element of responsibility towards your children of ensuring they have a roof over their heads into the LONG TERM. The LL may not be able to evict for ages, but you really don't want to be responsible for anything which at some point could contribute towards housing issues for your kids.

See Christmas for what it is...one day, and a day which can still be fun without lots of debt. It will all be almost over in a week and isn't worth the much longer lasting consequences. I hope you find a way to pay the rent and still have a good (if cheaper) day.

Why should I be concerned that the rent does not cover the landlord's mortgage

This demonstrates exactly what has pissed me off about this thread.

I can't imagine a homeowner, with their own mortgage, even thinking about not paying their mortgage versus buying shite for their children for Christmas- why should someone who pays rent think it's ok to just not bother if they have other things they'd rather spend the cash on?

I totally undestand sometimes there's no money for anything but to prioritise Christmas over paying for a roof over your head is pretty low.

It's pretty appalling that the OP thinks she's invincible in terms of being evicted so can totally take the piss with regards to paying her way.

I suspect karma will bite her on the ass eventually. Living somewhere the landlords is trying to sell, in an area with high/rising rents and pissing your landlord off is a recipe for disaster.

Contact all of the local housing associations immediately, this could put you near the top of the waiting list and you'd be better off than with a private landlord IMO.

Go set up a Go Fund Me.
Sell everything you can on Ebay.
Keep up with the rent as much as you can - you owe it no matter what and they can come after you for it.

Best of luck.

My point was that by the time the offices opened to contact op about the ct arrears, they would also be open to sort out her hb. Quite often it is the same people administering both, so easy to cross check, and they won't put her in prison for one month missing whilst she is waiting for hb. Honestly the people working in these offices are happy not to get yelled at, are human beings and want to help.

op have you had any eviction letters?

when i was in a simlar situation i still done what i wanted with money i did not pay anything towards the rent although i knew arrears were building up quite hire. but in my case i knew it was their error and i kept contact all the time if there were delays or problems i let them know.

but im ops case maybe they could trace back that she did not do it on the dead line but also did not contact them to say there was a problem/delay. so might not be as simple as they will back date.

like some one else said if you do get an eviction notice and you are due back pay for rent. HB will rush it through as there is a housing shortage and they will do all they can to keep you housed. its just the worry and stress of them moving their butts.

not sure what the ops landlord is like. if they are approachable i would try and contact them and explain things. also maybe put in writing that you give them permission to talk to HB . that way they can contact HB and they will know whats going on. and not left in the dark. and some times its better as the landlord may have bad feelings towards the tenant because of the rent arrears even though its not their thought. And if the landlord is pissed of enough they might tell HB that they are starting eviction prosess which might make them shift their butts... but maybe they are not overly intrested unless the tenant is threatend with homelesses... ie has the eviction notice/date of eviction

knobbly how could go fund me help?

Ava I appreciate you wanted to help but your advice isn't correct. It is potentially harmful in the extreme to the OP.

If you know exactly how much money you will have once HB is reinstated why don't you see if you can get an overdraft/extension or a mini loan?

I rent and have done for years, one of the risks you take is that LL can just sell up, it is their property afterall, not yours. She would have to give you notice but 4 weeks isn't much when you have a family, I know, however that's just how it is. It's a kind of put up or shut up situation, I can't afford to buy yet so I have to rent, and deal with the issues that Come with that.

Your taking paying Rent as some sort of personal attack. It isn't, it's life.

It's shit that this has happened to you, but admittedly you are to blame for this. Call your LL she will either accept you paying less (£800+ at least) or doesn't. If she doesn't you will have to have Xmas in Jan.

Can't believe your asking tbh and 600 on Christmas I will be spending £100 on food and my 3 year old has 4 gifts total £50 and the 16 year old has 6 gifts total £120 that's

Under £350 for four people for the whole of Christmas

beaebehind I know someone who used to miss mortgage payments so they could go on holiday and for christmas. It's not unheard of. You get 3 months minimum in arrears before any action is taken.
Not rent or mortgage but other bills, I had a friend who habitually didn't pay bills, preferring to go out instead. She advised me to do the same one night when I said I couldn't afford to go out. She was always in arrears, knocking catalogues, provident, the cable company, wiring her key meter, etc. She just had no sense of responsibility. Bills were for other people.
Not suggesting the OP is as bad as that though, I'm just saying it's not just people on HB that behave like that.

'Contact all of the local housing associations immediately, this could put you near the top of the waiting list and you'd be better off than with a private landlord IMO.'

Being evicted for non-payment of rent? The fuck it will! It will mean you are intentionally homeless.

But yeah, £600 you don't have on Christmas is ridiculous.

i have been behinde on council tax. i did not think i had to pay it... sod knows why i thought that. anyway it got a little high. i called and they made a payment plan with me via direct debit. it was an amount i could afford and they were friendly. non demanding. i think its if you let it go to far. ie court/baylifs that you end up in a lot of trouble.

But then i would not mess with the council tax. already in rent arrears. why make another debt

Is there anything you can cut down on to save pennies, I'm thinking cigarettes; do either you or your DP smoke, if so stop. The money you save will get you Christmas gifts.
Travel costs? Can you walk as opposed to using bus or car? Can you sell anything, old mobiles lying about in draws, unused consoles?

The answer simply isn't I won't pay my rent.

Contact all of the local housing associations immediately, this could put you near the top of the waiting list and you'd be better off than with a private landlord IMO

thats wrong you cant just ring social landlord and explain your situation... yes ms smith we understand. you may go up the top of the list and sod all the other people who have spent months/years in hostels.

I also just wanted to add if you are seriously not going to pay something, how about your internet/phone bill, it's not great for your credit rating but won't affect your children's Christmas!

doitanyways how is my advice harmful? I would not want to give bad advice. My mum is an expert in hb and ct and works as a consultant to local governments. I hear a lot about this sort of thing.