to think the government have f**ked me over!

[NattyTomAndEllen]

before i moved house i was getting 600 a month in housing benefit when my rent was 750, which was fine we just got by on the (DH is a student and not working we have 2 kids)
when i found out i was expecting my third, the council told us there would be a 7 year wait to go from a 2 to a 3 bed.
therefore we found our own private rented house.
cheapest we could find was 1200 a month, so the council agreed and we moved.
they have JUST (today) told me that we are only entitled to 400 a month, even though my rent has nearly doubled because the government has changed the system they use.
under the old system i would have been entitled to nearly 800 a month.

so my circumstances are the same, yet the money is WAY out. im so confused!
working out our money on the smaller amount we are -350 a month. how the hell am i going to cope?

why have the government changed everything?
whats IS this new Local Housing Allowance? and why is it SO much lower?
how can they get away with this??

im just so upset i cant even begin to believe they have done this to me right before xmas.

the new LHA works out an average price for rental properties in your area (so average for 2 bedroom, average for 3 bedroom) etc etc and gives everyone that amount. It looks at how many bedrooms you "need" and that depends on the age of the children, so if they're still quite young then you would only be entitled to a 2 bedroom house - and would only get the "average" for that size house, even if you rented a 3 bedroom one.

the website explaing it all (and with the calculator to work out how many bedrooms you "need" and how much LHA is in your area) is here

Where do you live? Can you look up the amounts for yourself on the local council website?

Even if they are saying you only 'need' a 2 bed house, £400 a month sounds very low. I live in a fairly cheap (Midlands) area, and the LHA rate for a 2 bed here is £495 a month.

Huge sympathy from me - I rent too

The new system is really odd - I moved recently and now get more simply because we are on the new system (It changes month to month so if I moved now I would get less) But my water rates are more because this house is in a higher council tax band so am in fact no better off after all - plus heating costs will be higher due it being bigger

You obviously cant survive on that! How much did the council tell you you would be entitled to when you say "they agreed" There should be a chart showing the monthly allowances in the council offices

I would rant at the council - If you are now only getting £400 that is less than I get which is ridiculous as I live in back of beyond - which persumably you dont?

I've just looked up the rates for our LHA for 2 bedroom and it's £115 a week - which works out at about £498 a month - so £400 does sound quite low.

2 bedroom here is £440 pcm

A baby only counts as half a person after they are 12 months - until then they are worth 0 as far as the bedroom requirement goes

Is it because you are still expecting your third and therefore don't yet "need" a third bedroom? If so won't your LHA increase after the baby is born?

Do you live in an expensive bit of an otherwise cheap area? That could be a problem as the rates are based on average rents over a wide area.

Who agreed the 1200, have you got it in writing, if not start packing before your credit record is damaged by rent arrears.

Actually I see from another thread that you live in London. I can't see a single London area which has a 2bed LHA of £400 a month. The cheapest seems to be around £175 per week. The amount you are quoting is most similar to the LHA for shared accomodation.

Has something else changed which would mean that you are not entitled to the full LHA?

Oh sorry - just reread OP and see that you're not entitled to full LHA.

Is it likely that the main difference then is the fact that you are paying for a 3 bed when LHA would only cover you for a 2 bed?

council said entitled to 104 pounds a week, which is 412 a month.
its because our baby isnt born yet that they deem us as not needing the money. problem is under the housing benefit scheme we were entitled to 180 a week. if they were using the old scheme we would be ok

Sorry, NattyTomAndEllen, but it is quite clear that unborn children are not counted, and that if you move you will be transferred to the LHA scheme. However, you can apply for discretionary housing top-up direct to your council, and cite financial hardship. They may top-up temporarily. How long until your baby is due?

Another thing that is good to know, which I have been stung by this week, is that if your rent goes up mid-year, the increase is only calculated at the anniversary of your claim, so in the meantime you have to absorb any increase yourself . Interestingly, they recalculate your benefit immediately if your income goes up

Its worth bearing in mind that the council give out housing benefit for 4 weeks - which is not the same as a calander month!!

You might need to convert the 4week figure to the calander month figure

ie £400 per 4 weeks
divide by 4 = £100 per week
Multiply £100 by 4.33 = £433 pcm

Hope that might help someone!

Also always request LHA to be paid weekly - not every 4 weeks as the landlord will take it every month and the two dates do not match causing a potential nightmare

I hope you get some joy nattytomandellen

thank you that helps a bit, if i work out all my money like that rather than weekly i mighht be able to make up some of it.
i will def be applying for hardship top ups, the way i look at it we could be sitting in a one bedroom and force them to house us, but we are trying to make our own way not burden the council, but it feels like we are being penalised as this new scheme only applys to ppl on private tennant housing. not council tennants. i thinks thats rude, as private rental is much higher than council, yet the ppl in council housing get more money