April 1st. Local Housing Allowance. Changes.

[LolaGraham]

I haven't thought about what to type but I just want to put it out there that there are really vulnerable people affected by this gravely and disproportionatly. My daughter is very happy we have had it unbearably hard and delt with many unlucky circumstances to finally find happiness, her school that she is enrolled to join is just 'there', my university is also 'right there', my friends and family whom I depend upon are within reach BUT now due to this government we are being kicked right out in the name of the new LHA rates. The choice to go elsewhere is there however the choice to go elsewhere also has a lower than average rate which is unrealistic and rediculous, there will nolonger be anywhere to rent whilst youre on housing benefit.

It is my biggest ambition and dream to be a GP, at the moment the qualifications I have will just about get me a job in retail which cannot look after my daughter and I. I have nothing which is why I depend on college and university to give me a working life.

Am I a bad person for being single, low earner on benefits?
Should I feel disgusted in myself that my ex walked out when I was pregnant?
Does the word welfare mean you're less of a person.

I live in Camden, North London and for anyone who is nearby I would love to hear from you IF you are also affected. Also for those who dont quite understand the impact OR those who are viciously ignorant to the genuine people in need, this link is a written message to Parliamant by Camden council. Id really appreciate if you read. Maybe then all will understand why I and others have been holding our little ones tight and crying wondering what is going to happen to our little roof over our heads.

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmworpen/memo/hb/hb71.htm

Is there anyone out there with an answer? If not, thank you for reading.

a desperately scared single mum :(
x

Oh Lola,It's such a horrendous situation for you

I'm a single mum,and it was bad enough when i rented up until 6 years ago,most private landlords didn't want to touch HB then,it was terrifying when tenancies came to an end..

Just wanted to say i'm so sorry you are in this position x

:( thank you but how did you get out of renting whilst on housing benefit, did you buy?

Its another night that I cant sleep through the anxiety. I feel guilty for being my daughters mum, all she has is me and I have nothing to protect her. :(

I couldn't get the link to work for me, could you explain what is going to happen on April 1st please,thanks.

As an ex benefits advisor can I just say bastard torys.

OP I don't know what to advise sorry.

Have looked on Google,know what it means for you now ,really sorry x

It will have a massive impact on lots of people. I don't know what to say except it's awful.

Sorry about the broken link, this one should work better.

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmworpen/memo/hb/hb71.htm

I just can't believe these people have disregarded people in my circumstance, the crucks of the matter is me and my toddler WILL be homeless.
When people born into a middle class family come into power why and how would they ever relate/understand/ or have any empathy whatsoever to those like myself struggling to carve out a life. Its as if they have given us a living jail sentence for needing government finiancial help! It does not make sense... they are making people not only homeless but destruction childrens lives, ripping them out of school, causing mental turmoil, I dont even want to get out of bed today, they will be tearing people out of education to have to later return and then pay extortionate fees!

I can't even move someone in cos it will affect the financial help I recieve!

So sorry Lola. Can't open the link but I know what this will mean. Can you apply for charitable funding? I do realise many are not giving grants at the moment.

There should be a law against meddling by are ignorant career-politicians with trust funds and happy families who have never had to struggle or experience the systems themselves. There is nothing wrong with you. And they should teach that at Oxbridge.

Here's an idea for you to explore (It is the best of the horrid solutions and I recognise it is not ideal for you.)

Your qualifications might get you a job as a carer (horrid stressful job, low pay etc. But if you worked for someone like Bupa then you could apply to do your NVQ in caring and work up to a nursing qualification then a BA can you switch to PT on your course?

www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/care-homes/care-home-careers/types-of-career/care-home-care

as a priority key worker I think you would be eligible to buy a shared-ownership property (if you can get a mortgage you would probably need to share with someone and I'm not sure that even with a full-time salary you could afford it. As a nurse with a degree maybe you might?

then you could do a conversion to medicine

www.ehow.com/how-does_4609414_nurse-become-doctor_.html

It would take ages, but might get you there. Hope it helps.I wish you all the luck in the world and enlightenment on the idiots that cause you this stress.

Sorry but even the memo you sent us the link to says that rents are artifically high. It's not the "rich" people in government (grow up people) but landlords who know they can charge what they like if HB picks up the tab.
I think if you are poor then £1083 a month given to you to rent a 1 bed flat is fair enough.
I understand thats it's not great if you are the first to be hit by this. However what the alternative to linning a landlords pocket from taxpayer money?

Sorry but that link doesn't work for me - is there any way you could put another link on with the square brackets as I want to have a read of this. It sounds awful for you but without reading I can't understand why you'll be made homeless, and would like to check it out because I get some HB myself. Is there any other option for you to enable you to stay where you are?

She's not technically being made homeless she has to find the extra money now that HB is capped.I think the average rent for a two bed property (Camden)is £300 - £400 a week whereas the government says it will not pay more than £290 a week.
Landlords will have to decide whether they can lower rents to get the HB or re advertise to non HB claimants.
I am a single mother and managed to work enough to pay £95 a week when I was in a homeless hostel and £425 a month when I got my house. Not sure why OP can't do the same and therefore afford the average rent if she doesn't want to find a cheaper place to live.
Lot's of people aren't on HB and have to chose where they live according to price.

Sorry I can't get the link & now am really worried! Can someone quickly explain the changes to me please? Thanks v much x

I put the link into google.

Basically the rate of Housing Benefit is being capped at;
£250 a week for one bedroom,£290 for two beds,£340 for three beds and £400 a week for 4+ beds.
Basically if you live somewhere like Winchester or London it possibily won't cover all your rent

Remember thats a week so if you have a two bed flat you can still get a rent paid as long as it's not more than £1256 a month.

Thank you, I've just seen it. They are decreasing the limit in other areas.

It means that house that I was going to pay my deposit for first thing tomorrow is now unaffordable for me :( taken me 2 months to find a half decent place that accepts LHA too! Not happy :( x

Where do you live then 2dogs? Sorry I mean planning to live if you don't mind me asking?

In Norwich. They're only decreasing it by a small amount but it makes it unaffordable to me. My DD is only 4months, we've been living with my mum for 2 months but there's no room, we have to share a bed with her! And my DD co-sleeps so all 3 of us in a double bed! Sorry to moan. Just thought things were going ok - takes so long to find a house that takes LHA let alone an affordable & half decent one. Ggrrr. Sorry :( I need some sleep I think. Hopefully it'll feel better in the morning!

Sounds rough. Doesn't come in till April 1st though. You could have two months paid up and see what happens for the other 4?
You must be up on the H/A wiating list if you have to share a room? I'd go to the papers if I were you. Daily mail would love a good Dickensian Britian story and watch the local council sort you out then!

This affects people in private rented but not council/HA homes. We're lucky that we have a council flat in London and our rent is still well below any of the caps.

I know many single parents though who have refused to accept a council flat as they wanted a nicer private rental though, or to live in a better area for schools. They're really getting stung now.

'Should I feel disgusted in myself that my ex walked out when I was pregnant?'

No, what's disgusting is that a person is able to create a child and then completely abandon its support to the state.

Daily Mail... hahahahahahahah!

What about those single Mums without families to rely on,or with other complications (like disabilities or caring for someone) or debts to service, who can't get jobs?

People who, like Lola, wants to get out of her situation.

If you have kids too young for school when childcare is already extortionate and going to a decent Uni, particularly to do a higher degree often means travelling.

These cuts confine people even further into in an income ghetto and make it nigh on impossible to get a real career.

So the reality is that competitive careers like media, politics, medicine and law continue to be mainly occupied, not by those who have the experience to deal with these issues, but by those who can afford to go to the right universities and pay for childcare whilst taking the unpaid work-experience placements.

Whilst intellient, talented applicants who are single mums and don't have a family / XP able to support them / provide free childcare either don't dare get into debt for the fees or get forced into minimum wage jobs (which don't pay their loans - incurred while studying) these are often unrealistic hours (like nights or weekends when childcare is expensive). The extra money earnt is not enough to change the situation (due to finding extra rent, travel and childcare).

So the business that hires (on minimum wage) them gets a high absenteeism rate and does not flourish, the person leaves and gets in more debt whilst their confidence gets eroded further and their amitions go on the trash heap. And another intelligent single mum decides to put thier kids first, give up, and rely on getting by.

And what is Georgie Porgie really teaching our kids? That if their mother is a single mum they better limit their ambitions? Dickension? It's more like feudal.

In my view single mums with young kids who live on benefits should not be looked down on or penalised for shouldering a responsbility that no-one else wants. Like carers they should be regarded as actually working for a better society. And any attempts to better themselves via (serious) education should be encouraged and supported, at all levels and any age.

It would be repaid in tax when they work anyway, they are some of the most efficient time-managers, committed and determined people around and they have integrity. Now that really would be a "Big Society".

Querelous

There is always an excuse. I AM a single mum Dad walked out when I was pregnant never to be seen.Hence being given a room in hostel for the homeless (for two years).I agree that it is tough without some support however I HATE the idea that somehow we are less able becuase we are poor.The state provides loads more help then I'd imagined actually.Paid all my childcare whilst DS was pre school
I am now at Uni after giving up work when the car died. I actually get MORE money then when I worked the full time and two part time last year. It's way less hours and way less stress.
Wish people wouldn't talk us down all the time.I am very grateful at the moment (although situations tend to change I find). I still don't think we (taxpayers) should be paying landlords either

'In my view single mums with young kids who live on benefits should not be looked down on or penalised for shouldering a responsbility that no-one else wants.'

In my view the first port of call for support, however, should be the father. If he won't pay, he should go to jail.

But I think it should first be down to the two parents to try to support their offspring before the state.

Fair enough if that's not possible, but way more should be done to force compliance in this, IMO, particularly for the non-resident parent who obviously doesn't have the childcare issues.

Justonemorethen I read your previous post so I realised you were also a single mum and we have all (no doubt as everyoe on this board) been through a lot of crap.

I have no wish to patronise you and in fact the point I was making was that we are just as able and valid members of society as everyone else.:) But you must realise not everyone is in the exact same boat as you, nor are they all making excuses.

By the way I'm also a single mum (not by choice, my DH left us and currently has supervised access) I also have first-hand experience of everything I have spoken about. And I graduated with an MA in May, I could not have contemplated the travel / childcare costs if I had been a single mum at the outset.

If we were all able to get qualified and cut just a little childcare / transport slack while working for free (which I am willing to do for experience but can't afford to do as much as I should and have had to turn down opportunities) we might all become middle / higher-rate tax payers one day. We need to support and encourage each other to achieve more.

expatinscotland "In my view the first port of call for support, however, should be the father. If he won't pay, he should go to jail."

I actually agree in principle, in an ideal world I think they should be made to pay the real costs / a proportion of them not just a proportion of their income. And the CSA should not charge the mother for the privilege of enforcing it.

But this is not an ideal world and it is too easy for the self-employed errant father (for example) to dodge. Also if he's a loving dad and genuinely can't pay (through sickness or unemployment) then what? Putting him in jail only punishes the child through stigma and loss of a father and the mother (who doesn't get a break).

"But I think it should first be down to the two parents to try to support their offspring before the state."

Maybe I am an idealist but I don't think most single mums on benefits end up this way on purpose. Sure we all know of silly young girls who play the system but I also know many intelligent, hard-working and capable single mums who are victims of circumstance and have, like me, paid their fair share of taxes in the past.

Surely they deserve society's help to get over the immediate difficulties and return to being productive tax-payers if they want to? Isn't that the point of the benefits system? :)

I never said the benefits system is without purpose. And people who need it can use it.

Just not to privately rent in places like Camden anymore.