What happens when youngest leaves full time education, housing benefit etc

[Notrightbutok]

I'm currently on full Housing Benefit in privately rented house. At the moment I have 2 low paid part time jobs which are supplemented by UC. I've only been in the situation a couple of years, I'm trying to get more hours and better jobs but I didn't work for many years and don't have professional qualifications to get a decent job to support myself. I recently tried to get an admin apprenticeship with NHS but wasn't successful. With so many candidates out of work due to covid there is so much competition.

What happens when you lose benefits and have rent to pay? Will the council give me a one bed flat or should I resign myself to getting a house share? Has this happened to anyone else here?

Will your child still be living at your house when they leave full time education. Will they be earning a wage?

You need proper advice. How long have you got until it happens? Are you on the housing list? DC away at university are still allowed a bedroom in the HB/UC calculation, apparently. Is uni likely?

Start by playing around with the benefits calculator at www.entitledto.co.uk/

Then i think you need to find a proper welfare rights adviser. CAB is probably your best bet. Good luck.

Once child benefit stops and they are over 18 then the child is classed as an adult and a non-dependant deduction is taken. This is based on the non dependants gross wage.
I’m not sure for universal credit but I know that for housing benefit if they were under a certain age and getting job seekers then no deduction was made.
You will need to tell universal credit what your child’s income is even if it’s zero (and they don’t claim any benefits) then the minimum deduction will be taken.

I'm on housing list but they consider current situation, who is living with me now.
Not sure if DC will go to uni, currently in first year of level 3 qualification.

Youngest is Yr 10 but is likely to be living with father permanently 100% and I don't want shared care.

I will look at the benefits calculator.

If your DC have left education for work and are still living at home they can presumably contribute to the household budget from their earnings?

If they have also left home does your tenancy allow you to take in a lodger in their old room?

Generally though, yes if you don't have dependent children who need to be housed you would be expected to match your expenditure to your income and move to something cheaper.

Some councils do have a stock of 1 bed flats and others don't so it depends where you are. A house share is a lot cheaper than a fully self-contained flat though.

As they get older and need less or no childcare, you work more.
Your adult dc contribute while they are at home. When they move out, you downsize.
Even single adults can be entitled to certain help though.

@Plonque
I am aiming to work more hours, it's not possible to get a full time contract at either of my jobs which is why I was trying to get back into an admin role. I am fully aware that I can work more hours now they are less dependent but thanks for the reminder.
Was actually looking for advice from someone who had been through similar.

@KihoBebiluPute
their father will own his house outright so I'm sure they will probably live there once their earning instead of paying towards my rent.

they're earning

I have been through similar...that is what I did and plan to do.
I also started off with no qualifications and as a SAHM.

@Plonque
for all I know your situation could be completely different, I'm sure your next drip feed will be

'I got myself a degree and got a well paid job and was able to get a mortgage'

No it isn't. I just have a steady job that isn't very low paid, but certainly isn't well paid. I don't have free family babysitting either.
It's all temporary, I can't wait to branch out a bit once my kids are older. You can do anything you set your mind to you know. Don't be too defeatist.

I'm not being defeatist, I am trying to get better paid jobs with more hours. My eldest has a degree and was recently made redundant so I know I'm lucky to have my low paid jobs but also know it will be impossible to move up the career ladder now there are so many better qualified candidates out there.

My years of experience in admin count for nothing.

If your child still lives with you then the non dependant deduction rules apply. Under Universal Credit there is no deduction for someone aged under 21. And a fixed rate for people 21 or over and not excluded, regardless of that person's income.

Under legacy housing benefit the rules are different. There is no deduction for a full time student, or an under-25 unemployed, and deductions vary depending on the non dependant's income.

www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit-housing-costs/Housing-costs-contributions#guide-content

If there is a deduction you should expect your child to make up the shortfall with their own income. However they cannot make their own benefit claim for rent they pay to a parent they live with. (Even though they could make a claim if they were a lodger with an unrelated landlord).

If your child moves out, then the "bedroom tax" applies. The housing element of your Universal Credit is reduced by 14% for one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more.

If you move by yourself, then assuming you are over 35 you are eligible for the 1 bedroom LHA rate.

You can apply for council or housing association housing but you will be low priority, unless you become homeless and it's not deemed your fault.