Any benefit savvy people who can help clear my mind? What's the best thing to do?

[Lougle]

I'm usually the sort of person who gives advice on these threads, but my mind is very foggy (stress)!

We are currently in private rented housing, but it is deemed unsuitable for my eldest DD (SN) so we were uprated to band 2 of the housing register. We have now been offered a council house.

The dilemma is this:

House A

• (current house) rent £650 pcm. We receive Housing Benefit of around £450 and pay £200 rent (low income).

-Notice period 1 month (stated in tenancy agreement).

House B
-rent £450 pcm. Will receive benefit of £250 per month and continue to pay £200. Tenancy begins 12th March.

We were phoned yesterday to say 'you get the keys on the 12th and that's when you start paying rent.'

So, we will have an overlapping tenancy between 12th Mar and 2nd April.

I spoke to the HB team, and they explained that we could only have the benefit on the current property extended if we move straight in to the new property.

The new property needs complete decoration, carpeting, etc.

The lady from HB said to look at which option makes us better off financially:

1. move into new property asap and claim overlap on current property for 3 weeks. rent payable on both.
2. take keys of new property, but don't move in until this tenancy expires, giving 2 week extra rent on new property to pay (one week happens to be a 'free' week so only 2 of the 3 weeks are payable).

Is there any option that is financially better than the other?

It's the hidden costs of moving!!

However, on your current rental, is there no months rent in advance paid? Or a deposit to be returned?

I'm in a spin too..... Moving date if 19th from one HA property to another..... But no address yet as the house, and the street it's on are still being built!!

Hi Lilac

We pay in advance, but the pay period goes from the 13th of the month. So our notice period contains 1 week paid in advance and 3 weeks yet to be paid.

We didn't have to pay a deposit.

I guess that option 1 means that we will have our costs covered but the house will be utterly chaotic with trying to decorate around everything.

Option 2 means that we'll have to pay 2 weeks in rent fees out of our own budget on the new house because they won't pay for the new house until we move in, but we'll have the benefit of an empty house.

The added complication is that my eldest DD goes to special school on transport, so they need 2 weeks notice of that, which means we have to decide in advance when we'll be ready to move in!

It's a long time since I worked in HB, but just looking at the numbers, the first one is surely better financially:

Option A: Property A and B both cost you £46 per week, so you'd pay £92 per week for 2 weeks plus £46 for one (the rent free week) = £230 for the overlap period.
Option 2: means paying the full rent on house B, so (£46 x 3) + (£104 x 2) = £346 for the overlap period.

I wouldn't suggest anything dodgy, of course, but I don't think that moving into your new home means getting all of your stuff there on day one, so taking up occupancy from the start of the tenancy might not be such a daunting task. If you look at the guidance here www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/hbgm-a3-liability-to-make-payments.pdf the definition of 'occupying a home' is that it must look like someone is living there, not that every scatter cushion must be plumped and homemade bread in the oven! So if you get some belongings in there, register that you live there for Council Tax purposes, bills, etc. then I'd have thought it unlikely that anyone from the Council (if they ever checked) would doubt that you'd moved in, even if perhaps some of the family happened to sleep elsewhere for a short period while their rooms were being decorated.

Hiya, you may qualify for a payment of hb on two homes. They pay in exceptional circumstances. Ask hb in your area to check policy and regulations to see if you qualify

Thank you both.

The lady at HB office said that we would have to have moved completely to be eligible. It's interesting to hear that it isn't necessarily so.

It sometimes help if you get the local citizens advice bureau to act on your behalf, it moves things on a lil quicker!! Good luck...