housing benefit question

[bigbumbrunette]

I've just kicked my cheating husband out. I now need to sort my finances out and as I only work part time I'll need to ask for help. I've checked out 'entitled to' and they base it on my need for a 2 bed property. My daughters are 11 & 2 so, whilst not ideal with a non sleeping toddler, I guess they could share. The thing is, we're in a 3 bed and the rent is more than they'd help with. With wtc & ctc and my income I think I could afford to stay.

My question is... will they penalise me under bedroom tax rules? We privately rent.

there is no such thing as 'bedroom tax rules' for private renting. That was about council houses.

You can rent what size place you like. However with two children of the same sex, your local housing allowance would reflect that they are considered capable of sharing.

therefore you would receive the amount considered necessary for a two bedroom place AFAIK.

That helps thank you. I wasn't sure if it applied to everyone claiming.

Another question, if I may? My husband is on the tenancy agreement. Do I need him removed before I can claim? It's all very new so I don't want to delay. I'm not sure my LL will let me stay once she knows. If I can show her I can be reliable with payments first I have more chance. I need to keep as much stability for my girls as possible :(

umm I am not sure - no if I were you I would just go ahead and claim and ask to see someone at the HB office to explain the situation.

If you are on the tenancy agreement, then you are responsible for paying the rent. If you are responsible for paying the rent, you can claim Housing Benefit.

But, as Sunny rightly says , your council will have a limit on the amount of benefit they will pay – this is called the Local Housing Allowance - & your family would be entitled to benefit to cover a 2 bedroom property. The actual amount depends on where you live, in Northamptonshire, for example, this would mean a maximum of £126.31 per week, in Hartlepool £97.81 per week.

In case it's useful, there's lots of info here on the Citizens Advice website about housing and relationship breakdown.

Thanks for that link, very helpful. I've already checked out our lha is £145pw. Our rent is £950 pm so it'd really stretch me but with careful budgeting could be doable.

there is no such thing as 'bedroom tax rules' for private renting. That was about council houses.

Not true, your bedroom entitlement affects how much LHA you get.

It's a couple of years since I worked in this area but it is worth asking at the HB office about 13 week protection. The rule used to be (and as far as I can tell still is) that if you were able to afford the rent when you moved in (which presumably with your ex you could) then you can claim HB based on your full rent for the first 13 weeks, it would then revert to being based on the 2 bed LHA rate for your area.

What cosytoaster said reminded me that you could also ask for a Discretionary Housing Payment on the basis that you could afford the rent when you moved in but now, due to circumstances beyond your control, you are unable to afford to pay the whole amount. Your local council will have their own eligibility rules for DHPs.

Peppermint you're right, your bedroom entitlement does affect how much LHA you get, however the phrase 'bedroom tax' has always been associated with social housing rather than private. This is because social housing tenants' maximum HB is reduced by 14% for those with one 'extra' bedroom and 25% for those with two - hence the 'tax' of 14% or 25%. Whereas the LHA sets a maximum amount the council will pay for your bedroom entitlement.