housing benefit question?

[morninggirl]

hope this is ok to ask here...
it's a simple one really -

do i need to be claiming income support in order to make a claim for housing benefit?
(or does it depend on the area/council?)

thanks in advance

I don't think so. Low income can count but you might not get as much - dpepends on your income.

I work in housing but not Housing Benefit. We do have leaflets about it in the reception area. It all depends on your income in relation to the rent you are paying. One thing I do know is ACT QUICKLY!! Payments are NOT retrospective, so however long it takes you to get around to doing something about it will mean money lost if you do qualify, as the payment won't be backdated to when your circumstances changed.

i'm not actually in the position to claim yet as i've not moved out of my (separated) husbands house yet. (but hopefully will be within a month or so) - i only work 20 hours a week at minimum wage.

No you don't need to be on benefits to claim housing beenfit, it all depends on your income. Worth making a claim even if you're not sure anyway, worst they can do is say no

thanks Bored...

(if they say no, i'll be SOL )

morninggirl - if you're only working 20 hours at minimum wage then I'm 99% certain you'll qualify.

Best thing to do is go down and get some advice now - that's what they're there for!

in a word, no

depending on your circumstances though, 20 hours a week at minimum wage, prob won't get it all paid

also, they will only pay what they deem reasonable, there are various mechanisms for working this out but it will depend on how many kids: bedrooms you have, whether the rent is reasonable for the area, etc.

2 things to know about: pre tenancy determination-they take a look at the place before you move in and agree to paying a certain amount for it.

and

discretionary housing payments-extra payments on top of your housing benefit for certain limited circumstances.

Do double check all of this-haven't worked in benefits advice for about 3 years now

until i can work full time (sept when ds starts primary school), i hate saying i'll be relying on HB for some of my rent (when i have a place), but i will be.

i have some of the pre-tenacy papers for when i look at places (hard to find anything around here that accepts DSS )
and thanks for the tip about the discretionary payments, that i didnt know about!

yes DHP can help where you NEED to be in a certain area, NEED an extra room, etc.

How discretionary they actually are will depend on your LA though...

If you not moving within the next 2 months, Local housing allowance is coming in all areas April this year. It works slightly differently from Housing Benefit as there are set amounts for the area the accommodation and size of your family, So PTD's will no longer be needed.

thanks for that staryeyed...i'm gonna have a look online and see what i can find out about that.