Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

renting question and benefits

25 replies

ellenjames · 08/01/2009 21:54

i am 29 weeks pregnant, and was made redundant in Nov. Now it looks like dh might be made redundant in March. What would happen if we claimed housing benefit, yet our landlord wouldnt except it? would he be able to evict us? Dont know if he will accept or not just wondering. Also what benefits would we be entitled to? Ishoukd be getting MA soon so assume i cant get jsa as i am not actively looking for work? But with no income and 3 children to support am worried! (3rd will be born roughly same time as redunancies announced)

OP posts:
Original poster
ellenjames · 08/01/2009 21:56

Also meant to say that dh pays csa for 2 other children, dss and dsd what would happen about that as really don't want payments to stop bt obviously we cant pay the amount we do now.

OP posts:
scrooged · 08/01/2009 21:58

You don't have to tell your landlord. There's a box on the form you can tick if you don't want the housing benefit folk to contact them. It's income support you will need to apply for, the benefits office will help you.

Original poster
ellenjames · 08/01/2009 22:03

could i apply for income support now then as havent worked since nov, but dh earns roughly £17,OOO PA, Will i be able to get it alongside ma?

OP posts:
FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 22:05

I don't think you'd get IS with your DH's income, infact I'm pretty sure you wouldn't.

You can check your eligbility (again I'm not sure if he would be considered "low earner" here

FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 22:07

sorry just re-read you OP properly. I see you both may be unemployed in March

Original poster
ellenjames · 08/01/2009 22:11

not yet was going to do tommorrow as writing this just reminded me! Cheers thought it might be a case of waiting til he is actually made redndant! If that happens what would we be entitled to? entitled to doesn't work for me at the mo!

OP posts:
FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 22:13

I would phone them and tell them now about you no longer earning, you could be missing out on money now which could help you out.

What do you mean entitled to doesn't work for you?

Original poster
ellenjames · 08/01/2009 22:17

sorry that website entitled to.com doesnt seem to let me on it!

OP posts:
FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 22:19

ahh can't help you there I'm afraid. Thought you meant you didn't know what figures to put in.

Original poster
ellenjames · 08/01/2009 22:40

bump

OP posts:
inscotland · 09/01/2009 07:47

As a landlord I'd be angry if a tenant didn't advise me of any changes as some insurance policies don't allow for tenants who claim benefits what ever their circumstances. So, if anything happened to the property and you had not advised of this change then the policy may well be void and he'd need to sort out repairs etc himself. That's not good! That could be anything from a broken sink in the bathroom to a fire which would be very serious so think about it carefully.

It may be that he just needs to advise his insurance and that is it but you really do need to tell him about this.

HappyMummyOfOne · 09/01/2009 09:50

You do need to inform the landlord, some mortgages and insurance policies dont cover for tennants on HB.

If there was a fire and his insurance policy didnt cover him it could end up very messy.

Original poster
ellenjames · 09/01/2009 12:00

thanks thats why i am checking as really don't know legal in and outs of benefits etc! Plus our landlord only lives 4 doors down from us! So dont want anything to be awkward! But would he legally be able to evict us?

OP posts:
Original poster
ellenjames · 09/01/2009 12:48

bump

OP posts:
MrsBrendaDyson · 09/01/2009 12:54

Depends on your tenancy agreement - what type do you have?

please phone shelter on england.shelter.org.uk

0808 800 4444

colette · 09/01/2009 12:55

ellenjames I ma sure he would not be allowed to evict you. We have a neighbour oh hb who has brohen windows etc and landlord said he can't evict her as he needs court letters to do so and it would take a lot more than that ! ( we are in scotland so law is different but still believe if you have been a reasonable tennant he could not make you homeless if you are paying regularly or hb is. Have you got a copy of your lease ? contact the citizens advice for help re all of your money worries they are really good.

colette · 09/01/2009 12:56

sorry about typos .

FAQtothefuture · 09/01/2009 12:56

try not to panic. Some mortgage lenders and insurance companies will allow the HB if the landlord writes to them. My Vicar is also a landlady (she owned her own home before becoing a Vicar and rents it out) and her mortgage and insurance said she couldn't accept HB, but she wrote to them and they said ok.

MrsBrendaDyson · 09/01/2009 13:03

really does depend on the tenancy agreement. he can't just order you out or anythng, there are set procedures which one has to follow.

from shelter

How an assured shorthold tenancy can be ended
Your tenancy cannot simply run out. It will continue until it is ended properly - either by you or by your landlord. This can happen in one of three ways:

you and your landlord agreeing to end the tenancy (known as surrender)
you serving a valid notice
your landlord taking action to evict you (see below).
Surrender
It is possible for a tenancy to be surrendered at any time. Get your landlord's agreement in writing if possible to avoid problems later.

Notice
If you have a periodic tenancy (which means that the original fixed term has ended and your tenancy runs from week to week or month to month), you have to give one month's notice in writing, or longer if you pay your rent less often. The notice should end on the first or last day of the period of a tenancy. Once the notice ends, your tenancy ends and you no longer have any right to live in your home.

If you have a fixed term tenancy (ie for one year) you will only be able to give notice during the fixed term if your tenancy agreement says it is allowed. The length of notice you have to give depends on what your tenancy agreement says.

It is possible to leave on the day your tenancy ends without giving any notice, but this is not usually advisable. It is best to give your landlord notice if you can, especially if you have paid a deposit and need it back.

staryeyed · 09/01/2009 16:29

Im not sure how it is in every council but ours asks for a confirmation letter form the landlord that you are living there so would be impossible to hide anyway.

You may be entitled to some benefits regardless of whether your dp is working or not based on your NI contributions. You need to get the information first hand from a benefits advisor- Get yourself down to your local CAB or advice centre and give them all the information about your situation.

ThingOne · 09/01/2009 19:01

The other thing you need to take into account is that HB is paid four weekly and your rent is monthly. If your landlord is reasonable (and his mortgage allows it) he may be able to accommodate this.

youcantlabelme · 09/01/2009 19:17

Thing One: I work as a Housing Benefits Assessments Officer and if a claimant wants their HB to be paid monthly, we set that up for them.

It does not have to be paid 4 weekly.

FAQtothefuture · 09/01/2009 19:21

youcantlabelme - is that for all councils?? If so that's useful to know as I'm literally just about to apply for HB for the first time (thankfully I know I qualify it's just a case of getting it set up).

ThingOne · 09/01/2009 19:28

OK, thanks. Clearly a bit out of date. Or maybe I was helping people who were getting HB from a shite council!

staryeyed · 09/01/2009 21:21

Not the case with all councils its up to the council whether they will allow monthly payments. Ours doesn't.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page