im a single parent and a student, housng benefit help needed

[leeanne1407]

just now i live in a council house but i live up a high rised flat and my neighbours r awful so i would realy like to move as i want my son to be brought up in a better area, only thing is ive phoned housing and they basicaly said tuff luck and wont give me another house so i will need to private let
ive phoned housing benefit peeps and they cant tell me if im entitled to any housing benefit untill i actually move wich i think is crazy does any body else do this and is a full time student recieving a student loan
will i get housing benefits

I got HB as a full time student SP however it was a few years ago now so I suppose things could have changed - having said that they actually told me I couldn't have them so ended up having to appeal, I got it all backdated 2 years later. HB are a nightmare when you are a student as, usually, it would be a flat no and they cannot seem to get their head around it!

Sorry if that is not much help, what I am saying, be sure if you are entitled before you apply and then do not let them off the hook until you start receiving cheques!

i no im just worried to take the plunge and pay a deposit then HB fail to pay then im leaving myself and my son homeless wich isnt very smart

You can get a 'pre tenancy' assesment but TBH with the new LHA system it is easy to see what you're allowed to spend on rent.

click here

You can't tell how much your income will indicate to them that you can afford to pay, but they won't leave you worse off than the dole is the general principle. Recent changes to the way child benefit is assessed will help too. You may even be able to get help with the first month rent and deposit if your current housing is really unsuitabel (which it sounds like it is).

One thing to remember, here at least it is a one way trip. You cannot apply for a council house unless 'inadequately housed' in some way. A 2 bed flat privately rented would be considered adequate for you.

thanks for your advise though

thanks i found that website last night and it says im entitled to housing benefit but it was just becuase i phone HB to double check and they said i was entitled to apply for it coz i had the little one but the couldnt tell me how much if any

Beehive, my understanding (but I could be wrong) is that the pre-tenancy determination will tell you how much you could get if you are entitled ut it will not tell you if you actually are entitled IYSWIM.

get down to the council offices & have a word. they should tell you how much you will be entitled to. i'm sure all councils are crap! mine took a good couple of months to start paying my rent as there was a 6 week list & i was basically down there everyday. if you do decide to move find out about the rent deposit scheme & try & have at least a months rent put by as they will be slow. i'm sure i nearly had a breakdown with worry. i'm a full-time student with 2 kids, at the momment i'm still on income support as i'm just at college but hopefully going uni next year & i've been asking what will happen regaurding hb & i can't get a striaght answer either. but good luck! hope that helps

Two things you can do -
look on your local authority website where the rates for LHA will be published. LHA is the benefit that replaced housing Benefit. LHA has weekly/monthly maximums for different types of accommodation.

If you're in HE with a child then you can claim menas-tested income support, although any student loan wil be taken into account.

You can also obtain a copy of the Benefits Handbook from the Child Poverty Action Group (also available in some libraries and almost certainly you're educational establishment student welfare section will have a copy. that sets all all the rules for benefits, rates, eligibility etc.