Housing benefit and rooms allowed when having kids overnight

[nutcracker]

Have just spotted and ad for a 2 bed house which will accept dss. Haven't told P yet as he has gone out but the thing is the rent is £550 a month which is quite dear for the size of property and area.

I can see him discounting it before he has even thought about it.

He will be on incapacity benefit or jobseekers so will be entitled to housing benefit but would he get full rent paid and would they allow him a 2 bed if he was having the kids overnight at least once a week ??

You can phone the council and ask for a pre tenancy quote thing - it isn't called that but it will give you an idea of what they will pay or not. Phone them and ask. You have to do it before you sign a tenancy agreement though.

DH would know more but he is out - sorry!

Ahh right ok, i think they mentioned that to him last time.

He would still have to find the deposit out of his own pocket though wouldn't he ??

That will be the deal breaker i think as I know he only has about £200 in the bank.

Right, it is over a year since I last used this information so dont rely on it but-

a. there is usually some sort of bond scheme operating, although some, being w*nkers, exclude families (seeing as how theres all that fab council housing stock avalible...

b. AFAIR you can't get HB for children who do not normally live in the property. And I think that that includes access arrangements, though if there is shared custody I can see an argument for not. Double check this though as it is the sort of thing I'd expect to be challenged, maybe under the human rights act-right to family life. Dunno if it has been or not. Think you have to be married/the mother for that too...

c. It may be that you will need to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment? I think so. Its extra on top of your HB. It might cover the extra for the kids. I dunno though.

d. you might anyway have to go for a DHP if the rent is high. You know to get a pre-tenancy determination, yes? This a. ties the council to paying however much they decide is fair and b. does sometimes encourage landlords to drop the price, IME.

But do take this advice with a pinch of salt, I have been a SAHM for a year now and my brain is mushy.

oh your council will have details of the bond scheme or failing that try the CAB. The council usually has an advice shop and sometimes also a housing advice shop too.

Message withdrawn

have also assumed that you are not working. If your only income is IB, you should get the full amount as you will have very little income.

Thanks for that.

I think he will have to look for a 1 bed instead and then let the kids have his room if/when they stay over.

I think he enquired about the bond scheme before and was told he didn't qualify but can't remember why now.

Nutcracker if you go to the council they can actually help people who are on benefits with deposits for renting a house, they will give you a months deposit & a month in advance rent.

I am sure he will be allowed 2 bedrooms if he says he will be having the kids twice a week, also you can phone the council & ask how much they pay up to for a 2 bedroom in your area, anything over your dp will have to pay himself.

God i think i know everything about the housing since being in my situation

Am gonna have another look in the paper and see what else there is.

go to the council, nutty, you never know.

where are you? If, say, he needs to be in an expensive area cos of schools or something, thats an arguement. I don't want to discourage you, but councils don't like parting with money.

LOL scooby, you can be the mn resident housing advisor

Will tell him to go to the council on monday.

at the end of the day as he is struggling to find a property & there is only a few around having the extra bedroom won't go against him i only had 1 child at 1 point & was living in a 3 bedroom house never questioned me back then.

We are in sutton coldfield in brum. He doesn't have to stay in this area but obviously he wants to stay as close to the kids as poss.

TBH noone in this area will accept dss cos they are all snobs so he will be a bus ride away at least.

That is the sort of thing you want to be telling the council, i would just phone them say the situation, say you have found a property which takes dss but it has 2 bedrooms will this go against him? Also say it's hard because he wants to be near to kids so he can see them on a regular basis..

Ok thanks everyone, will tell him to go to the council, get rent pre determination thingies and ask for general housing advice.

Wonder how many times i'll have to say it before he does it ??

Well if he does not then just phone them yourself & ask them to send a rent thingy out... you can also phone annomous & ask any questions that you want to, every coucil has different rules so it is best to phone your own to find out.

Goodluck

ok, sorry to disagree with you scooby, but I do

They will do a rent determination. They willl look at how many bedrooms the property has, and how many he needs. Non-resident children are not normally counted.

I have never ever ever never known them pay out for a house that was bigger than they felt was needed, although occasionally they will do a DHP top up. This did used to be my job!

Non-resident kids were not, when I was working a year ago, counted towards the no of bedrooms allowed. I think this is massively unfair as it hinders access. But I remember it being a problem.

What they will normally do is to pay you the amount they'd normally pay out for a house that they think is big enough for your family, and you'd have to make up the difference.

Also-you know the rules re kids and bedrooms, yes? 2 under 10's or 2 over 10s of same sex per bedroom?

They are normally very strict. Eg, round here, its common for houses to have a dining room and a reception room. The kitchem will be cat-swingingly small. The will often expect the dining room to be used as a bedroom. Thats how strict they can be.

I'm still hoping scooby is right and I'm wrong, though. Nutty-get on to the council!

oh and I worked for an advice agency, btw, not the council, so it was my task to find new and inventive ways of getting round HB rules!

(am not trying to say you should listen to me because it used to be my job either-listen to scooby too, phone the council)

Blimey it's complicated isn't it.

I did wonder about the age and sex of kids rules. We have 3 kids Dd1 aged 8, Dd2 aged 6, and Ds aged 3.

Right then you are allowed a grand total of 3 rooms!

Its only 2 kids to a room!

Nutty, I don't know your circs at all. Are there kids in addition to these kids? Or is he not living with you. Sorry if I'm being dim or this is something everyone except me knows.

I am trying to get him to move out. He did move out once before and I let him back (very bad move).

So he would be allowed 3 rooms in total including living room or dinning room ??

Am assuming it doesn't include bathroom or kitchen or am I wrong ??

ah, i see. Sorry to hear that, nutty

ok.

This is what I think. I'm assuming you're in England/Wales, not Scotland, cos housing law is a bit different there, and though I've worked in housing advice up there, that was 6 years ago and I can't remember a thing.

I am pretty sure that he would get rent paid for a flat big enough for him alone, ie 1 bedroom. He does also get a kitchen/bathroom (am assuming he is over 25), and a living area.

Cos he's on IB he has a shot at council housing, but thats likely to be a seedy hostel in the first instance, so he might wish to avoid. Try the housing associations though, and do get his name on the council list.

AFAIK he does not get HB for rooms for the kids.

TBH though, I would not accept what I am saying as it seems completely unfair. Can you get yourself (or better still, him) to an advice centre or CAB? I think you need to talk to a specialist with current knowlege and reference books. (as opposed to an ex-specialist with a mushy brain )