Anybody get council help paying private rent??

[housewifey]

Wasnt really sure where to post it but i'll try here first!

OH and I are both still living at home (seperate homes) and are hoping to move out before baby is born in February. I've been googling and can only find either private rent or council house but have seen some people talking about getting councils help with private rent. Is this classed as housing benefit?? I cant seem to find much information on it

OH is on full-time wage and I am part time so feel like we may be entitled to something like this. We would be able to afford a private rent (Just!) but obviously if we are entitled to help like this then it would be a lot easier!

Any help would be appreciated BTW i'm in Scotland xxxxxx

 

[_laura]

Yeah it's housing benefit. Talk to your local council and they will let you know how much you are entitled to. Me and my oh have done it. x

 

[MissMamma]

yeah its housing benefit but i think you have to be on some sort of benefit to be eligible. may be wrong tho! Talk to your citizens advice, mine have been amazing, or your jobcentre [not so amazing!]..xx

 

[Eoz]

Go online and find a benefits calculator or go to entitled.com this will tell you roughly how much housing benefit you're entitled to.

As you are preg now you'll only get help with a one bed but a 2 after little one comes.If you can,take a 2 bed plod on till baby born

If you get stuck PM me as i had to do all this recently x

 

[MissMamma]

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/Default.aspx then click Find Your LHA down the left hand side..xx

 

[Eoz]

Councils go by LHA a lot but sometimes do not pay it all x

 

[Phinners]

I'm not a teen (I'm damn old lol, but just reading around the gaff), but you mention you work part time, remember when you go on maternity leave your wage will drop dramatically. You only get 90% of your pay for the first 6 weeks, then it drops to a paltry £124 per week for the next 33 (I think) weeks. So you need to factor this in to consideration when you take on a rent.

Hopefully, you will get some help with your rent etc. But you are seen as being employed, so it might be a tricky one. But dont forget things like working families tax credit, and child tax credit - these are bloody good top ups!


Also, privtae landlords will want a gaurentor (sp), to ensure they get their rent - this is costly to do and someone needs to take responsibilty for that. PLus they will also do credit checks - again this is expensive. Not trying to piss you off at all, but moving out is so bloody expensive.

To be honest you are probably much better off staying at home for a while longer, where everything is paid and you have everything you need without it costing you the earth - heating, food, electric etc.

Anyway I havent been a teen in 20 yrs so I'll bugger off back to my oldies section Good luck x

 

[housewifey]

Thanks for your replies!

I don't think I have citizens advice near me there is a jobcentre tho haha. I might ask them for advice on what i'm entitled to. All this benefits stuff baffles me haha! I will have a look at a few of the websites yous have gave me, expect some private messages about this maybe in a few weeks when i'll still be scatching my head about it all!

Phinners u didnt piss me off haha. I understand that it is going to be costly and we have been saving like mad since we found out about LO. However OH lives in a 4 bed house currently where his 14 year old brother is sharing with his 6 year old brother & his little sister who is 5 sleeps in between her mum and dad! OH has his own room thank god and the other room is an office (although i have tried to convince his mum to change it to another bedroom) My point is there is no room at the inn haha. Especially when baby comes along so ideally we would like to move out.

Sorry for babbling, but I know a lot of you girls will have been/ are in similar situations so can help me out xxx

 

[jessmckeiver]

You can only claim H/B if you are not with LO's dad anyway cant you. If your OH signs the contract for the property you wont be able to claim H/B.
Me and OH have just split up and its proving difficult to claim anything now, because he's on contract. x

 

[amandad192]

H/B is means tested so it depends on how much you earn. Have a look on entitledto.co.uk.
You can put your income in and it will give you a GUIDE of how much H/B you will recieve.

How you pay your rent is also something to consider. Our rent is 625 monthly, but we are paid H/B at 275 fortnightly. Over the year it works out that we get 600 a month, but we only get 550 most months, and have to make up £75 not £25 we expected. Looking forward to November though..We fall into 3 fortnightly payments so will have a little extra money to make up for we we've already paid.

If you need any help/advice feel free to PM me.

 

[Gemie]

This is brilliant for getting an idea of what you're entitled to based on your current income... there are a few questions to answer but it's invaluable. x
https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/diol1/doitonline/doitonlinebycategory/dg_172666

 

[housewifey]

Okay these websites confuse me haha, i just filled in the whoooole like 6 pages or whatever and it says im not entitled to anything except statutory maternity pay ?????

And i had no idea you couldnt get housing benefit if you wer with fob, uh oooh haha xxxxx

 

[_laura]

You can get it if your with fob. Me and my oh get it. Just not as much as I would on my own. Might be different for different councils though. Go ask yours direct.

 

[Phinners]

It might be an idea to push the 'overcrowding' idea to the council then? Surely they will have to find you and baby/daddy something with the shear number of people in the house.

Having said that, it will be some ropey shithole you'll be given, so might not be the best idea afterall

 

[mumj18]

It's local housing allowance I think. I've been looking this up for myself all morning. If you are an adult couple plus one child your entitled to the amount for a two bedroom flat even if you only live in a one bedroom flat and you get to keep up to £15 of the excess. I think the LHA varies from place to place but I know where I am in Scotland its about £65 for a one bedroom and £85 for a two bedroom flat. Hope this helps a little!
xx

 

[housewifey]

OMG i think i just have to go and speak to somebody about all of this! mumj18 what part of scotland are you in, im in livingston which might be classed as west lothian??

We are on the list for a council house but tbh i dont fancy bringing up my baby in an area where im scared to walk to the shops ive live here all my life and the areas vary hugely. the council houses offered are usually in rubbish areas where i know drug dealers and rough people stay i want my baby to be safe and not feel scared in my house i know someone who lives in a council house, she lives next door to a drug dealer and although he has never bothered her she does get people knocking on her window and door all the time asking for there 'stuff'! I would hate this!!

xxxxxx

 

[mumj18]

OMG i think i just have to go and speak to somebody about all of this! mumj18 what part of scotland are you in, im in livingston which might be classed as west lothian??

We are on the list for a council house but tbh i dont fancy bringing up my baby in an area where im scared to walk to the shops ive live here all my life and the areas vary hugely. the council houses offered are usually in rubbish areas where i know drug dealers and rough people stay i want my baby to be safe and not feel scared in my house i know someone who lives in a council house, she lives next door to a drug dealer and although he has never bothered her she does get people knocking on her window and door all the time asking for there 'stuff'! I would hate this!!

xxxxxx

Go to Citizens Advice, that's my plan because they are trained to help you out with all of this stuff. I find that I'm guessing most of my answers when I use the benefits advisor on the directgov website.

I'm from Ayrshire Not really sure where Livingston is

Yes if I were you I would definitely be trying to go private. That's what I've been looking at. You want to be in a nice area for the baby but obviously it's probably not going to be the poshest part of town. xx

 

[housewifey]

OMG i think i just have to go and speak to somebody about all of this! mumj18 what part of scotland are you in, im in livingston which might be classed as west lothian??

We are on the list for a council house but tbh i dont fancy bringing up my baby in an area where im scared to walk to the shops ive live here all my life and the areas vary hugely. the council houses offered are usually in rubbish areas where i know drug dealers and rough people stay i want my baby to be safe and not feel scared in my house i know someone who lives in a council house, she lives next door to a drug dealer and although he has never bothered her she does get people knocking on her window and door all the time asking for there 'stuff'! I would hate this!!

xxxxxx

Go to Citizens Advice, that's my plan because they are trained to help you out with all of this stuff. I find that I'm guessing most of my answers when I use the benefits advisor on the directgov website.

I'm from Ayrshire Not really sure where Livingston is

Yes if I were you I would definitely be trying to go private. That's what I've been looking at. You want to be in a nice area for the baby but obviously it's probably not going to be the poshest part of town. xx

Yeah im gna make an appointment i think. Yeah of course, im not looking for some luxury flat but i seen a nice wee place in my local village, only £450pm (obv thats before bills and stuff) but its lovely and in a quiet area and its JUST what i want! It safe! Thanks for all your help ladies! I really appreciate it!! xx

 

[bethx]

me and oh get housing benifit for our privatly rented flat . depends on your income on how much you might get. the hardest part is finding someone who will accept housing benifit and getting 1 month and a half's rent plus mabey an added month plus about 175 documentation fee / reference fee ect . we had gurentors which helped. good luck x

 

[xxsteffyxx]

You can only claim H/B if you are not with LO's dad anyway cant you

Not true. Housing benefit is means tested and you can still claim if your both working, it just depends on your circumstances...