Housing Benefit? Few Questions??

[LaDY]

As i am a single mummy now i am on a tight budget (Not that LOs dad used to bring in much but it did make a difference!)...

I am a private tenant, can i still claim for housing benefit? Will the estate agent be informed? And how do they usually pay out? x

 

[hannah_224]

Hi there, yea if u go to ur local council office they will give u some forms to fill out to claim housing benefits. Im not sure about telling ur landlord though. For my houseing benefit you can choose between cheque or direct into your bank. Hope this helps x

 

[littleblonde]

I have heard that it goes straight into your account so that way you can just pay estate agent and they wont no the difference. Its worth checking. Buit im sure someone om here says that what they did

 

[AppleBlossom]

Get the forms from the council office. I think they will get in touch with your landlord. Even if they don't I don't think it matters as long as the landlord gets paid. It's only sometimes if you are looking for properties they won't accept people on HB but since you are already there it should be ok. Depending on your circumstances such as any child maintenance, tax credits etc that you get you will be entitled to some. If you have a job you will get a lot less. But if like me you are a single mum who doesn't yet work you should be entitled to a lot more. You won't get enough to pay all of your rent but they will give you most of it x

 

[babybaillie]

Call up ur housing office and ask to speak to someone in the private sector, who will run through how much ur entitled too. or go on there website, our local hosuing tells u on there too. Then they pay it into ur bank acc monthly

 

[LaDY]

Thankyou everyone will sort it during the week xx

 

[bloodbinds]

I am a single mummy, and a private tenant claiming housing benefit. I get £94 a week for housing(maximum possible to get is £121 in my area). My Landlord was not informed i was on housing benefit at all, still doesnt have a clue, none of his business! The estate agengy dont even know, the housing people didnt contact them, all i had to do was send them a copy of my agreement showing how much the rent is every month. They pay straight into my account every two weeks!

 

[shanka]

i think it depends on where u live on the housing benefit form where i live there is a part where the landlord has to sign aswell, it goes straight in to your bank account and then you have to pay the rent youreslf, if you go ti the housing benefit office they will tell you everything that you need to do

 

[Tegans Mama]

Where we live you can decide whether or not to inform your landlord about your HB. You can still get it if your private renting x

 

[lizzieredrup]

Im private renting and claiming housing benefit also, with mine you have to let the landlord know but it doesn't make any difference, I used to get my housing benefit paid direct to them but im moving house on the 1st Feb and have been told its changed and it will get paid to me instead, i'll just set up a standing order to my landlords.

 

[bubbles]

Who it gets paid to depends on the situation. If you are 8+ weeks in arrears they will pay directly to your LL in which case yes they would find out. As long as your rent payments are up to date they should pay it to you unless otherwise stated

 

[emsiee]

Hi

Housing Benefit is paid direct to yourself now under now rules that came in April 2008, unless you are "vunerable" in some way or exceptional circumstances where it MUST be paid to your l/l or if you more than 8 weeks in arrears) If you claim now, this will also apply to you. Therefore,your landlord does not have to know that you claim. (This is how it works in my area anyway) But to be honest, it can take a while for any payments to be made to you at first, and they pay 4 weekly in arrears, so you are better off telling them if its a long term thing.

Hope this helps