More issues with housing...

[knk2011]

Just horrible because as a first time mum I have no idea what to expect and I just want to be comfortable before I go into labour. Last thing I want is to be in labour and still worrying about where baby is going to sleep when we get home lol.

I think the worst bit is that where we live with OH's parents at the moment, it's immaculate. So I have this need to 'nest' but I don't have a nest to nest in lol!!

 

[Mummy_to_be87]

Aww I understand how you feel about wanting to nest and having no where to nest lol my house is a tip as Im packing to move house and all I want to do is nest and clean and it breaks my heart that im packing my moses basket away instead of arranging it for the arrival coming, it messes with my head, now i just want the keys to my new place so i can clean...i have all the flash etc but no house hopefully you will get into your new house long before your lo arrives so you can settle down and nest until your heart is content have you heard anything back from them yet?

 

[knk2011]

Aww I understand how you feel about wanting to nest and having no where to nest lol my house is a tip as Im packing to move house and all I want to do is nest and clean and it breaks my heart that im packing my moses basket away instead of arranging it for the arrival coming, it messes with my head, now i just want the keys to my new place so i can clean...i have all the flash etc but no house hopefully you will get into your new house long before your lo arrives so you can settle down and nest until your heart is content have you heard anything back from them yet?

No, we have to wait for some kind of letter.
Apparently if we apply as homeless we can rent privately still through them, but if we view this place on tuesday and we really like it, I don't know how long it's gonna take to do it through the council if that makes sense? By the time the council get it all sorted, the place could be gone. It's all so confusing.

 

[SamsMum]

Just horrible because as a first time mum I have no idea what to expect and I just want to be comfortable before I go into labour. Last thing I want is to be in labour and still worrying about where baby is going to sleep when we get home lol.

I think the worst bit is that where we live with OH's parents at the moment, it's immaculate. So I have this need to 'nest' but I don't have a nest to nest in lol!!

Going out on a limb here, but if it's stressing you out that much (which it would me too), maybe you should re-assess the dog situation?

I'm not trying to be heartless as I've been a dog owner too, but if the dog is one of the major factors in stopping you getting your own place sooner rather than later (which you seem to indicate it is), maybe it's worth looking at shifting your priorities. Just my tuppence worth.


xxx

 

[knk2011]

I have mentioned leaving the dog with OH's parents, our dog always has somewhere to go. She would never be abandoned.

I have found the perfect place though which is likely to accept her. A 2 bedroom house with a 4 piece bathroom, immaculately decorated, back garden etc. But it's £25 over what the council say they will help us with.

We have a meeting on tuesday to talk about our benefit entitlement, so I'm thinking we will have to go to that and then look at renting privately. This place is so perfect that I have this urge to rush into the agency and tell them, I WANT IT!! HOW MUCH TO HOLD IT?!

I hate that I find these perfect places on the weekend, the agencies aren't open so I can't bloody phone them lol.

 

[Pink Flowers]

You can pay the extra £25 a month. If they are offering you £525 thats all they will pay but you can top it up.

 

[SamsMum]

You can pay the extra £25 a month. If they are offering you £525 thats all they will pay but you can top it up.

Yep absolutely. My SIL tops her house rent up herself. If it's your dream place £25 is easily made/found from somewhere. Good luck

 

[AllieM]

You would only have to pay 25 out of pocket or rent???? Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!

 

[ILoveCakee]

In my area of the UK (a seaside place that's quite popular to move to) we got moved in to band B due to a psycho neighbour we had, it took a couple of months to get a place, but I found out the day I came home from hospital with the baby that we'd won the bidding on it! There aren't many people in band A in most places, and there were only 2 or 3 properties a week in my area we could bid on. Homeless applications tend to boost you up the list a bit.

[Unfortunately in our case it took 6 months to move in to the house (which is AMAZING by the way, it's huge lol, unexpected for a council place) but that was pure unlucky we chose one where the previous owner had left it in a state. This isn't common. I just wanted to let you know there is some hope and it can be a lot quicker than you'd think!

 

[knk2011]

Well our case worker said that if the place was over £525 they wouldn't help us at all??
It's all so confusing.

£25 a month out of our own pocket for rent seems a little too good to be true. Even if the council agree to just pay half of the rent, it would be affordable.

 

[Pink Flowers]

When we got housing benefit we were entitled to x amount and then we paid the rest to make it up to our £750 rent.

 

[Tami]

Ours is the same too, we're entitled to some rent and we'll pay the difference ourselves, its classed as LHA not housing benefit when you rent privately and you will need to find out what the LHA amount for your area/situation is. For your situation the council will only allow you a certain amount of benefit for a council house likely because either their properties don't surpass this amount or you're only entitled to this based on your incomes. You have to move into the property and then claim LHA anyway (because you need to show them your tenancy agreement) so be prepared that if they're/you're slow or you have to send off for any proof you might need you could be paying the rent yourselves for a month and should make sure you can cover it just in case.
You'll also likely be entitled to some council tax reduction and you can apply for both at once, at least with our council.
BUT you need to ask, is the amount they've given you before or after baby? Because it WILL obviously be different amounts as the number of bedrooms you're entitled to will be different, especially with LHA.
For example before the baby you should only be entitled to 1 bedroom and will only receive LHA for one, then you let them know the baby is born and you'll receive the amount for 2, you'll also likely receive child benefit and child tax credits too, and these will also affect your housing benefit I believe!
I think rather than relying on your case worker I would get online and fill in the online entitlement questionnaires, they'll give you a better idea of what you're entitled to and you can then take this information to the case worker rather than going in blind. x

 

[Pink Flowers]

It was a few years ago we claimed it so its changed its name now lol. We privately rented x

 

[sophie22]

So we went to meet our case worker today, I'm not entirely sure if it's helped us much, if at all.


Basically, after doing all of our paper work, she talked us through our options.

Option A
We can separate. OH stay here and I go alone into temporary accommodation under my SMP, which would mean I am essentially not paying for anything. We told them no, that we wouldn't even consider splitting up. (She didn't blame us at all for it, but had to make us aware that it was an option).

Option B
We can go for temporary accommodation. We would still have to pay for this. The temporary accommodation could be either;
A bed and breakfast - where we can't take our dog or own furniture.
Shared housing - can't take dog or own furniture.
Something called Easy Lets - where we can take our own furniture, but not the dog. It's basically an empty house, but our case worker would have to nominate us for the place as soon as a 2 bed place came up.

Option C
We can put in a homelessness application - as after the 25th June, we don't have anywhere to live. Case worker said it should be a straight forward application and we should be instantly accepted and moved up to band B. (We were moved from band D to C because I am over 20 weeks of pregnancy) It also gives us the option to rent privately through the council, as long as it's a 2 bed place, no more than £525 a month - our council see this as "reasonable rent".



I'm not sure what to do or what to think.
I'm actually a little worried. Apparently there are over 500 people in band B, so it could still take us forever to get a place. Renting privately through the council isn't going to be any easier than doing it on our own either, because it's still impossible to find places that will take our dog or an agency that doesn't require a guarantor.


All I know is, I'm 28 weeks pregnant and I have no idea where we're going to live

We have a dog, we just didn't tell them! We specifically rented a place where it didn't say no dogs but it didnt say yes either so if they ever find out we have that as justification. Just don't tell them and rent privately

 

[knk2011]

I got a phone call half hour before we were going to view this flat saying it had been let this morning

We've got another meeting with the council today about benefits, so after that we have the rest of today and tomorrow to call around some agencies and private landlords, because hopefully we'll have a better idea of what we're entitled to and what help we'll get.


So LHA is different from housing benefit?
From what I understand now, LHA is what we can't top up, that's our maximum, but housing benefit we can top up???
If so, sounds like what the council are offering is LHA. They said they wouldn't help with anything higher than £525 as that is what they deem to be "reasonable rent".

 

[Pink Flowers]

my brother and girl friend get LHA and they top it up.

 

[Tami]

No, LHA you can top up. We applied for LHA and should hear back shortly. Housing benefit isn't topped up because you can't rent a council house bigger than you need anymore anyway, so it wouldn't be higher.
LHA, local housing allowance is specifically for private lettings and while you can't get more than a certain amont you can top it up yourself if your rent is higher. You can also rent a 2 bed house, even if you only get lha for a 1 bed, providing you can top it up.